Going out to eat with friends and family is great, but nothing compares to a classic home cooked meal. Where you get to invite your guests over and enjoy a relaxed night in. Plus, in many cases, it can be more affordable than dining out. If you’re looking for themed dinner party ideas to spice up your gatherings. So you’re not serving the same dishes over and over, or just want a fun way to elevate your dinner nights, then keep on reading.
From “childhood favorites” to “soup and salad,” here are 20 themed dinner party ideas.
Themed Dinner Party Ideas
1. Disney Movie
Theme your dinner party around a Disney movie. This is a great idea, especially if you want to pair your meal with a movie night afterward.
For example, if you’re choosing Lady and the Tramp, serve spaghetti, baby carrots, and pound cake. If you go with Lilo & Stitch, create a Hawaiian-inspired menu with dishes like poke bowls, spam musubi, and chicken katsu.
RELATED: The Best Childhood Movies From the 2000s
2. Seasonal: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Host a themed dinner party featuring seasonal recipes. From vibrant spring recipes to hearty winter stews, this is a great way to explore and recreate seasonal flavors. Plus, you can decorate your home and tablesetting with seasonal decor and colors to complete the theme.
3. Soup and Salad
A soup and salad dinner party is exactly what it sounds like, serve a delicious soup and salad for dinner. You can stick to one main soup and salad or offer a variety of soups so guests can choose their favorite. Pair it with some garlic bread, and you’ve got a hearty and satisfying meal.
4. Potluck Dinner Party
If you want to host a dinner party but don’t want to cook or plan the entire meal yourself, consider a potluck! Invite your guests to bring a dish so everyone can enjoy a meal potluck style.
To make it even more fun, try a themed potluck. From bringing a “dish that starts with the first letter of their name” to a color theme, there are so many creative ways to spice up your potluck. For more fun potluck theme ideas, check out the link below.
RELATED: Fun Potluck Themes to Spice up Your Gathering
5. Food Bar Dinner Party
Set up a food bar station so guests can build their own dish. For example, you could create a pasta bar with a variety of noodles and pasta sauces like alfredo, marinara, and mushroom sauce. Add toppings like grated parmesan cheese and bacon bits, and include proteins such as sausage, chicken, and ground beef so guests can customize their pasta.
Some other great food bar ideas for a dinner party include:
- Loaded Baked potato bar
- Taco bar
- Salad bar
- Burrito bowl bar
- Nacho bar
6. Italian Night
For an Italian themed dinner night, serve Italian inspired dishes like cacio e pepe, bruschetta, calamari, carbonara, and meatball soup.
7. Anything But Dinner
For an “Anything But Dinner” party theme, serve anything except traditional dinner foods. Get creative and mix it up with appetizers, movie night snacks, cereal, breakfast sandwiches, and more.
8. Breakfast for Dinner
Breakfast for dinner is a classic dinner theme. Simply create a menu with classic breakfast foods, or get creative by offering a brunch inspired menu instead.
9. Childhood Favorites
For a childhood favorites dinner, think about all the classic dishes many kids love or the ones you grew up eating and loving. This could include grilled cheese, tomato soup, applesauce, mac & cheese, chicken tenders—whatever it is, add it to your childhood favorites menu.
This theme also makes for a great potluck idea! Encourage your guests to bring a dish they loved growing up. It’s a fun way for everyone to share their favorite childhood dishes and reminisce about the things they enjoyed as kids.
Ideas for a Themed Dinner Party
10. Farmers Market
For a farmers market themed dinner, visit a local farmers market and create your menu based on the seasonal fruits and vegetables you find.
11. Rainbow Themed Dinner
Incorporate a variety of colorful vegetables into your menu to create a colorful rainbow themed dinner spread.
12. TV Show Themed
Similar to the Disney movie themed-dinner idea, choose a TV show that you and your guests love and serve dishes inspired by it.
13. Dinner Based on Food Holidays
I love unofficial-official food holidays because many restaurants and businesses offer promotions and deals tied to them. You can also take advantage of these food holidays and use them as a theme for your dinner party. Here are some food holidays that make for great dinner ideas:
Pie Day: Make a chicken pot pie for the main course, and serve a dessert pie like apple pie or any other type of pie for dessert.
National Cheese Day: For National Cheese Day, there are so many recipes you can try that incorporate cheese. Such as mac & cheese, fondue, or a cheese and cracker charcuterie board.
Burger Day: For Burger Day, serve burgers and pair them with sides like fries, side salad, steamed broccoli, or anything else you like.
Cereal Day: Set up a cereal bar with different types of cereal and a variety of milk options, including lactose-free and dairy-free.
14. Takeout
For a takeout themed dinner party, order takeout from a restaurant and serve it. Many chain restaurants also offer catering menus, which can be a more cost-effective option if you’re hosting a large number of guests.
15. Dinner Menu Around a Seasonal Fruit (Tomatoes, Citrus, Berries, Pumpkins)
Choose one seasonal fruit or vegetable from the month or season and build your entire dinner menu around it. For example, summer is peak strawberry season, so challenge yourself to create strawberry themed dishes for a strawberry dinner party. You could serve a strawberry and spinach salad, strawberry shortcake, strawberry lemonade, and salmon with strawberry and mango salsa.
16. Spring Chicken
A spring chicken themed dinner party is perfect for the springtime. Make chicken the star of your menu and serve fresh sides and vegetables to complement it.
RELATED: 35 Party Hosting Ideas for Every Month of the Year
17. Greek Dinner Party
For a Greek dinner party, serve some Greek inspired dishes.
18. Friendsgiving
Invite your friends over for a Thanksgiving dinner celebration. Since it’s a Friendsgiving and not a traditional Thanksgiving, feel free to offer nontraditional dishes. Especially if you and your friends are already tired of the usual turkey and mashed potatoes.
19. Pizza Dinner Party
Whether you make the pizza from scratch or order from your favorite restaurant, host a pizza themed dinner party. This is one of my favorite themed dinner ideas because it’s so easy. I can order 2 to 3 different flavors of pizza, and everyone is satisfied and full by the end of the night.
20. Holiday Themed Dinner Party
Celebrate the holidays with themed dinner parties. For example, you could host a Valentine’s Day dinner, Mother’s Day, Easter, 4th of July, etc.
