Spice up the usual Father’s Day routine with one of these great theme party ideas. Using a personalized theme is a thoughtful way to celebrate dear old dad.
Tasting Theme
Make a tasting theme party out of the food or drink your dad loves. Have a beer, scotch or wine tasting and serve complementary foods (pizza, wings, steak, cheese or tapas—whatever goes best with the beverages you choose). Print custom labels for the bottles, such as the beer labels shown above (printable template available for $16). Print tasting note sheets (find a form online or simply print dad’s name at the top, write “tasting notes” and have lines after the numbers that correspond with the beverages). If you want a tasting that the kids can participate in, take one of dad’s favorite foods and get different types, flavors or brands to compare. Steak sauces, hot sauces, ice cream and cheese are all great foods for tasting. Serve steak to dip into the steak sauces, wings to dip into the hot sauces, different toppings for the ice cream, and different spreads (quince paste, raspberry jam or mustard) to serve with the cheeses. Your dad will love having an entire menu based on his all-time favorites.
BBQ Theme
A grill theme party can be as simple as a backyard BBQ, or personalized for your celebrated dad. Does your dad love brisket? Make a barbecued brisket on the grill for a nice twist on a traditional cold-weather favorite. Are Mexican flavors more his thing? Make quesadillas on the grill and complement the flavors with burgers mixed with green chilies, topped with melted pepper jack cheese. No matter what your theme is, make dessert the pièce de résistance: a grill theme cake will be the highlight of the meal. Bake a round layer cake and frost it with chocolate frosting. Buy black or chocolate Twizzlers and lay them on top of the cake in rows to simulate the grates of a grill. Soften brown Tootsie Rolls in the microwave (for a few seconds at a time, just until pliable) and form into a patty that looks like a burger. Press black shoestring licorice cut into small pieces into the “burger” to mimic grill lines. Soften pink Starbursts and a few Tootsie Rolls (again in the microwave, just until pliable), and mold into the shape of a sausage. Make “kabobs” using green, orange and yellow Starbursts, softening several pink Starbursts together to make chunks of meat for the “kabobs.” Thread all the “kabob” pieces onto toothpicks. Place all the “grill” foods on top of the cake, which can be prepared up to one day in advance (the toppings can be made up to three days in advance).
Monogram Theme
If the father in your family is hard to shop for, simplify gift-giving by throwing a Father's Day party with a monogram theme. Tell everyone to bring dad a monogrammed gift—your dad will feel super special with his initials all over. Some ideas to get your monogram party started: Send invitations with dad’s monogram; buy a brander with dad’s initial or monogram and brand steaks and burgers before serving them; serve drinks from a monogrammed pitcher or in monogrammed glasses; buy disposable napkins with dad’s first initial imprinted on them; serve cupcakes with dad’s monogram piped on top or use alphabet-shaped cookies to spell out the initials. Some great monogrammed Father's Day gifts include: Pilsner, low-balls or martini glasses, beer mugs, flasks, coasters, leather catchalls (for change and keys), money clips, cuff links, key chains, cotton handkerchiefs, toiletry bags, towels, coffee mugs, playing cards, polo or button-down shirts, grill tools, guitar picks, gym bags, golf towels, golf balls or golf club links.