Hosting a Toga Party
Toga parties may have gotten a bad rap from movies like "Animal House," but it's possible to host a fun, modern, and classy version of this party in your own home. For your next Saturday night soiree, skip out on the stacked stilettos, little black dresses and vodka-filled martini glasses. Instead, take a stroll down memory lane and reinvent the toga party for your enjoyment—but class it up and leave the sticky floor and plastic drinkware behind.
Attire
Instead of borrowing the flat sheet from your bed, kick up your toga attire with some bright, festive fabric, and encourage your partygoers to do the same. That way, your home or apartment will fill with color, making your guests your instant decorations (talk about easy!). Four to six yards of fabric should go a long way. For full instructions on how to turn your material into draped perfection, visit tieatoga.com, and make sure to invest in some safety pins so that all of your guests remain comfortably robed. Earn especially high marks if your Grecian costume incorporates any element of sparkle. Finally, to top things off, head to your local craft store and buy some artificial vinery to string around the top of your head in a way that would make even Zeus himself jealous. Alternatively, you could even go out and purchase real leafy vines to create realistic headgear. Crown your guests as they enter, and make them feel like Greek royalty.
Hors d’oeuvres
Chips and salsa are a thing of the past. Graduate to a spread of Greek-inspired finger foods, such as chicken kabobs, hummus and pita chips, stuffed grape leaves and olives, and arrange the edibles in opposite corners of the space to encourage movement amongst your guests. Just think of how nicely their costumes will flow while floating from the meze plate to the ham and cheese phyllo flutes.
Drinks
While a keg of beer is the typical toga party necessity, serving a signature cocktail out of stemware will add ambiance and distance your party from those thrown at the local college. The “Blue Bay” from drinksmixer.com is a refreshing concoction fit for the gods, but easy enough to create. Simply mix one part Blue Curacao with two parts lemon soda, pour over ice, and gloat as your guests enjoy the Aegean-inspired cocktail. Wine was also an integral part of Greek diets, so be sure to have plenty of it readily available to your guests. If you can’t completely part with that heavenly keg, consider stashing some creatively-shaped Heineken keg-cans in the fridge to keep your beer drinkers at ease.
