Dinner Party Theme Ideas

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Want to throw your own dinner party? These themes are easy to customize for any occasion, whether it’s a birthday party, a fancy dinner party, or a “just because” affair. With adult support, these are ideas that kids can help bring to life.

The Soup Party

Ask everyone to bring their favorite soup. Make sure they bring it hot because, unless you have a huge stove, reheating all of the soups can be hard. Here are some soup recipes to recommend or try yourself. Make sure you have lots of bowls, spoons, and bread for everyone to soak up their soups. If you’re up for it, make these buttermilk biscuits which pair well with soup. This party is perfect for winter nights, but we love soup all year long, too.

The One Color Party

Monochromatic is the word for when everything is one color, but you can just call this “the one color party”. When you invite friends, ask everyone to make food that is one particular color. People can get really creative for this theme. For example, if all food will be read people can make things like chili, tomato soup, apple tarts, and red beans and rice. Someone can use red apples to make applesauce, even though it doesn’t turn out red in the end. Or, a green theme will inspire a lot of salads, pesto, and green beans. If you can, serve all food on plates, napkins and cups in the same color. (And remember to ask guests to wear that color, too!)

The Cultural Celebration

Ask everyone to bring something from one particular cuisine; it doesn’t have to be their own cultural background. Some ideas: Chinese dumplings, Italian pasta, Greek salad, Jewish potato latkes, and Mexican quesadillas. It will be a mishmash of a menu, but a fun way to taste different cultures. Of if you want to plan the menu, make things that celebrate your background and share the stories of the food with your friends. 

The Favorite Food Party

If you’re throwing a party for a particular person (like the birthday boy) gather a list of their favorite foods and assign everyone one of the guest of honor’s favorite foods to cook.  This is a great way to show love through a specially curated menu. 

Things on a Stick Party

We think food is even better when it’s on a stick. For this party, have all of your guests bring foods that you can eat without silverware, like meat or veggie kabobs or popsicles. Need some recipe ideas? Try these Greek Salad Kabobs or Breakfast Kabobs. Or, provide ingredients and have everyone stack their own sticks, like these Rainbow Kabos. Just make sure to stock up on skewers. For dessert, prepare one of these popsicle recipes or watermelon slices on a stick.

 

Get some more recipe inspiration for your dinner party. This three-day cooking series will teach the fundamentals of cooking, including different cooking methods and knife skills, as we explore a different dinner menu each day. Kids who sign up for this series will benefit from continued knife skill practice and begin to get a sense of how the mind of a chef works. In each two-hour class, students will enjoy their creations in class and will take home a sample to share. Register for one class or all three in this series. Class size is limited. Sign up now to reserve your spot!