Dinner Party Season

Summer has just about arrived which means it’s time to take out the fancy crockery and start prepping for your first dinner party of the season! After the dark and dreary winter, summer really calls for a fun and quirky affair. Here are a few ideas to, well, break the winter ice and get the creative juices (and fruity iced tea) flowing.

• Black boards are as fashionable as ever, and can be used for anything from menus and interactive cheese platters, to place mats that double as place cards.
• Serve home made fruit popsicles with an alcoholic twist, or place the fruity desserts in glasses of champagne.
• Hanging elements are very much in fashion this season, so suspend each guest’s cutlery and napkin from the ceiling, and place a pair of scissors on their plate.
• Instead of floral arrangements, use planter pots with fresh herbs as centre pieces which guests can pick to season their own salads and starters.
• Serve cocktails or iced tea in old fashioned mason jars with quirky coloured straws. You can also take it a step further by slipping a moustache cut-out or pair of lips around the sipping end of the straw.
• Keep costs down by using paper elements to decorate the table, such as hanging paper planes or jars of origami flowers.
• Have a little fun with serving techniques. For instance, serve starters in Chinese take-out containers, gourmet burgers on wooden slats and tiramisu in small empty tomato paste cans.
• Keep guests entertained with DIY food and snacks such as marshmallows to roast over the open candle flame, fondues and salad stations.
• If you’re having the party outside, cordon off the party area with burning torches, strings of bunting, netting, fairy lights or wooden stakes with flowers tied to the tips.
• Summer is the season of fruits, so use them as part of your décor, for instance mount each of your place cards in an apple or fill a vase with water and lemon slices as centre piece.

For more Dinner Party Ideas or to check out the original photos displayed above and their credits, make sure to check out our Dinner Parties Pinterest board!