Planning a dinner party is lots of fun and a great way to spend time with friends. You can make it as fancy as you like and you can even have a theme! If you are planning to entertain, here are a few dinner party theme ideas to make your party sparkle.
Hawaiian Luau Party
Hawaiian Luau dinner parties are fantastic ideas for summer and entails lots of grass skirts, bikini tops, Hawaiian shirts and bare feet. Use lots of flowers and lays for decorations and you can also hand them to your guests as they arrive!
What to serve? Lots of dishes featuring sweet potatoes, salmon, mangoes and pineapples. Don’t forget the tiki torches – or the cocktails!
Rustic Dinner Party
A perfect dinner party idea for winter, a rustic dinner gathering is all about simplicity and tradition. Use candles to create a warm and cosy feel in your home and if feasible, use wooden furniture to produce that ‘rustic’ feel. Dried, hanging herbs make great decorations, as do small potted flowers and plants.
What to serve? Cheese and wine are excellent rustic options, but if you are going the full three-course meal, consider doing soup as an entree, a roast with vegetables for main and a traditional cake for dessert. Yum!
Wild West Party
Let your dinner party go off with a bang with a wild west theme! It’s all about cowboys, Indians and saloon waitresses with this theme. Make sure you steer away from anything “contemporary” – serve beer in stein glasses and serve food in old-school wooden bowls.
What to serve? Steaks, burgers, hotdogs and grilled meat are all popular wild west food ideas (and they’re easy to cook on the BBQ), as is baked beans and potato salads – just think American!
Jewellery & Champagne Party
This one’s for the girls! A great idea for a casual hen’s night or just a dinner gathering, a champagne and jewellery party is just that! You enjoy a fabulous meal together and then spend the night drinking champagne and crafting your own rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings. If you’re organising, splurge a little more on some quality materials, rather than cheap, plastic ones. Decorate your home with lots of flowers and fairy lights, too.
What to serve? Champagne, of course! You can also serve cocktails, as well as nibbles like dips and biscuits, salads, hors d’oeuvres, spring rolls and quiches. For dessert, strawberries dipped in chocolate are a wonderful idea or cupcakes with pink icing.
Hollywood Party
It’s time to dress like a star! A Hollywood dinner party is a great chance for you and your guests to dress up like their favourite celebs and laugh at each other around the dinner table. Red carpets and spotlights are essential here and you can even put a fake ‘Hollywood’ sign up on your wall. Movie quizzes will make your night more interesting – and don’t forget to hold your very own Oscars for the best and worst dressed!
What to serve? Candy, popcorn and nachos are good starters, as is caviar and pate. Consider star-shaped pizzas for mains and ice cream for dessert. Of course, if you’ve got a favourite ‘food’ movie (like the film Ratatouille, for example), why not cook from that and ask your guests to name that film!
