When you’re throwing a party at a Vaughan banquet hall, nothing creates a more memorable event than a well-chosen theme.
Although you might think themes are just for kids, they provide focus to drive every decision, creating cohesion with a unique atmosphere and food, decorations, and activities to match. Here’s how to plan a themed party your guests will never forget.
Choose Your Theme Wisely
The theme needs to make sense to the occasion and your guests. For example, if it is a milestone birthday, you might consider an era-themed party that highlights the youthful days of their past.
If it’s an engagement party, you might choose a theme based on an interest the couple shares, such as a travel destination, music genre, or hobby. For kids, they’re sure to have something they obsess over like a favourite cartoon character, movie, or sport.
Regardless, it has to reflect the occasion or the person/people you are celebrating and resonate with guests so they “get it” and want to get into it! Some considerations include the following:
Who are you celebrating?
If the celebration focuses on a person(s), consider their personality and interests. What are the things they love? What makes them unique? What would make them happy? What are their favourite colours? What music do they love? What do they do for a living? All of these factors will help you find a theme with meaning for them.
What is the occasion?
The occasion is also important. For example, if it’s a 50th wedding anniversary party, it might be all about family heritage. The focus would be on putting together a touching memory wall, showing old family movies, and creating a lovely tribute to the couple’s lives.
On the other hand, if you’re throwing a retirement party, you might consider how the person plans to spend their golden years. Do they golf? Do they have a condo in Florida? Will they be living at their cottage? Are they planning to travel?
Who are your guests?
You also want to appeal to your guests. In most cases, they will share something in common, which makes it easier to create a theme that everyone gets. However, if it’s a real mixed bag of people, you might need to tone things down with neutral elements that everyone can relate to, especially in the menu and, to some extent, the activities.
Be Consistent
A theme allows you to create cohesion across all your party elements. For example, if you decide on an old Hollywood/silver screen theme, you might include the following:
- Black and white art deco-inspired invitations with silver or gold type.
- Era-appropriate cocktails, such as Humphrey Bogart’s French 75 in Casablanca or Audrey Hepburn’s Mississippi Punch in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
- Don’t forget the bubbly!
- Glamorous dress code in full, glitzy formal wear.
- Roll out the red carpet.
- Silver and black balloons.
- Black and white blown-up cut-outs or images of famous silver screen stars.
- Iconic movies projected on walls.
- Old-school live broadcasting microphones with a glitzy backdrop for Oscar-moment selfies or live-streaming funny interview-style videos.
- Glamorous 1930s appetizers like caviar on toast, pineapple sweet potato glacé, or grapefruit brûlée.
- Era-appropriate activities like a scavenger hunt a la My Man Godfrey, or a movie trivia contest.
- Place settings with a list of fun terms from the era like “giggle water” for alcohol, “jack” for money, “tight” for being drunk, or “drift” to shut down unwanted attention.
When each element of the party reflects the theme, there’s no confusion about what the party is all about.
Ace the Menu
You can have every detail perfected, but ruin your event with underwhelming food! Theme menus can be fun, but also a bit of a challenge. A good rule of thumb is to choose some themed items, but focus more on the presentation. This will provide good food that people will enjoy while keeping within the theme.
For example, if you’re doing a retro 1970s party, guests might get a kick out of a jelly mould salad on the buffet table, but might not want to have to eat it! So, think flavour over theme, and loop the theme into your presentation.
Customize Your Cocktails
As mentioned in our silver screen theme examples, cocktails play a critical role in a themed party. This is your chance to get creative and provide a selection of theme-inspired cocktails and mocktails for your guests.
For era themes, research the most popular drinks of the time, such as the Bees Knees or Side Car for the Roaring Twenties. If you’re doing a movie theme, have fun coming up with clever names for the cocktails using a play on words such as Pretty In Pink Rabbit, Black Panther Russian, Pink Lady Bird, Vodka and Fight Club Soda, etc.
Choose the Right Vaughan Banquet Hall
You want a Vaughan banquet hall that can accommodate your wishes. It’s far easier to go with a venue that has the services you need under one roof so you aren’t contending with multiple vendors. The main services to look for include:
- In-house custom catering
- Bar service
- Audio-visual needs
- Flexible event space to accommodate your guests and activities
- Servers
- Private entry and lobby (important if guests have to dress up and might feel embarrassed entering a general lobby)
- Event coordinator
- Assistance with room set up and decoration
- Parking
Transport Your Guests to a Different World
Themes are all about creating a fantasy setting that transports your guests to a different time and place. There really is no limit to what you can do to immerse your guests in something new and exciting. Again, though, everything has to make sense and work together to create the environment and ambience that gets the response you desire.
Remember, although not all themes are whimsical, they should still be fun! You might have something more formal like our old Hollywood idea, something a little ominous like a Lord of the Rings theme, or even something downright dark like a gothic vampire theme.
People love to be surprised, and so whether your theme is enchanting, romantic, silly, scary, glamorous, or elegant, going all-out with all the special details is a must, including:
- Ambient music and sounds
- Lighting
- Floral arrangements, trees, plants, etc.
- Immersive details like movie projections, selfie walls, walk-through features into other worlds, etc.
- Costume dress code
- Costumed actors to interact with guests if the budget allows (or you can ask for guest volunteers)
- Appropriate seating and lounging areas
These details will help create that wow factor that stays with your guests for years to come.
Contact the Vaughan Banquet Hall Event Experts
If you’re planning a theme party, reach out to the event experts at Château Le Jardin Vaughan banquet hall. You can also call us at 1-888-529-8573, or book an event consultation online.
