Win friends and influence people by giving your next dinner party a fun (and delicious) theme. Themed food is a great start, and if you want to dive right in there’s a ball of fun to be had in themed décor, music and even clothing. It doesn’t even need to involve a ton of work – pot luck is your friend!

Midwinter Christmas

Indulge in all the cold-weather traditions we don’t get to partake in during our real holiday season: ugly sweaters, roaring fires, mulled wine, and a big roast dinner with flaming Christmas pudding. Bonus points for Christmassy scented candles – try the cinnamon Love Light Soy Candles at Exquisite Gifts by AJ. You can also get Christmas Tree and Christmas Lily scented home fragrances from Fragranzi for the smell of Christmas all year round.

TV or movie themed

If you want to make it easy on yourself, go for something like Chocolat or Ratatouille – the clue is in the name. On the other hand, it can a super fun and satisfying challenge to try and create specific dishes from your favourite shows or movies – think Butterbeer and pumpkin pasties from Harry Potter, Cajun cuisine inspired by The Princess and the Frog, or the perfect spaghetti sauce as described in The Godfather. Just maybe steer clear of Rachel’s trifle from Friends.

Breakfast for dinner

It’s your party and there ain’t no rules. Serve up a multi-course feast featuring eggs many ways, pancakes, hash browns and lots of bacon, and your guests can come in their PJs!

Pizza night

A good one for the less-effort column, this can be a great communal activity. Lay all the toppings out so everyone can build their own pizza masterpiece. Or for even less effort, but no less deliciousness, get everyone to bring a pizza from their favourite pizza place. There’s a ton of variety to be had at Pizza Republic in Woolston; the fresh, slow-risen dough at Sumner’s Fire and Slice is out of this world; BASE Woodfired Pizza is a classic central city slice; and Bomba is serving up genuine Italian-style pizzas in Lyttelton.

Farm to table

Put on a seasonal feast and support local all at the same time with this wholesome and hearty theme. Challenge your guests to shop for your pot luck at their local farmers’ market. You can either make it a group cooking effort and have everyone bring ingredients, or have people create rustic and fabulous dishes from their market spoils. Riccarton Market has pretty much everything you could want in the way of seasonal fruits and veggies, artisan goodies and sweet treats, and plenty of other quality markets pop up around the city on Saturdays and Sundays. For seriously impressive kai moana, Oceans North Seafood is your go-to: they provide premium seafood to top Christchurch restaurants, and they can deliver it to you too, practically straight from the ocean to your door. Read more about where to find artisan goods in Christchurch here.

Plant-based

Even if you’re not vegan or vegetarian yourself, throwing a plant-based dinner party is a fun and creative way to expand your cooking repertoire. Any vego friends attending will love the novelty of being able to try some of everything, and it’s a great way to introduce new dishes to meat-eating friends. Grater Goods is your one-stop shop for vegan supplies, from pantry staples and condiments right through to meat and dairy substitutes. Piko Wholefoods is a completely vegetarian store with locally grown veggies and dry bulk foods.