Unless you live on another planet you know that the 50th anniversary episode of Doctor Who takes place next weekend. Actually, even if you live on another planet you probably know that (Doctor Who is famous and feared across the galaxy, after all!). I do love a good excuse for a theme party so I thought I would give you a sneak preview of the dinner party I’m having next Saturday and give you some ideas of how to throw your own Doctor Who themed party, whether it’s as a viewing party for the 50th anniversary episode or when the next series starts, or if it’s your birthday and you’re a big fan.
When it comes to party planning, I like to organize my thoughts under certain headings: Guests, Food, and Entertainment. That way you can be sure you haven’t missed anything!
Guests
My parents are coming to stay this week so my dinner party will be for family rather than friends. For that reason I’m not going to ask my parents or my boyfriend’s mum to dress up, but if you are throwing your own party I highly recommend costumes to get into the spirit of things! It’s not as difficult as you think: here are some ideas.
- It could be fun to each dress like different Doctors – whether that’s leather jacket like Christopher Eccleston, a stripey scarf like Tom Baker or a bow tie and jacket like Matt Smith, take your sartorial cues from the decade in which your favourite Doctor appeared.
- If you are good with face paint how about going as Vastra, the lizard woman who sometimes assists Doctor Who in his adventures?
- I’d love to dress up like one of the Sisters of Plenitude (cat nurses) but try as I might I can’t find a costume online – you could make your own though.
- How imaginative and good with a needle and thread (or glue gun) you are may decide which of Doctor Who's many adversaries you could dress as. How about a clockwork robot from series 2? Or a Weeping Angel? A Dalek costume could be rather harder to master however... but there is always the Master!
If you don’t feel like getting the full fancy dress experience, you can buy cardboard masks quite cheaply – anything from the recent Doctors to Cybermen.
Food
This is where it gets really fun. You can create a whole menu based around Doctor Who and different characters. Lakeland has recently launched a set of baking products tied in to Doctor Who and I have to confess to having purchased a couple of things – the Dalek cupcake cases and toppers, and a set of Cyberman and K9 cookie cutters. If you are having a birthday party and want a centerpiece cake, check out this Dalek cake mould!
But what to do if you are hosting a dinner party, and don’t just want cake? Here are some menu suggestions for a three course dinner party:
Starter/Appetizer: When the 11th Doctor (Matt Smith) regenerated, he was hungry and the young Amy Pond have him fishfingers dipped in custard. I think that's one flavour combination too far, but it would be fun to confuse your guests and set the theme for the rest of the dinner. So you could mix some yellow food colouring into a bowl of mayonnaise and set out a platter of fish fingers for people to help themselves while they wait for the main course.
Main course: K9 hot dogs, with baked potatoes. Serve the baked potatoes in foil mince pie cases, and if you can, get an edible ink pen to draw on a face… lo and behold you have Strax!
Dessert: Dalek cupcakes and Cybermen cookies using these sets from Lakeland.
And to drink: Sonic Screwdrivers! A screwdriver is a vodka and orange cocktail and it’s up to you how you jazz it up to make it ‘sonic’! Don’t forget to provide soft drinks for your guests as well.
Entertainment
I’m sure you all know that game where you write a character or famous person’s name on a label and stick it to someone’s forehead, then they have to ask questions and work out who they are? This game is perfect for Doctor Who fans – you can make it as hard as you like, whether you focus on the different Doctors and their assistants (I was a big fan of Ace as a child), or characters from the more recent series, or any of the aliens Doctor Who has met on his travels. I think it would be fun to make someone the Tardis itself and see how long it takes them to work that out!
Another dinner party game that is good either as an ice breaker or to fill time between courses is to put the Doctors’ assistants in the right order. You can find a list of them easily on line, but don’t make it too hard – maybe limit the list to 10 or a dozen rather than all of them!
And of course, watch as many episodes of Doctor Who as you can... my dinner party will revolve around watching the 50th anniversary episode, but you could have a retro episode marathon, or watch the first ever black and white episodes (you can find them on Amazon) or pick your personal favourites.
I am entering this in the Come Dine with Furniture Choice blogger competition
i'm looking forward to it.
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