37 Dinner Party Themes + Hosting Ideas for Each Month of the Year

If hosting more dinner parties or get-togethers is on your list this year, let these dinner party themes and hosting ideas for each month help you get inspired!

Hosting Monthly Dinner Parties with Friends

Hosting is one of my favorite things to do. I love to get really into the planning process – everything from the theme, guest list, menu, drink options, tablescape, decor, playlist – even sometimes even the scent. Of course, hosting doesn’t always have to be this intense or over-thought, but it’s a hobby for me, and creating intentional get-togethers for my friends brings me joy. What better way to do so than with a theme? 

Intimidated by hosting or planning an entire dinner party? Many of these ideas could easily be scaled back to a themed cocktail party or happy hour. And – some of these are just get-together themes, not dinner-specific! 

Dinner Party Themes + Hosting Ideas for Each Month of the Year

Use these monthly themed dinner parties to enhance your hosting game throughout the year. Whether a cozy New Year’s Day brunch or a creative cookie exchange in December, these unique dinner party theme ideas infuse fun and intention into gatherings with friends. Scale back to a cocktail hour, or fully embrace themes with menus, decorations, and activities. Hosting not only brings joy but creates cherished memories and traditions. Cheers!

Hosting Ideas for January

• New Year’s Day Brunch – Host a brunch potluck style to ring in the New Year! Just don’t start it too early.
• Vision Board Night – Have everyone bring Pinterest printouts, pictures, magazines, etc. to cut out and plan a manifestation vision board for the year ahead. Make it a yearly tradition and review the previous year to see what came true!
• Mocktail Night – Perfect for Dry January! Have each person bring ingredients to create a different mocktail. Consider having everyone print out a recipe card so you leave with a handful of new mocktail recipes to have on hand. 

Hosting Ideas for February

• Galentine’s Party – Celebrate your best gals with girly drinks, pink and red outfits, photo ops, and snacks. Make a beauty ball for a fun activity. Bonus points if someone brings the heart-shaped Chick-fil-A nugget catering platter. 
• Homemade Pasta Night – Try your hand at making pasta from scratch! It’s a labor of love, so have apps on deck to snack on while making your dinner – it might take longer than you think. Wine helps!
• Snow Day – Embrace your inner child for this one – host a fun brunch, then bundle up and go sledding! Fireball shots and photo ops are encouraged. 

Hosting Ideas for March

• Lucky Girl Dinner – St. Patrick themed, but make it girly. Get creative with the menu – lots of green, maybe some Irish-inspired items, or a Lucky Charm drink or dessert. Must wear green and gold! Consider having materials on hand to make charm necklaces.
• Super Bowl Sunday aka Battle of the Apps – Have everyone bring an app and vote for their top 2. Have a fun prize for the winner (would be cute to have it cooking-related). 
• Spring Cleaning Swap Night – This will take some forewarning for your guests, but in the spirit of spring cleaning, have everyone bring a box with things like books, clothes, beauty products, decor, etc. they no longer need and do a little exchange. One girl’s trash may be another girl’s treasure! Perfect decluttering motivation, and you can donate whatever doesn’t get swapped. Win-win!

Hosting Ideas for April

• Signature Cocktail Contest – Have everyone bring ingredients to make a fun cocktail. Serve in rounds and have scorecards to judge based on appearance and overall taste. 
• High Tea Party – Pull out the linens and tea sets (thrift stores are full of them!) and put together a high-tea-themed brunch. Serve small bites, cookies, different teas, etc.! A perfect excuse to get together and wear cute dresses. 
• Master’s Par-Tee – Whether you’re a golfer or not, everyone can get behind cute golf clothes and Azaleas, the official drink of the Masters. Egg salad and pimmento cheese sandwiches are also standard for any Masters watch party! This blog has some fantastic ideas for hosting. 

Hosting Ideas for May

• Cinco de Mayo Fiesta – Host a fiesta with a taco bar and margarita bar with ingredients and garnishes to make different flavors. Have fun with the decor and playlist, and make lots of guac. 
• Kentucky Derby Party – Held the first Saturday in May every year, the Kentucky Derby is a great excuse to whip up some mint juleps, serve some southern classics, throw on a dress and a fancy hat! Tip: The Kentucky Derby website has all of the official race day recipes so you can recreate them at home! 
• Mother’s Day Brunch – It’s time to make up for all the subpar breakfasts in bed you made for your mom growing up. Pull out the linens, get some fresh flowers, pour some bubbly, and have your mom over for a ladies of leisure brunch. 
• May Flowers Party – Because April showers bring May flowers…! Another cute brunch theme, have everyone bring a few bunches of their favorite flowers, then make a little flower bar and have everyone create custom bouqets! 

Hosting Ideas for June

• Summer BBQ + Bucket List Night – Get ready for summer! Invite the girls over for a casual girls’ night and come up with a list of all the things you want to do together this summer. Menu – something simple grilled.
• Wine Tasting Night – Have everyone bring a bottle of wine and serve them wine-flight style. Have everyone try the same wine at the same time and write down tasting note guesses – no cheating or looking up before! At the end of the night, give the winner a wine-themed gift (think bottle of wine, wine charms, wine opener, etc.). Pair with lots of charcuterie. 
• Costco Dinner Party – No shame here. Throw together a dinner using only items found at Costco! Have everyone bring their favorite Costco food or snack. You can’t go wrong!

Hosting Ideas for July

• Red White and Blue Party – This can happen on or around the Fourth of July, but go all out with red white, and blue-themed appetizers, drinks and outfits! 
• Pups and Pints Night – If you have a yard, host an outdoor game night with beer and hot dogs and extend the invite to your friends’ four-legged friends. Have dog-friendly ice cream on deck and host a trick competition – the dog who can do the most tricks gets a toy! Even if someone doesn’t have their own dog, who wouldn’t want to join to watch the chaos?
• Luau Night – Have everyone wear their best florals and Hawaiian shirts, whip up some tropical cocktails (Mai Tai’s anyone?), and go all-out with a Hawaiian-themed dinner menu. Think teriyaki or Huli Huli chicken, fried rice with grilled pineapple, and poke appetizers. Find a beachy playlist + candle to set the vibe. 

Hosting Ideas for August 

• State Fair Night – Draw on your favorite state fair foods for menu inspiration – think DIY funnel cakes, corn dogs (I won’t tell if they’re from frozen), waffle fry nachos, pickle wraps, fresh-squeezed spiked lemonade and everything on a stick. If you make it a potluck, have a Blue Ribbon to give to the group’s favorite treat!
• Picnic Night – Host this at home and make it cute with string lights, pillows, and lanterns, or take it somewhere scenic and keep it casual. Pack food (or grab takeout) and blankets and enjoy some scenery, outdoor wine, and a good sunset. Don’t forget a Bluetooth speaker!
• Best of (Insert Your City Here) Night – Like a progressive dinner, but at home. Have everyone grab a favorite item or two from their favorite local restaurant, and when all combined, you’ll have a buffet of the best foods in your city! Bonus: no cooking, and you’ll get to try a bunch of new (or favorite) foods. It’s always fun to see what people bring!

Hosting Ideas for September

• Homemade Pizza Night – Fire up the Ooni, grill, or oven and make homemade pizzas! Provide all the toppings or have your guests bring their favorite combo. Have Peroni’s, breadsticks, plus a big house salad, and get a classic checkerboard tablecloth to really set the pizzeria vibes. 
• Hygge Fall/Winter Bucket List Night – Ease into cozy season by getting together to brainstorm all the fall + winter activities you want to do with your friends. Bonus points if this occurs around a firepit, fireplace or comfy space with candles. 
• Fall Harvest Dinner – Lean into the season by curating a fall-themed dinner menu. Bonus points if you can get ingredients from the farmers market to make it a farm-to-table experience! Serve fall-themed cocktails and an apple crisp a la mode for dessert. 

Hosting Ideas for October

• Fall Craft Night – Get the girls together to do a fall-themed craft like decopauging pumpkins or making candles. 
• Book Club Night – This one will take some advance notice so you can give everyone enough time to read whichever book you pick, but is a great option for getting together a mix of friends who might not regularly get together. Everyone will have common ground to talk about as soon as they walk in the door! 
• Cookbook Club Party – Pick a cookbook or blog and have everyone cook something from that book/blog. Ex: Half Baked Harvest Night – everyone brings a Half Baked Harvest recipe. A fun way to discover new favorite recipes! 

Hosting Ideas for November

• Friendsgiving – Like Thanksgiving, but with people you actually want to see (…kidding!). Lighten the load by having everyone volunteer to bring one or two dishes. 
• Favorite Things Party – Set a price limit and have everyone bring a set number of their favorite thing of the year. If it’s a smaller group, bring enough so each person leaves with one of each thing. If it’s a larger group, have each person bring three duplicates and then do it white-elephant style where stealing is allowed a few times. 
• Murder Mystery Party – There are so many good murder mystery kits nowadays! Pick one with a good theme and base the decor/music around it – and of course, have everyone come in costume! 

Hosting Ideas for December

• Holiday Movie Marathon Sleepover – Self-explanatory! A classic movie night. Order pizza and have a good ole sleepover with PJs, lots of snacks, and movies until you fall asleep. Have an easy breakfast + coffee on deck for the morning!
• Cookie Baking Day – Host your friends over for a day full of baking! Especially when it comes to sugar cookies – it’s a labor of love and many hands make the job go faster. 
• Cookie Exchange Night – Have everyone bake a set amount of their favorite cookie, then swap cookies so everyone leaves with a variety they can take to their upcoming family gatherings! Of course, make a night of it by sampling for quality control and hanging out. 

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When you find something to celebrate each month, there’s always something to look forward to–sometimes, you just have to plan and create a little magic!

Tell me what I missed! What are some of your favorite hosting themes and ideas?