Our Favorite Party Ideas by Month
Pinterest has our heads whirling with all the great party ideas! Party lovers could get lost in the idea pool for days with all the decor possibilities swimming in their head with no hope of narrowing it down to their favorite option. Those who are a little more reluctant of hosting parties but want to give it a go, can feel overwhelmed by all of the ideas out there, that they scrap the idea all together. Where ever you fall, we’re here to help! We’ve scoured the Interwebs and picked out our favorite Party Ideas for you to host and even sorted them by month for you. Whether it’s a birthday party in need of a theme, a good old “just because” party, or a refresh to your yearly party traditions, we’ve picked out the best ideas just for you!
January
Great Gatsby New Year’s Eve Bash
Is there a theme that feels any more on point for New Year’s Eve than Great Gatsby?! With a theme like Gatsby, this is your chance to go all out. Celebrate the theme & occasion with all the glitter and bling. Serve up a Bees Knees Cocktail, let the champagne flow, and delight guests with simple, yet filling, h’ors doeuvres. We love these affordable coupe glasses for any cocktails & champagne you serve and these whisky glasses for your go-to Old Fashion recipe.
Goal Setting Soiree
This party is all about a fresh start! Invite your closest girl friends for an afternoon of goal setting. Provide refreshing drinks, healthy snacks, and some cute stationary. Go all out by providing cute notebooks for each guest & colorful pens. You can also provide blank covered journals & supplies to allow guests to decorate their own journal. Go a different route than the journals and instead provide magazines, poster boards, and markers for guests to create vision boards for the year. End the party by sharing your goals and discuss how you can work together to achieve them.
February
Wine & Chocolate Pairings
Get in the romantic spirit of the month with two favorite treats- wine and chocolate. Is there any pairing better suited to represent the holiday? Forbes has a great guide to pairing these beloved indulgences. Keep things easy on you, the host, by asking each guest to bring a bottle of wine and a chocolate to pair with it. This ensures you have a great variety & vast selection. Here are some wine glasses we love from amazon.
Galentine’s Party
This one is all in the name - a Valentine’s Party with your Gals. Couple this theme with the wine and chocolate pairing party or take it a different direction all together with a chick flick marathon. Try filling your table with beautiful flowers & lots of colorful sweets like macarons or wrapped chocolates. Add some bottles of rosé or a flirty cocktail and let the girl talk commence. As a take home gift, arrange flowers in mason jars to show your girlfriends some love.
March
Garden Party
Garden parties are as they sound - a party in the garden. Deck your back yard out with whimsical decor like bunting and streamers hung from the trees and twinkle lights everywhere. Keep things laissez-faire by allowing guests to mix and mingle, sip cocktails, and nosh on tea sandwiches & finger foods through out the party. Set up croquet & bocce ball for some easy outdoor entertainment.
St. Patrick’s Day
I’ve always wanted to host a St. Patrick’s Day party and this coming March might have to finally be the time I dive all in with this theme! Lean into the festive, light hearted spirit of the day with all you can find cheezy St. Patty’s loot. I’m talking giant green glasses, Mardi Gras beads, green frosting, and food colored beer. Party City and The Dollar Tree are great places to find the perfect Patty’s Day green, inexpensive decor. You can also try simply hosting a party with an abundant green food spread & a mix of Minute-to-Win It games for fun.
April
Good Friday Dinner
Good Friday is one of the most meaningful Friday’s in the life of a Christian - celebrate with an evening of reflection. Sure you can get creative as you’d like with the evening’s menu but really press into the meaning of the occasion. Try keeping things focused with discussion questions, reflection pages, or a fresh journal for each guest. Try taking scripture about Good Friday and placing a few verses at each place setting. During dinner, have guests go around and read them out loud. Verses to look at it - Matthew 26:26–29, Mark 15:21–41, Isaiah 53:3–7, John 11:48–53, Romans 5:12–15, 2 Corinthians 4:7–12, and Hebrews 2:9–11. As for the menu, if you’re inviting Catholic guests, avoid serving meat and instead go with fish, or check with your guests and see what their Good Friday food practices are.
May
Cinco De Mayo - Fiesta Themed
Our favorite part of this theme are the decorations! A fiesta theme allows you to really flex your creativity. Try using succulents, cactus, and plants as centerpieces. Hit up your local Dollar Tree for pillar candles and colored streamers to hang from the tree. Add these table runners for a pop of color at your food table or, if serving dinner, at each table. Move the party outside to enjoy the last of spring weather and hang these colorful flags from the trees. Feed your guests with a nacho or taco bar.
Floral Arranging & Brunch
Celebrate spring with this Saturday morning party theme. In your menu, keep brunch fresh by incorporating lots of fresh fruits and veggies. Add some pastries from a local bakery, cage-free eggs, hot coffee, and, of course, mimosas! As a unique and interesting activity, provide your guests supplies to arrange their own bouquet. When looking for a vessel for guests to take their arrangements home in try checking out The Dollar Tree. They have an abundance of small vases to choose from all for, you guessed it, a dollar, or a pack of mason jars works, too, and is an affordable option. Pick up some ribbon to tie around the jars as a beautiful finishing touch. In lieu of a vase, you can also pick up some brown butcher paper and twine to wrap their arrangements in. As for flowers, provide an abundance of beautiful florals. If you have a Trader Joe’s in your town, it should be one of your first stops when stocking flowers. They have a beautiful selection at great price points.
June
Outdoor Movie
Summer Kick-Off BBQ
A Summer BBQ seems basic but there are many ways you can dress this classic get together up. First, pull out the corn hole (or bags depending on where you live), horseshoes, and bubbles for the kids then get creative with a Sangria bar with a selection of fruits, a hot dog station with the best hot dog toppings, or a splash pad area for the kids made with various sprinklers & kiddie pools.
July
Fourth of July
While not a new or creative idea, a Fourth of July party has endless variation opportunities and is always a classic favorite. Bring out the grill for some classic summer fare, provide water balloons for the kids, and lots of fireworks for when the sun sets.
Bonfire
Enjoy the sunset around a bonfire. Provide supplies & sticks for S’mores and roasted hot dogs. Try something new by adding some German Campfire Bread to the menu. End the evening in a magical way by letting off some eco-friendly Chinese lanterns.
August
Summer Luau
Another classic but you really can’t go wrong with a Summer Luau! This is another party that’s especially fun to decorate for! The last few years, The Dollar Tree and the Target Dollar Spot has had an abundance of Luau decorations. Be sure to check both throughout the summer as their themes change quickly. Go all out on this one - leis for everyone! For a creative decoration idea, pick up some pineapples and paint their stalks bright colors for a festive centerpiece. For an easy food idea, try whipping up a big crock pot of pulled pork and serve with grilled pineapple, cabbage slaw, and Hawaiian rolls.
Retro Pool Party
This one is a spin on your standard pool party with a fun retro element. With high waisted bathing suits & mod patterns back on trend, this is an easy one to dress for. Fill the pool with fun floats and beach balls to set the tone and be sure to serve ice cream sundaes!
September
End-of-Summer Bash
Hit up the summer aisle at all your local stores for deeply discounted summer decor and use it all to throw one last summer fling. Go for a classic Summer Backyard BBQ feel and pull out the grill, water hose, and the last of that summer watermelon or take advantage of slightly cooler nights and host a big Summer Soiree with twinkling lights and lots of rosé.
Pro Tip: Keep that decor for a decked out Beginning of Summer party next year!
October
Murder Mystery
Murder Mystery parties are our jam at the Mosby house. We host one every year and every year I get more and more excited for the next years’! The themes and scripts are endless but I’ve found some winners at My Murder Mystery and Murder Mystery Party on Etsy. You can go anywhere your heart desires with this! Keep it on theme for October by choosing a script that elicits costumes.
Oktoberfest
An Oktoberfest has been on my Party Bucket List for the past few years and I have yet to throw or attend one. I love the opportunity to come together over this fun, cultural festival. Create an abundant soft pretzel bar, host a beer tasting, throw some bratz on the grill, and/or set up a ‘Make Your Own Sauerkraut’ station to get in the theme. Check out our Oktoberfest Pinterest Board here for tips, decor & recipe ideas.
Pro Tip: Reach out to any local breweries and ask about doing a private beer tasting for the party. Many will do it for free or provide a discounted rate on their bottles.
November
Harvest Party
There’s no better excuse to bake all the pumpkin things than a Harvest Party. Make it a potluck and have everyone bring their favorite “Harvest Treat.” Provide nods to all of fall’s favorite things like pumpkin decorating, apple bobbing, and classic fall crafts for the kids. Decorate your space with wheat, pumpkins, and fall florals. The decorating, recipe, and activity ideas are really endless on this one!
Also, check out our blog post on the easiest party you’ ll throw!
This is always a crowd favorite and pretty self explanatory - ask guests to bring their own prize worthy soup in a Crock Pot and a big appetite! Provide lots of counter space & extension cords for guests to set out and plug in their soups. Add fun labels, note cards, and pens . Have guests taste them all and then vote on their favorites.
Pro Tip: Use Dixie 3 oz. cups placed on a plate so guests can try multiple soups in one trip.
December
Winter in White party
Go crazy in the Christmas decor aisle and stock up on all the wintery white things or go old fashioned and decorate the whole room with cut out snowflake garland. Keep the party adults-only with white russians & white chocolate cocktails. Ask guests to wear all whites. Keep it a kid-focused event with fake snow, snowmen crafts and decorate white ornaments. Either way you go, serve all white holiday goodies - sugar cookies, snow balls, white hot chocolate, white chocolate covered pretzels, the list goes on!
Candlelit Caroling
Want a dreamy, holiday party idea? How about some candlelit caroling?! This is a great add to any evening Christmas party but also works well as a stand alone event. Invite guests over for some holiday drinks and treats, provide printed out Christmas carol lyrics, and a candle for each guest. As an alternative to print outs, in the past, we’ve also found the songs we were wanting to sing in a Karaoke format on YouTube and played them on our Smart TV. You can also connect your laptop to the TV, if you don’t have a Smart TV.
Pro Tip: Buy bulk candle sticks on Amazon and poke them through a cardboard circle or a styrofoam cup to catch any way drippings. Or try our favorite battery operated taper candles.
There you have it, friend. These are our most beloved party themes for the year.
Planning to host a party soon using one of these themes? Email us or comment below! We’d love to give you a few intentional party recommendations by theme.
