How to Host an Oktoberfest Party – Ideas for the Whole Family
Oktoberfest Party Ideas abound but Oktoberfest ideas for the whole family aren't as common. When the event doesn't center around beer, what's a host to do!?
Lean into other Bavarian traditions like music, pretzels, lederhosen, and substitute for a draft keg of locally brewed root beer of course!
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Oktoberfest What is it?
Just like Cinco de Mayo, Oktoberfest is a cultural celebration we often don't actually understand. The history behind our Oktoberfest party basically goes back to a wedding. In 1810 Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hidburghausen in a spectacular October festival lasting a full week. After so much merriment, the couple decided to celebrate each year. This continued each October until gradually moving up into September to enjoy better fall weather in Germany.
Since then, Oktoberfest has grown to be the biggest folk festival in the world. An estimated 6 million people visit Germany to celebrate each year. But you don't need to grab your passport in order to experience some of this fabulous festival, print our very own “Passport to Adventure” and go on a virtual trip with the whole family while enjoying these beautiful traditions!
What to Wear Oktoberfest
You don't have to dress up for your Oktoberfest party to enjoy it. But, it's a pretty fun way to celebrate by adding some traditional clothing.
For Men:
These leather overall shorts are called lederhosen.
Men wear a button up white shirt with sleeves rolled up at elbow. And a cool hat. This one is a beautiful velvet with fur pom, but I recommend something a little more affordable if we're just talking party wear. If you have German ancestry however, go for it and wear it proudly!
I didn't ask a German to find out why the cut off socks! They make me laugh but I'm sure there's a history behind them. The only thing I know is that they are VERY traditional.
Create your own costume:
For Women:
Women's outfits are pretty simple too. A puff sleeve white top, corset style bodice, skirt, and apron. The more authentic bodices are embroidered beautifully, but nearly all have the corset string ties.
This full 3-piece dirndl women's dress costume is my very favorite. It fits well and looks authentic without breaking bank. Plus it's a little more family friendly than some if you don't want a ton of cleavage. 😆
Oktoberfest Party Decor Ideas
When setting up your table, inside a tent is ideal if you'd like to replicate the authentic Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany with it's beer garten tents and vendor stalls. If you don't have a tent, create a canopy like feel outdoors under the trees with some checked Bavarian flag banners strung overhead and a faux flower chandelier.
Germany happens to grow acres and acres of sunflowers and the yellow bloom makes a lovely addition to the Bavarian blue. The official flower of Germany is the Cornflower which is a lovely warm blue. If you can't find cornflowers, use other blue stems to fill in.
Other fun filler ideas include dried wheat stalks or branches of hops. The wheat can represent the pretzels, and wheat based beers. Hops, of course, are used as an ingredient in most all beers.
Once your chandelier is complete, add a few more blooms in beer steins to the table. This arrangement, above, used fresh sunflowers, red mums, and faux black blooms as a nod to the German flag.
Oktoberfest Party Ideas – Place Setting
Earthy browns and yellow make a stunning table setting paired with a sunflower napkin and secondary Bavarian Oktoberfest napkin. Because Oktoberfest is a folk festival celebration, it's best to keep things more rustic, like using burlap chargers, and wood accents.
Oktoberfest Party Ideas – Snacks as Decor
A very simple piece of Oktoberfest party table decor is to fill extra mugs with popcorn kernels and top with popped corn. It gives the appearance of a stein of golden liquid but without the alcohol content. Plus, guests can snack on the frosty “head”.
Pretzels are the perfect food to use as decor. Creating a garland of pretzel twists on blue ribbon makes for a lovely banner you can eat later! It's as simple as stringing the ribbon through the same loop on each pretzel. The only downside is that they are free to slide and will need to be spaced evenly once hung. Mine aren't perfect, but they did the trick.
Now, large soft pretzels you CAN eat are even better! Display them on wooden trays with condiments for dipping like mustard, sweet mustard, and cheese sauce. That way guests have an appetizer available while waiting for the main meal.
Our final piece of food used as decoration is this beautiful Black Forest Cake ordered from a local bakery. Place on a pretty wooden cake stand, add this printable cake topper, and you've got a gorgeous Oktoberfest centerpiece!
*As a side note, did you know that German Chocolate cake is in fact, NOT German at all!? Which is too bad cause I happen to enjoy it a little more than Black Forest cake. German chocolate cake is named for the American baker, Samuel German, who created the dark baking chocolate used to make the original.
So if you are trying to stay authentic, stick with the chocolate, cream, and cherry confection that is Black Forest cake.
Oktoberfest for the Family – Draft Root Beer
To make your family Oktoberfest party really stand out, serve up draft root beer. We love the locally brewed root beer we can order from The Root Beer Store. If you live in Utah, you should check it out. {not sponsored} Since we had a smaller guest list, we ordered a pony keg and had plenty of root beer left over to host a root beer float night with the neighborhood.
Now that the table is set and root beer is flowing, it's time for food.
Clink frosty mugs and declare “Prost!” {Meaning cheers} before you take a sip, and enjoy your Oktoberfest party dinner.
If you host an Oktoberfest party with your family, I'd love to hear about it in the comments below. And if you share photos, I want to see it too! Please tag us @partieswithacause on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. We love celebrating all your hard work!
Did you enjoy our trip to Germany? There are so many beautiful things about the German culture to learn. Let's keep exploring and see where we'll end up next as we Celebrate the Globe!
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