How to Host a Fondue Party

Learn how to host a fondue party with these 5 steps, and start your own annual fondue party tradition! 

It’s my annual fondue party post!  Have you started your own tradition yet?  That’s my goal by updating this post each year is that you will be inspired to start your own!!  

Quick reminder if you haven’t entered to win the massive box of Erin Condren goodies be sure to enter HERE!  Don’t miss my Gift Guide for the Organized Woman and the Erin Condren giveaway video where I show you the giveaway box!!   Tomorrow is the last day to enter!  Enter HERE!

Ok back to our regularly scheduled program.

 

How to Host a Fondue Party

My mom hosted a cheese and chocolate fondue dinner party every December for as long as I can remember. 

It was a casual night, but one that kids were not allowed to be a part of.  Every year my siblings and I would come home the next day and hope there was just a little bit leftover! 

There rarely ever was.

Once Zach and I owned our first house I carried on this lovely Christmas tradition, and I beliee this year will be year 7! 

It has become a night we look forward to every year.  There are typically 5 to 6 couples that come and the menu offers a little bit of everything.  

It is a semi-formal evening sans kiddos, and the food and fellowship never disappoints.  Today I am sharing how to host a fondue party with these 5 steps!

 

How to Host a Fondue Party

#1.  Create a menu

Fondue

If you missed my previous posts about the best cheese and chocolate fondue you will ever taste, then find the recipes below.  These recipes are for a party of 12.

Triple Cheese Fondue

 

Chocoholic Fondue

 

Triple Cheese Dipping Menu:

 

• Honey Roasted Carrots
• Smoked Cauliflower
• Italian Steamed Broccoli
• Crispy Roasted Garlic Potatoes
• Ham, cubed (1 lb)
• Turkey, cubed (1 lb)
• Chicken nuggets (1 bag)
• Mini-sausages (1 lb)
• Artisan bread variety, cubed

Chocoholic Fondue Dipping Menu:

• Pretzel rods (1 bag)
• Marshmallows (1 bag)
• Strawberries, quartered (1 quart)
• Butter loaf pound cake, cubed (1 loaf)
• Mini peanut butter Ritz sandwiches (1 box)
• Bananas, thickly sliced (1 lg bunch)

 

 

How to Host a Fondue Party

#2.  Work Ahead

These tips really apply to any party you are hosting.  The key is to work ahead.  

For those of us whose minds naturally think 10 steps ahead this is not a problem, but for those who struggle to plan this is essential for a successful and relaxing event. 

Tablescape

Many things can be done even a day before such as setting your table. 

Even if you do not have a separate dining room – after dinner the night before set out all your place settings, tablescape decor, and even set out your serving dishes and label what will go in each one.

Have your table ready to go so that all you need to add is the food and the people!  Don’t forget a fondue pot!!

Set out ALL your serving dishes and label them.  This also helps organize your menu.

 

Coffee Station

Another easy way to set up ahead of time is to establish a self-efficient coffee station. 

Checkout my post on How to Create a Vintage Tea Cart.  In our second fixer upper our tea cart was always set up in the dining room, and we used it all the time.   A coffee percolator and Keurig Coffee maker make for an incredibly easy and hostess friendly DIY hot beverage station. 

I dont have a dining room in the French Country Cottage, so we just use the coffee bar.

I have a vintage coffee urn from the early 1900s, but I highly recommend the Hamilton Beach Silver Coffee Urn and Keurig’s Classic Coffee Maker  for budget friendly additions to your drink station. 

Coffee urns can be set up days in advance with coffee grounds and water and then before dessert just turn it on.  Set out your mugs or cups ahead of time and give yourself the freedom to focus on other aspects of your evening. 

 

Cocktail Bar

Another easy pre-party set up is your cocktail bar if you plan on having one.  Below was our typical basement cocktail station in our second fixer upper.

The above decanter set is here and the mirrored serving tray is here!

If you don’t have a specific beverage station, then use a folding table and put it in the corner for a quick and easy DIY beverage station like we do in our French Country Cottage fixer upper.

 

Menu Planning Sheet

Another tip that will make an event easier, especially if it becomes a reoccurring one, is to have an all inclusive menu planning sheet.  This paper sits in a clear plastic cover to protect it year after year, and it has all the recipes I make for our fondue dinner party.

There are stickies for each dipper I prepare, a list of what other people are bringing and the amounts, and notes from year to year or adjustments I have made. 

This makes creating a shopping list a breeze instead of flipping through several cookbooks to find your recipes and create your lists.

Once you have your list, a key step to successful prep is to buy as many groceries ahead of time that you can. 

I am a HUGE fan of deep freezers.  They make life so much easier, and I think many people under-utilize theirs.  You would be amazed how much you can deep freeze for weeks, thaw overnight, and prepare without any noticeable difference in taste or texture.

Cheese for example.  I bought all of my cheese at Costco two weeks ahead of time when I was making my normal Costco trip.  I put them in the deep freezer, thawed overnight, and voila, no last minute hour long trip (let’s be honest more like 2 hours) to Costco.

So. Much. Yummy. Cheese.

 

How to Host a Fondue Party

#3.  The Planning Schedule

My party schedule is not fancy, BUT IT WORKS.  It creates a stress free event. 

Two sticky notes on my all-inclusive party prep sheet have a to-do list for the day before and things to do the day of.  The day of is timed out, and I have learned to stick to it or else it is easy to get behind, and ultimately, feel stressed!

Listen, hosting becomes overwhelming if every party results in a panicked feeling that you are not ready when the door bell starts to ring.  Quality time with your guests is a lot easier to enjoy when the rest of the evening is set up to take care of itself.

 

How to Host a Fondue Party

#4.  The Atmosphere

Music

For any party, one of the first things I use to set the atmosphere is music.  Christmas party – Christmas music, birthday party – appropriate birthday music (for Zach it’s country, for me it’s coffee shop chill, kids it’s Steven Curtis Chapman etc), pool party – beach themed etc. 

Easy, easy, easy, but I am telling you it makes all the difference.  Think about local commercials on the tv.  What often makes them feel so cheesy?  There isn’t any music!  Music is the best way to set the mood.

 

Candles

Another is candles.  Ok.  I love my candles – tea lights, battery powered, classic tapers, pillars.  Love them all.

 

Dimmed Lightiing

Along with the candle idea is dimmed lighting. 

It is ideal to have accent lighting on dimmers to help set the mood.  For an evening party, low lighting helps to create a slightly cozier and more formal setting.  For a kids birthday party, you may not want a dark house! 

 

Dimmers help give you these options.  Most any light switch can be replaced with a dimming option such as the one here. 

If you missed 10 Mistakes to Avoid When Renovating a Kitchen, I specifically address the importance of lighting.  It’s an article jam packed with practical tips and tricks!

 

Decorate the Entrance

Your front entrance will be the first opportunity to help set the mood.  If you missed our 2018 Christmas Front Porch Tour check it out here!

Candles lit.   Music playing.  Table set.  

Food is ready.  What are we missing?

 

How to Host a Fondue Party

#5.  The Guests

Ahh, the guests!

All of the above tips will contribute to a relaxing evening of food and fellowship, but ultimately, the best tip that I can give – remember that it is always about the people. 

Surround yourself with guests you enjoy, whose conversation brings life, and will leave you feeling that the time spent preparing was well worth the effort.

 

 

 

 

Cheers!!

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