Tuesday, 27 May 2025
Planning a meal with friends or family? If you need inspiration, we share six great dinner party ideas to help your event go with a swing.
6 Fun dinner party ideas
Are you planning a special meal with friends and family, but you need some inspiration? We’ve pulled together six fun dinner party ideas, so you can create a memorable evening that will seriously impress your guests. From menu ideas to drink concoctions and interesting entertainment, grab a notebook and pen and get ready to be inspired…
How do you make a boring dinner party more fun?
We’ve shared our favourite dinner party ideas below to help you entertain your guests:
1. Bring the outside in
Dinner parties don’t always have to be held in your dining room. If you can seat more people in your conservatory, why not move your dining room furniture temporarily into that space? This is perfect for those warm summer evenings when you can open bifold doors and let the outside in. Drawing from an al fresco theme without risking the tableware in the unpredictable British weather, you could also theme your meal. Recreate a holiday vibe with Mediterranean cuisine and a jug of sangria.
2. Full multisensory experiences
Enjoy cooking and love trying international cuisine? Immerse your guests with a full culinary theme by creating a multisensory experience. Get into the spirit of your chosen nation by producing a themed meal and match your tableware to the occasion. Make a playlist of relevant background music and you could write a short quiz to test people’s knowledge of the chosen country. For South-East or East Asian meals, you could provide chopsticks and lotus blossom candles to set the mood.
3. Easy cooking with a culinary theme
If cooking isn’t your strongest point, then divide your meal into easier elements that you can make and little specialties that you can buy. If you love Mexican food, cook a big pot of chilli and some marinated chicken. Then fill the table with different taco shells, mini tortillas, grated cheese, dips and salad. This is a great dinner party idea when children and teens are present, as they’ll enjoy creating their own meals.
4. Interactive foodie fun
Depending on your guest list, you could buy an assortment of ingredients and people build their own meal as part of the experience. From sushi-making kits to fondue sets and pasta-making fun, you can also find companies that specialise in delivering culinary events within people’s homes. Just make sure you have plenty of snacks to hand to fill any empty tummies throughout in case of any failed culinary attempts!
5. Entertainment based ideas
From magicians to musicians and singers, there are plenty of talented entertainers who can visit your home and add some fun to your event. Or, if you’re on a budget, find a fun game for a gaming console, such as UltraStar karaoke or hold a JustDance competition. You can base your meal idea on the style of entertainment. If you love 80s music, you could go for a fancy dress theme and make or buy retro food items.
6. Cocktail making
Not sure what your guests like to drink? Cocktail-making sessions are a fun activity that everyone can get involved in and you can also go alcohol-free with mocktails. This is a great idea if you have an assortment of leftover spirits or alcoholic gifts that aren’t your usual tipple! Buy plenty of mixers and ingredients such as different tonic waters, syrups and bitters. Download some ideas or buy a cocktail book for inspo.
Dining furniture sets
Whether you choose a simple meal or go the whole way with a culinary theme, we hope these dinner party ideas have given you some inspiration! And if you’re worried that your dining furniture is looking a little tired, then why not upgrade your dining chairs and dining table? Also, check that you have enough chairs, tables and furniture for your dinner party.
At Furniture Online, we have plenty of options for you to choose from that will suit a vast array of interior design schemes. After you’ve put in so much effort to prepare your dinner party, why not make sure both you and your dinner party guests are sitting comfortably?
For more inspiration, see our stunning range of dining table sets. If you need any advice, speak to our expert customer service team or use our online web chat tool.
