Host a Dinner Party

Looking for some great ideas to host your next dinner party? Here are some of my favorite parties that you should definitely try with your friends and family.

Country-Themed Parties - I love throwing these dinner parties and my guests have always enjoyed them. I base all of the food and activities around a specific country. For example, if you want to throw an Italian party, your menu will include classic Italian foods. While eating dinner, I would play some Italian opera music and teach Italian phrases during dessert. After dinner, you might try a traditional game from Italy, or you can also watch an Italian-themed movie. Sometimes I do a documentary about the actual country, sometimes just a fun movie that is set in the country, or a film actually from the country. All have been fun and your choices just depend on whether you want it to be more cultural and educational, or just thematic and fun.

Murder Mystery Party Games - These party games are great fun because your guests can get into character and be totally involved in the action. Mystery party games come in many varieties. You can choose boxed versions, such as the "How to Host a Murder" games, or digital mystery games which can be downloaded and printed at home. Both kinds of games include instructions for hosting your party, character descriptions for guests, menu ideas, and costume suggestions. I love these games! They are so much fun. The only drawback is that they can be somewhat expensive, usually $25 to $35. But if you choose to go the digital route, there are great less-expensive options. My favorite is Elizabeth Valentine's "The Case of the Missing Jewels", which is now available on Ebay and usually sells for less than $10. This exciting mystery is very family-friendly and fun for all ages.

Themed Costume Parties - These are very popular at my house. My dad loves to throw these anytime the family is together for a holiday. One of our favorites was a superhero costume party, where everyone came dressed up as their favorite superhero, or favorite character from a superhero movie. We had a great dinner and watched a classic superhero movie, and spent the rest of the night taking hilarious photos of us and our superhero battles. These kinds of parties will work with any theme. Just dressing up and taking pictures can be the best part.

Decade Dance Party - Choose your favorite decade and recreate it with a cool dance party! Take any decade that you think is fun and have your guests come dressed accordingly. You can serve dinner or snacks that were popular in that decade, try to talk like they did back then, and spend the night dancing away to classic music from that time period. Even if you're not crazy about normal dance parties, you may find that trying to dance like a 1920s flapper, while you and your friends laugh at the attempt, is a lot more fun than your average dance.