Coffee and mints before Guitar Hero...

It’s a while since fondue sets were presented at dinner parties without the subtle irony they carry today. The wine selection in local Tesco branches has also undergone some serious binary fission: I for one have never tried Blue Nun. Avocados aren’t the novel and exotic treat they once were – in fact nowadays, they’re pretty much part of our daily skincare regime – and prawn cocktail only ever appears on the lunch menu at Little Chef. And as for after dinner Trivial Pursuit? Positively Victorian now we’ve got the likes of Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

Thing is (depending on how old you are, dear reader), our parents were probably hosting awkward little dinner parties for guests they didn’t really like much anyway, way before we were born – complete with Abba/Sinead O’Connor/Enya soundtrack of course. However, these days, dinner parties aren’t the obligatory exercises in PR they once were; ‘Dinner ‘Round Ours’ now is a veritable club night.

Over the last year or so, I’ve found myself sat around my friends’ dining tables an awful lot.  Themed dinner parties have been a staple among my group of friends: 80s disco following a retro casserole and home-made banoffee pie; from scratch pizza competitions; musical food (think musical statues only with plates of food: the first person to finish before everyone else wins. NB. Not good for sufferers of wind); Mexican fiestas where moustaches, ponchos and Tequila are a must; bingo at the nearest Gala followed by a home-made curry with all the trimmings; and, somewhat incongruously, a fraught game of Mr and Mrs, post antipasto banquet for which we’d all dressed up as our favourite deity.

If you’re not already questioning your trust in me, read on for a few ideas as to how to spice up your reputation as the host with the most…

Mix’n'Match

Forget menu planning: instead, why not live a little dangerously by asking each of your guests to create a dish of their choice to bring? The important thing here is to hold off giving anyone any kind of brief, and refraining from telling, when asked, what you’re cooking up. This is total roulette: toad-in-the-hole sitting alongside miso soup? Not the most obvious of combos, but ever so much fun, a bit like Christmas presents. This is also a subtle exercise is amateur psychology, if you’re into that sort of thing. And it’s easy on the pocket!

Garden gourmet dining

Ground Force Goddess?

How about using completely out-of-the ordinary tableware? Serve food onto roofing slates (make sure they’re clean! And gravy-based dishes are a no-no here) instead of plates and present food in medium size terracotta flowerpots. Earthenware terracotta can stand heat, so slamming it in the oven with a pasta bake or the like within is no problem. Serve up with a clean trowel. Small flower pots – without holes in the bottom – make for kooky soup bowls, and little flowerpot dish stands are perfect side plates for bread. Present things like bread  and salads in trugs and instead of a vase of fresh flowers as your table centrepiece, how about a selection of potted herbs and edible flowers like basil, coriander and nasturtiums? Provide small secateurs and let your guests add to their salads.

Personalised Pottery

I’m not suggesting you recreate that scene from Ghost, but if you’re into making a day – and night – of your dinner party, gather a bunch of friends one afternoon to decorate your own plates, mugs and dishes. There are dozens of studios dotted about the UK that allow you to choose your own piece of pre-made pottery for you to decorate yourself. This isn’t always cheap to do, but for something like a birthday or hen do, it’s a creative alternative to the clichéd pink Stetson and a Walkabout bar. Once you’ve had your ceramics fired and glazed, cook up something simple like pasta back at home, crack open some wine and reward yourself and your handy work.

Film Night

No, no; I’m not talking about a take away in front of a bunch of DVDs. I’m talking compulsory dress-up – a favourite character from a favourite movie, for example – and a red carpet of sorts to welcome your guests. Everybody loves to dress up, so spur on incentive by offering a champagne (or cava) prize to the guest with the most zest. If you have the time – space and wherewithal! – how about making a short movie to screen on the night? Go all out ostentatious with caviar blinis (Waitrose sell an affordable lumpfish variety), smoked salmon off-cuts on melba toast and if you’re feeling really flash, seek out some oysters: you can pick them up pretty cheaply from some fishmongers. Dazzle guests with a gourmet style starters, mains and desserts courtesy of Free Gourmet Recipes, and if you’re feeling up to it, a few post-dinner speeches too.

They'll be starving by the time they achieve the perfect Cali roll!

A One Course Meal

What about a dinner party where you and all of your guests leave with a brand new skill? A little like the concept behind Ann Summers parties, willing tutors, such as the guys at Sushi Lesson, will come to your house and impart their culinary skills upon willing – and hungry – students. If the cost of something like this is way out of budget, how about enlisting a commanding and culinary capable friend to hold court Fanny Craddock stylee?

Organic Fantastic

So, with gardening themed table spreads and in-kitchen tuition, why not get grubbily wholesome with Riverford Organic? Their newly launched ‘Chop and Chat’ sessions make for some seriously body lovin’, finger lickin’ fun. But that’s not all; Riverford are running lunch sessions and their own take on supper clubs. And if you sign up to a weekly veg box, all your dinner party panics are solved; you use what you’re given. Goodbye painstaking menu confusion!

Come Dine With Me

Everybody but everybody loves this show whether they’re cool with admitting it or not. So much so, in fact, many people I know have formed their own CDWM clubs, hosted once a week at each ‘club’ members’ houses. One group of friends started off their club by going divvies on a pair of festival tickets last summer, with the idea that the winner would – yes – bag the tickets. A great idea and something to aim for, although hosting a dinner party every night over one week or so is probably out for most people. Try not to drink too much cab sav, either: it always helps to remember what you’ve eaten over the weeks when judging your scores!

Secret Suppers

Okay, so the actual proper Come Dine With Me involves a load of strangers. If you’re okay with this, look into the many secret supper clubs popping up all over the place. They vary in set-up, so research what each one’s about as well as you can. The buzz with these supper clubs at the moment echoes the mystery surrounding Underground Rebel Bingo: location is undisclosed (bar a vague idea of where it will be held) until a couple of hours beforehand and screening – yeah! Scary! – is required with some to control the types of guests that turn up.