3 Festive and Fun Fall Dinner Parties to Host This Season

This year, we are especially thankful for Kleenex, warm baths and Tylonel as we continue our annual tradition of our daughter getting sick.

That has put a bit of a damper on our festivities; however, we have still been able to enjoy some pumpkin carving and delicious food.

Instead of a long Thanksgiving post, we will be doing a roundup of our three favourite fall dinner parties to host this season!

Tarot and Treats

Tarot and treats make for the perfect addition to your fall dinner parties! It is mystical, beautiful and sets the tone for spooky season.

Decor

• Use jewel tones with gold accents with a mix of fabrics.
• Mood lighting with candles and twinkly lights.
• Use lots of props like gemstones, crystals and old books.

Menu

• Opt for a casual appetizer style meal that can be enjoyed in a comfortable setting, with staggered dishes and flowing drinks.
• Use the cards to inspire the menu – find more suggestions in this post.

Tarot

• Organize a tarot reading for a few of your close friends either through zoom or in person.
• Set up a private space for the readings so other guests won’t be able to hear the reading.
• Leave our some Kleenex and a pad of paper for any notes they may want to take.

Maple Masterpiece

Create your maple masterpiece with a maple syrup-inspired dinner party. Be sure to let your guests know how much food awaits them so they can pace themselves!

Decor:

• Decorate with small pails and maple leaves
• Leave guests with their syrup samples tied with burlap – bonus if you made the syrup yourself!

Menu:

• Appetizer: smoked maple cream cheese served with crackers and vegetables
• Main: Maple peanut butter glazed salmon served with maple-glazed beans, maple bacon brussels sprouts, potatoes and a salad with a maple dressing on the side
• Dessert: Crumbled blondies topped with maple butter cream sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream, served with Canadian Coffee

Post-Dinner Maple Snack Rating

• Try new maple snacks and allow your guests to rate them
• Some great options: Pop Daddy’s Flavoured Pretzel Sticks, Turkey Hill Sugar Bush Premium Maple Candies and Dragon Fire Spicy Maple Popcorn.

Silent Library Dinner Party

Walk the delicate balance between “library” and “Silent Library” with this theme. Lull them into a false sense of calm with a beautifully decorated table and a favourite book-inspired meal. For dessert, bust out your favourite silent library games!

Decor:

• Use an old stack of books for the centrepiece
• Make library card name tags and menu card bookmarks

Menu:

• Appetizer: Wild Berry and Goat Cheese Crostini (Wild by Cheryl Strayed)
• Cocktail: Hearts Apart Mocktail (Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng)
• Main Course: The Fiery Salmon Feast (MeatEater: Adventures from the Life of an American Hunter) served with Fractural Roasted Vegetables (Calculus by James Stewart) and Twirling Swirling Pasta Salad (Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae)

Games:

• Silent Pie Eating Contest: Represent your team in a silent pie-eating contest. The quietest and fastest team wins.
• Silent Scholar: Players must keep the book balanced on their head for the duration of the course. If the book falls off, start over. The quietest and fastest team wins.
• Silent Limbo: Players take turns in silent limbo. The lowest and quietest team wins.