You might be all grown-up but you’re never too old for a themed party. It’s a great excuse to get dressed up, be creative with decorations, and make some interesting food and drink for your guests. If you’ve never held a themed party then take a look at our three great ideas to keep your guests entertained!

Casino Party

A casino party can be an easy and rewarding party theme. Think of the common colours of the gambling world and you can start with decorations – red, black, and green. Get hold of some green felt and cover tables with it and use white paint marker to draw blackjack or baccarat lines on them, for example. Buy a few packs of cards, some chips and a load of fake money to distribute around the tables. Then it’s a simple as playing a few card games to keep everyone entertained. Try poker, blackjack, and even dice games. Alternatively, you can swerve towards a more tech-friendly party and set up laptops with online casino games from http://www.betsafe.com/en/. They’re interactive and free to play [or for money, if your guests want to increase the adrenaline and risk!]. Drinks should be of the old-school variety or libations associated with the glamour of the casino – think Martinis, Manhattans and Champagne. In terms of attire, cocktail dresses and tuxedos are the order of the day preferably accessorized with gloves, pocket watches and flashy jewellery. Don’t forget the food: simple dishes that won’t clutter the tables like big plates of chicken wings or meatballs will do the trick.

Sex and the City Party

In case you didn’t realize the 90s are back in fashion. The iconic series which was first broadcast in 1998 is a great starting point for party ideas and a must for fans of the series and movies. As far as cocktails are concerned, you can’t have a Sex and the City party without serving the girls’ quintessential beverage, the Cosmopolitan. You can have fun with the food and make references to the show – serve an ironic salad or Chinese takeaway in boxes. Encourage attendees to pick a character to go as from Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte. Anything that hints at Carrie’s obsession with shoes is a good bet – a cake decorated with icing shoes or using shoes as candle-holders are two ideas. It is naturally more suited to a get-together just for ladies but there are plenty of male characters in the series that men can impersonate including Big and Trey.

Harry Potter Party

The rich universe of the Harry Potter books is a goldmine for party-planners. Not only are there so many diverse characters for guests to dress up as, there are also all the aspects of magic, wizards, and school-life to draw from. The more determined party-goers can go as Hagrid of Lord Voldemort, and people who don’t want to spend an age getting ready can go as Harry or Hermione. In terms of decorations, a cute idea is to put lots of toy owls around the place in steel bird cages; the official colours of Hogwarts are green and orange so get hold of plenty of balloons and streamers in these colours. For food and drink, try using wands as skewers for chicken kebabs, serve some jelly beans in bowls, and use root beer as a stand-in for butter beer. Divide guests into groups by house name and have them play games like searching for a golden snitch you’ve hidden or get people to mix cocktails and call it a potion competition.