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How To Throw A Great Toga Party!

About once a year I feel this need to make my friends dress up ridiculous and come to my house for some fun. I've had some creative theme parties in the past: 70's Disco, 80's Punk, Saturday Night Live, Polyester, Christmas, Halloween, but my all time favorite has to be the TOGA party. My friends are all over 40 and surprisingly have no problem wrapping their bodies in sheets to come over for a few beers.

I sent invitations out a good 3 weeks in advance. They had a photo of my husband eating grapes in a toga, to let people know we were serious about the dress code.

I believe this party was a huge success because guests didn't have to be extra creative and they certainly didn't have to shop for a costume (a big complaint at our other parties). No one had to diet the week before the party so they could fit into their outfit. They could easily go to their linen closets an hour before the party to find their sheet. A simple belt around the waste and some flip flops sealed the ensemble. Finally, with a few branches tied together from the shrubs out front, they had a head wreath and were ready to go.

The fact that EVERYONE came dressed in full TOGA made it extra fun. Some had themes on top of their togas. Like a Viking fan's toga accents were long purple and gold braids, a cowgirl's toga was accessorized with hat and boots. My head wreath had blinking white lights and a battery pack attached to it for some extra sparkle.

There were a few more details I had to tie together to get my party decor just right: A visit to the local craft stores helped me find 9 foot strands of green olive leaves that I intertwined with mini white Christmas lights and zig-zagged across all the ceilings on the first floor of my house. This gave us that feeling that we were outside in Rome. I borrowed candelabras from many friends and had candles lit everywhere on the 1st floor of the house. (Don't forget to blow those out at the end of the night.)

For the dining room, I brought in some garden statues of goddesses from my neighbors yard and set them in the middle of my dining room table, surrounded with leaves and greens. I found and purchased a plastic 3-tiered punch fountain for $60 from a restaurant supply store. I filled it with cosmopolitans and had a selection of HuePhoria cosmo glasses from www.huephoria.com on the table next to it for the partygoers so no one would lose their glass. Wine was also served from HuePhoria goblets for an extra touch of party fun!

The bathrooms each have a big basket on the counter with all those necessities a partygoer may need at any point during the evening. Deodorant, breath spray & mints, hair spray, comical gadgets, etc. My friends sneak their own accessories into the baskets to give me a good laugh for my cleanup in the morning.

I never spend a lot of money on food for a good party. My closest friends always offer to bring something and I happily accept. Then I know the food will be a good variety and each appetizer is made with care. For the toga party, I did go to my local greek restaurant and order up a few trays of olives/hummus/grapeleaves, etc. to have on the table. Remember, if the party starts at 7p.m., guest arrive at 7:30-ish (fashionably late) and most of them have already eaten so you don't need a huge spread of heavy food. Finger foods do the trick. I always make my famous sugar cookies and chose a leave cookie cutter for that evening.

Small green jello shots were set at the front door to greet all the guests and put them in the right frame of mind. You can buy the little plastic cups at any restaurant supply store. Ware all over 40 so it doesn't get that wild that easily anymore. Above the front door hung a sheet reading TOGA similar to Animal House. Had the weather been nicer, we might have thrown the basement couches on the front lawn but we chose not to that night in fear of rain.

This is one party that you MUST buy a KEG for because it goes along with your theme. Then you need to find the neighbor who always stands next to the keg at parties (Glen) and throw a pitcher in his hand. That way, there will always be a quick pour when needed.

Music makes the party at my house. LOUD music. If I have to invest in one thing to make a party rock, it is a good pair of BOSE speakers. My 5 hour ipod playlist is carefully chosen with a mix of awesome songs from the 70's, 80's, and 90's. It is always set so that rocking dance music starts to play an hour and 1/2 into the party because that's when people start to feel their happy feet.

It is a tradition in our home to move all the furniture out of our family room for big parties, hang a disco ball and spotlight in the center of the room, roll up our carpets and turn our hard woods into a dance floor. The music in the family room is very loud to get people to dance and it flows into all the quieter surrounding rooms just perfectly. People who want to talk can stay in the kitchen and dining areas. I hate going to parties with no music. They tend to end early... if you haven't noticed. Not the TOGA party! The dance floor was loaded with the playing of great songs like "Louie Louie", "Shout" & "Tossin' & Turnin'". The dancing didn't end until the party ended!

I used to love to burn CD's as party favors with the top 14 songs of the night but now that the crowd has gotten larger, that isn't so easy to do. It is a good thought if you have less than 50 guests but over that is too much work.

Finally, don't knock yourself out cleaning because your house will be a mess the next day! No one can see a dirty floor or dusty shelf at night... in a crowded party... with lots of candles. Pick up your stuff but don't stress out scrubbing everything. I know too many people who don't have parties because they get way too stressed entertaining. It is supposed to be fun. Have a good time and don't worry because everything comes together just fine. We always have a great crowd of people who just want to let loose!

My favorite all time quote is from Julie Childs -

"And above all, have a good time!"

About the Author

I'm an artist who started a small partyware business with some friends, out of my kitchen, so I could stay home with the kids. www.huephoria.com. I Graduated from Colorado State University with a Fine Arts degree. I love a houseful of kids and a good laugh. I'm obsessed with entertaining and I love party crashers!

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