How To Throw An Amazing Oktoberfest

How To Throw An Amazing Oktoberfest

As we head into October, many of us are making plans to either throw, or attend, yet another ho-hum Halloween bash.  But here on the blog we do things a little bit different. Instead of a post about Halloween party how-to, we thought hmm, how fun would it be to throw an amazing Oktoberfest instead?

Pictured: Not our Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest is an annual 16-day beer and fun feast held in Bavaria, Germany and, contrary to its name, is generally held starting the 3rd week in September.  The precise origins of the festival are debatable: some believe it stems from the celebration honoring newlyweds King Ludwig I and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen (say that 3 times fast!), who were married on on October 12, 1810. Or maybe it was Andreas Michael Dall'Armi, a Major in the National Guard, who proposed the idea. Of course the horse races, and Oktoberfest itself, may have stemmed from proposals offered by Franz Baumgartner, a coachman and Sergeant in the National Guard.  Whenever, whoever, whatever--who cares?  We just want to par-tay!

Par-tay like Gunther, that is!

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While I have no problem using an email invite for intimate, casual get togethers, it’s always a smart idea to send a paper invitation for larger parties, special occasions or formal events. The invite will set the tone for your party, and can provide your guests with additional deets they might need, such as directions or a dress code.  That’s when I turn to Basic Invite.

Since 2006, Basic Invite has been creating perfect invitations for any event.  From weddings to showers to party invitations, surprise birthday invitations, unique quinceanera invitations and beyond, Basic Invite has a card for every occasion.  They have over 180 color options to choose from, which is pretty sweet when you’re trying to color coordinate your special event.  Simply select a design you like, then change the color of each element on the card.  Your invite will look exactly how you want it, down to the smallest detail!

This is how we customized our invite--pretty neat, yeah?

For my invite, I chose portrait orientation (4.75" x 6.75"), and used a matte cardstock.  I decided not to line the peel and seal envelope, but for a small additional charge, you sure can.  By the way, you can choose from over 40 different envelope colors, so you can make your invitation stand out before it's even opened!

If I had time, I would have taken advantage of ordering a custom sample of my invitation. That’s right, kids--Basic Invite is one of a few websites that allows its customers to order a printed sample of their actual invitation prior to final printing!  You can see just how well your colors match, how your fonts look, check  out the paper quality, and more.  But rather than ordering a custom sample, I just went ahead and used their instant online preview instead.

I’ve only ordered a small amount of invites, nothing I can’t handle addressing myself--but Basic Invite does have a free address collection service.  Simply share a link, collect addresses, and get free envelope printing.   What a great service!  Did I mention it was free???

Speaking of free, Basic Invite also has a crazy-good selection of absolutely free printables! I am like a kid in a candy store with these printables, you guys.  Gift tags, place cards, party flags, checklists--you name it--it’s here. I guarantee you will find something you can use--or something you didn’t even think you needed--right on Basic Invite!

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via partycity.com

White and light blue are the colors of the flag of the state of Bavaria, the largest state in Germany.  Use table cloths in the traditional diamond pattern, and paper plates, cups and plastic utensils in solid blue and white.

For table centerpieces, I go DIY:  Clean, empty German beer bottles (I’ll have a few once I get to cooking!) with pretty blue and white carnations and baby’s breath and sheaves of faux wheat, with white paper doilies underneath and small blue and white gems scattered around.  If you want, you can always get a little fancier with glass vases from the dollar store (did I just say "fancy" and "dollar store" in the same sentence???).

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Obviously, German food is on the menu at an Oktoberfest!  For our Oktoberfest, we’re setting up a buffet of simple German fare.  Sausage and brats, sauerkraut, potato salad, soft pretzel sticks with a beer and cheese dip and potato dumplings with sage and brown butter (I’m cheating and using store bought pierogies...shhh…).  I’ll be using disposable chafing dishes to keep food warm, as well as a smaller crockpot for the beer and cheese dip.  A selection of Ingelhoffer mustards will be on the table as well.

Here are a few of the easy, yummy recipes we'll be using:

For dessert, I’m keeping it even simpler with these Loaded German Chocolate Brownies and Vanillekipferl (German Vanilla Crescent Cookies):

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What would Oktoberfest be without a decent selection of German beers?  Set up a biergarten (aka beer tasting station) using various German beers and small plastic tasting cups. (Our party is BYO (German) B, so I’m hopeful that we’ll be tasting all sorts of different kinds!)  We're supplying Spaten Optimator and Radeberger, as well as soda and iced tea for the nondrinkers.  Here are a few ideas for creating your own beer tasting station:

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Eventastic put together an absolutely ehrfurchtgebietend list of Top Ten Oktoberfest Games.  Get the deets on how to hold a beer stein race, a pretzel pass and a chicken dance off.  How about games of chess and checkers (big in Germany), or a yodeling contest?

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The finishing touch for anyone's Oktoberfest is traditional German music.  Fire up your iTunes, Pandora or Spotify and crank up the Oompah.   Be sure you have I Salute You (Ein Prosit) on the playlist, as this is THE song of Oktoberfest and is played like clockwork in the beer tents like every 15 minutes!  Other popular songs include (believe it or not) Sweet Caroline/Neil Diamond, Angels/Robbie Williams and pretty much anything from Henry John Deutschendorf--that’s John Denver, to you and me.

I hope this post gives you some great ideas for putting together your very own Oktoberfest!   And be sure to check out Basic Invite, and see why they are the truly custom invitation company.

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I​f you have any other suggestions for planning an amazing Oktoberfest, let me know in the comments below!

*contains affiliate links.  Although this post is sponsored, all opinions are my own.