A nostalgic dinner party is the perfect distraction from the bitterly cold winter we have been experiencing lately!
I’ll set the record straight by saying off the bat, we have an unfair advantage as two of our dinner party companions are my sisters. Except for the first three (glorious) years of my life, we all grew up together, so we know quite a bit about what can invoke the warm feeling of nostalgia.
Our childhood was filled with ball hockey, pool parties and lots of make-believe. As the oldest, I was often in charge of assigning roles when playing house or picking the games we would play on our Wii. My middle sister was the muscle when it came to fending off the neighbour’s grandson in snowball fights. The youngest was typically the sacrificial lamb whenever it came to asking our parents for something, or famously sneaking out of the basement shower to grab us freezies. Learn from my dad’s mistake and make sure you record your kid’s reaction if you are ever in the position of pulling out an ungodly amount of plastic freezie wrappers from the shower drain.
Our dynamic has now shifted considerably (especially with my daughter now being mobile and able to be the one to sneak us freezies before dinner), but we still enjoy many of the same joys we did in our childhood. I have no doubt your friends and family feel similarly, and that’s why it’s time to host a nostalgic dinner party!
The Decor: Place Mats and Memories
My sister and her partner took a stroll through the Dollar Store to see what sparked joy (and memories). They chose a classic Spider-Man paper plate, paired with a red napkin and a fruit punch juice box. The table was also topped with some plastic toy minatures, and of course, gold fish snacks.
The inspiration for your decoration could be from a favourite birthday party you had, or wished you had. Lean into the childhood feel and try not to worry about making a perfect, cohesive look. Let nostalgia carry some of the weight!
For example, some of my personal areas of inspiration:
- Anything Powerpuff Girl related (ANYTHING)
- Lime green (colours can be themes, right?)
- The Loch Ness Monster or Ancient Egypt
- Some combination of Kim Possible, That’s So Raven and Totally Spies!
- A tea party (my daughter’s current favourite)
The Food: Just Like Mom Used to Make
One of the biggest perks of a nostalgic dinner party is, let’s say, a difference in expectation of the cuisine. This meal is supposed to appeal to the childhood you. You may have had a very advanced palette, and enjoyed all sorts of food, but I’d bet you also could get behind a bowl of KD.
So for dinner, our hosts served us a lovely plate of fruit and veggies, paired with goldfish as an appetizer. The main course consisted of deep-dish pizza (this was homemade, but we would have been just as happy with DiGiorno) and KD. And lastly, for dessert, my sister made the old family classic of rainbow cupcakes.
During the meal, our hosts had prepared a few questions:
- What was your favourite childhood meal?
- What is your funniest memory from childhood?
They had a few more questions prepared that we never got to because a few of our guests got the giggles when it was their turn to tell their story. It was a very fun way to spend the meal, and led perfectly into our next event.
The Games: This Time Cheating Is Not Allowed
Before my pregnant self could become too attached to the couch, we moved downstairs for a couple of games they had prepared.
My sister had grabbed our old Wii from my parents’ house a couple of months back. The Christmas morning we opened it up was definitely a core memory for all three of us. We had a few rounds of Wii Sports going before transitioning to my sister’s partner’s favourite – mini sticks.
We ended the night with lots of laughs. I absolutely added this theme back into our roster to use it again at some point. It was fun, relatively easy to put together and a lovely walk down memory lane!
We hope you have as much fun with it as we did!
