It's Part of The Plan: Father's Day Retro Diner Party

Father's Day! A day where we let the fathers or father figures in our lives, know how much we appreciate them, how much we love them, and how lucky we are to have them in our lives! One way I know how to do that is by having a party to celebrate them and make them feel special.

When planning a Father's Day party, think about your dad and what he likes, and what reminds you of him. My dad loves the 50's and 60's! The music, the cars, the movies! And to tell you the truth, because of my parents, I love it too! So I thought it would be a fun theme for a Father's Day party, and a wonderful way to take a trip down memory lane!

A party like this can be as big or as small as you want it to be. Invite your dad (obviously), father-in-law, friends who are fathers, grandfathers or father figures in your life! Really anything goes, and the more the merrier!

First thing is the invitation! A cute and fun retro style invite is the perfect start to your party, and sets the tone for what's to come. If you wanted to take the theme even further, you could ask your guests to dress up for the occasion. How fun would that be? Just make sure to put it on the invitation, and send it out a few weeks before the party!

This simple yet retro invite was a free printable from www.printablepartykits.com, that you can have printed at your local copy centre!

Next, start thinking about the decor, and take inspiration from the invite to help you with the colour scheme and direction you want your party to go in. Here I went with red as the main focus because my father loves the colour red, but feel free to choose whatever colour you like.

Find some old 45's or records and use them as wall decor or even to serve the food on! Thrift stores or your parents basement is a great place to find them! They don't even have to be from the 50's or 60's because you can easily cover up the label with paper.

Old die cast cars make for great decor too! Just place them around the room or even on the buffet table. You can even find paper cars on www.etsy.com that come in a variety of styles and models and colours. They make great favour boxes too!

Your local party store would have great items to decorate with too, from balloons, to pinatas, to all sorts of decor to suit your theme.

Let's move on to the food, which in my opinion, is the best part! You can have so much fun coming up with the menu. Just keep it simple, and think about what you would find at a diner! I found this cute printable on www.etsy.com.

The MENU:

-hamburgers and hot dogs (mini or full size)

-french fries and onion rings with gravy

-club sandwiches

-BLT sandwiches or make them into skewers (because even diners can be a bit fancy)

DESSERT:

-glazed and old fashioned donuts

-a candy bar

-popcorn

-mini apple and cherry pies with ice cream

-milk shakes and DADS Root Beer to wash it all down

Greet your guests at the door with a cute diner sign such as this one found at www.zazzle.com. You could simply tape it to the door or replicate a real door sign by attaching it to a frame or a wooden board, and attach a string at the back to hang it. Super simple!

Why not have some photo props set up at the entrance so guests can take some fun pics before the party starts! It is a lot easier to have them do this at the beginning, so they can concentrate on enjoying the festivities. An easy background option is to simply hang some wrapping paper or a plastic tablecloth to a door, instead of a fancy backdrop. Or, you could simply have them stand against the wall or a door.

Now onto the table set up! I think a buffet is a good idea for a party like this. It gives people the chance to mingle, and go up and get as much or as little food as they want. It also gives you creative freedom to have fun with the set up! Here a check plastic tablecloth was used. I know it's not a fancy fabric tablecloth, but it's supposed to be a diner after all! Plus, any spills are easy to clean up too!

I found these adorable Late Night Diner images as a free printable from www.vecteezy.com, and I think they would be great as menu cards to identify what was being served at the "diner". Some very inexpensive photo holders that you can find at your local dollar store, can hold them in place.

Once your guests are ready for dessert, why not treat them to an old fashioned milkshake to go along with your retro desserts! It can be a fun way to get your guests involved in the party too! Have all the ingredients at the ready and they can create their own! If you can't find a cool milkshake maker like the one in the pic, you can always use a blender.

Setting up a coffee station is also an easy serve-yourself option! It can either be set up with the desserts or in the kitchen. Think of finding retro mugs (dollar stores are a good place to start), but paper cups are fine too. A classic vintage coffee pot fits right in with the theme! It also keeps the coffee hot longer so guests can fill up as much as they like.

Next onto some fun party game ideas to keep your guests entertained! Think about spreading out the games if you are doing more than one. Have a few outside (weather permitting), and some inside. This also gives your guests the option of playing all or just some.

GAMES:

-set up tables with retro board games such as, checkers or Parcheesi

-have a Hula Hoop contest

-Name That Tune

-1950"s Trivia Game (see pic below/found this one on www.etsy.com)

-Twister ( it came out in the 60's but it's still a fun game)

-Bingo

Have some prizes for the guests who answers the most trivia questions right, or for the best Hula Hooper! It doesn't have to be expensive or fancy; chocolate bars, mini bags of candy, mini gum ball machines, or even decks of playing cards, are all fun!

A fun idea to incorporate into your party is to have an area where guests can leave messages to or about their dads. I came up with the idea of using diner guest checks instead of a traditional scrapbook. Give guests the options to write down a memory or a funny "dad" joke! Near the end of the party they can be read out loud for a laugh or a good cry! :)

The signs can be made simply by using stickers and paper that matches the theme and added to photo frames. Or if time permits, you can always print out the message too.

So your guests have been fed, had a great time reminiscing and hopefully a lot of fun too, especially reading those dad jokes! Send them home with a little something to say thanks for coming! A DVD or CD from the 1950's or 1960's, is a really great idea, and keeps the trip down memory lane going just a bit longer! You can find very inexpensive DVD's and CD's at the dollar store or even in certain areas of electronic or department stores.

You could always create your own song list and download the songs onto a blank CD for your guests. Photocopy an old pic of your dad or dads attending the party to use as a cover photo for the CD sleeve. Even a photocopied pic from the 50's/60's found on the computer can be used as a cover photo too!

I hope some or all of these ideas help you throw your dad(s) an amazing Father's Day party that leaves them feeling special and celebrated for the awesome fathers they are! Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time! :)