Top 50 party theme ideas

The idea: Elegant summer dining, with a touch of rustic chic.

Decoration: Adorn tables with white linen or gingham tablecloths, vintage tableware and delicate lanterns. Tie napkins with raffia and fill vases with country flowers. Thread fairy lights through the trees and use hurricane lamps to line pathways.

Food & drink: Serve simple grilled food and colourful salads, with an abundance of fresh fruit and cream for pudding. Champagne or chilled white wine is a must, along with elderflower cordial as a non-alcoholic option.

Arabian nights

The idea: Think deserts, sand dunes, rich fabrics and soothing music. This is the perfect party for a summer’s evening.

Decoration: Decorate the room like a harem with an abundance of cushions and drapes. If you’re really going for it, you might even consider having a glamorous Bedouin tent, with flame torches lighting the way to the entrance. Candlelight is a must as the sun goes down. Add some fun by asking your female guests to dress as belly dancers!

Food & drink: Serve delicious, spicy meat dishes with rice, and rich, creamy cocktails. Of course a little Turkish Delight on the side wouldn’t go amiss!

Big band swing party

The idea: A party in the true sense of the word – this is all about great music and lots of dancing.

Decoration: Of course the most important thing here is to have a good dance floor. If you want to splash out, book a live band. Otherwise, decorate with silhouette cut outs of jazz musicians playing the saxophone and photos of jazz musicians. Small tables around the side of the room with candles are the perfect place between dances.

Food & drink: It’s sleek cocktails all the way, from martini’s to Cosmopolitan’s. Keep energy levels high with plenty of substantial canapés.

Caribbean Night

The idea: Who needs the sunshine when you can bring it to your home!

Decoration: Well you can’t be expected to create a beach, but you can stick to the great outdoors, dress in brightly-coloured clothes and perhaps hire in the odd palm tree? Have a steel band playing or plenty of Bob Marley CD’s and a limbo stick to provide endless laughs.

Food & drink: Serve big, bright cocktails, Caribbean-style fish in coconut milk and lots of fresh fruit. Failing that, a barbecue will go down a treat.

Casablanca party

The idea: Based on the classic 1940’s movie, this is pure romance. Perhaps a party to celebrate Valentine’s day…

Decoration: Deck the place out like Rick’s Café with palm trees and cocktails. You could even have a pianist playing As Time Goes By and other 40s favourites. And, of course, make guests must dress as Humphrey Bogart with the ladies as Ingrid Bergman.

Food & drink: Only Champagne will do!

Children's party (for adults)

The idea: We all think fondly of our younger days, so why not recreate a little of the fun as adults?

Decoration: School uniform is the dress-code, and the room should be adorned with simple, fun decorations – helium balloons and plenty of party poppers. Games on the list include sardines, spin the bottle and truth or dare!

Food & drink: Serve the classics – sandwiches, sausage rolls, cheese and pineapple and cake. You can always add an adult twist to your jelly and ice cream by adding a little vodka to the jelly!

Cocktail party

The idea: This is James Bond style – time to dress up and go for full on sophistication.

Decoration: Anything, so long as it’s stylish! Think candlelight and classy music. You could even hire a few waiters to serve your guests.

Food & drink: Cocktails, obviously! Spend some time experimenting with the cocktail mixes and have a go at creating your own, bespoke party cocktail. Food should take the form of delicious, delicate, bite-size canapés.

Country and western hoedown

The idea: Yee Hah! Dust off the cowboy hats, checked shirts and snakeskin boots. Play old Country and Western favourites and add a band and caller for some square dancing.

Decoration: A barn is the perfect location, and even better if you can fill it with a few hay bales. Invitations can come in the form of a WANTED poster.

Food & drink: Hotdogs and steak provide the perfect snack, washed down with a cool beer and jugs of lemonade.

Eurovision party

The idea: We all love a bit of Eurovision. Best played on the night of the Eurovision Song Contest. Do your own voting and select your own winner.

Decoration: Allocate a country to each guest who must bring along an appropriate decoration.

Food & drink: As with the decoration, ask each guest to bring along food and drink from a particular country.