Solid Color Party Supplies
Planning a party can be a fun experience as you decide on location, theme, color scheme and all of the creative details that will make the occasion special. One way to make your party really stand out is to choose a unique approach to the party planning process and decide to host mystery dinner party! A mystery dinner party is planned around a particular theme with several courses and menu items named to reflect fun, catchy phrases associated with theme of choice. Each guest orders their food for each course from a server based only on the clues from the menu. Heather, one of our employees recently attended a mystery dinner party for her daughter’s fastpitch team. Here’s what she had to say:
Recently my daughter’s high school fast pitch team participated in a mystery dinner and the host of this party really knocked it out of the ball park! The theme of this menu was “Fastpitch” and the menu was developed around catchy phrases that relate to softball.
Pitcher’s Mound: scoop of mashed potatoes
Rain delay: bottle of water
Up to bat: carrots and celery sticks
Baseballs: hard boiled eggs
So how is this all going to work? When your guests arrive present them with a welcome letter explaining the evening and how they will be choosing their meal. As the host you can also go over these instructions with the group. Once you’ve completed your explanation, give each guest a menu with a pencil. Have them write their name at the top, it will help the waiter remember what goes to who. They will choose 5 items for each course and once the item is ordered it will be crossed off the list, so it cannot be ordered again. Your menu can be on colored, or themed paper if you choose but using plain white paper is probably the least expensive. Remember, these will most likely never be used again. Keep master copies of the menu listing both the mystery name and actual name of all of the items for your servers to help avoid any potential confusion.
In order to have a successful mystery dinner party, you’ll want to invite a minimum of 8 guests and serve no less than 4 courses (5 is better). You can have as many guests as you choose but keep in mind that you’ll need additional helpers to serve your guests. Figure one server for every 5 guests to be safe. If you choose to have 5 courses, with 5 items each, you’ll need a total of 25 menu items. For an interesting twist, include utensils as menu items for you guests to order such as a fork, knife, spoon, napkin and toothpick. For example, at Heather’s party, a fork was listed as ‘catcher’ on the menu. You’ll want to serve at least 3 drink options as well. When choosing the food for your menu, make sure it is something that is both easy for you to prepare and keep warm as well as what will be the most fun for your guests to order and eat. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, baked beans, salads and dessert items are simple and easy. Keep in mind that all of the items will be ordered individually so a cohesive menu isn’t necessary. In fact, a random menu may just add to the fun! You’ll want to have plenty of time to prepare the courses and lots of help if needed so you can watch the facial expressions of your guests as the waiters bring out their orders!
Zebra Animal Print Party Supplies
The decorations for a mystery dinner party should coordinate with your theme. For example, consider using our zebra print party supplies for an African safari theme. Also, using disposable tableware makes cleanup a breeze. Check out some of our popular party themes!
What theme would you choose for a mystery dinner?