An easy, chic, and fun way to pull together striking, spotted celebration.
In our office, we all love polka dots, especially Lexi. And when threw a polka dot party, we found all kinds of great polka dotted items from party supplies to food to craft supplies and fashion, all of which are great as party details and gifts.
Every party needs a theme, and when we pick one for an office birthday party—or any party!–we think about the person we’re celebrating. Here’s how to throw a party inspired by polka dots—complete with a shopping gallery and links on where to buy polka-dot supplies.
Settle on the Shape, then Spread it Around as Decor
One reason it’s easy to throw a polka dot party: you can make anything polka dotted! You can:
• Cover a plain white paper tablecloth with round stickers—or dab on ink circles with the dot markers we all used in kindergarten.
• Add stickers to blown-up balloons for a polka dot effect.
• Use a circle punch to cut dots out to scatter across the table as confetti; circle punches come in lots of sizes and some make multiple circles in different sizes at once.
• Stick round post its on the wall to turn it into a rainbow polka dot pattern. (We couldn’t find circular sticky notes in white, but there is round card stock.)
You could do something similar with another bold shape if you had stickers or paper punches in that form. Think stars for an Oscar party or a “star is born” baby shower.
Choose a Color Scheme
We settled on black and white to reflect Lexi’s style. But you could make your polka dots red, white, and blue for the Fourth of July, red and green for Christmas, or any color combo you (and the person you’re celebrating) like.
Dress the Part—It’s So Easy!
Once you have the colors in mind, a polka dot party makes for the easiest dress code there is. Ask guests to come in solid colors that fit the palette, then “accessorize” them with circle stickers. You can turn any outfit into a polka-dot pattern by adding stickers to plain shirts or scarves. We also had polka-dot ribbon handy to use as scarves or hair bows (makes a great favor!).
Feed the Theme with Polka-dotted Party Food
So many foods are already round polka-dot-shaped (that is to say: round). Think:
Savory options like:
• Sliced cucumbers
• Mozzarella balls
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Pepperoni on pizza
• Meatballs
• Falafel
• Burgers
• Cheese wheels served with round crackers
Sweet options including:
• Donut holes
• Necco wafers
• Any round cookies
• Any round cake
• Macarons
• Crepes
• Pancakes (can add chocolate chips!)
• Melon Balls
• Mochi
• Chocolate Truffles
Drink options such as:
• Lemon or lime slices in round martini glasses
• Boba pearls in drinks
• Cocktail onion in a martini
• Cherry garnish (can use Amarena or Luxardo cherries)
Add Round Shapes
But you can also add round shapes to non-circular food to create a polka-dot treat. We placed nonpareils in cups of chocolate covered raisins, added chocolate chips to silver dollar pancakes, and unscrewed oreos, then stuck the cookies on a white frosted cake to create the appearance of dots. You could do the same with M & Ms, Necco Wafers, or any other round candy.
If your shape isn’t a circle, but, say, a star, all you need is a cookie cutter to shape finger sandwiches or cookies to fit your theme.
It’s easy to accessorize your food, too. We filled champagne glasses with candy, then tied a polka dot ribbon around them. And the right ice cube tray can help you make fill drinks with spheres, squares, stars, whatever!
Don’t stop at Food!
Get polka-dotted ribbon and tie it everywhere:
• Around the stems of coupes
• Rolled-up napkins
• Cakestand stems
• Candlesticks, candelabras, or votive candles
• Or people’s ponytails!
Polka dot scarves can be worn around people’s waists, necks, and in their hair, or tied around larger items, too: cakestands, doorknobs, chairbacks.
As for flowers, some flowers feel more like a round ball than others. We chose dahlias for their shape—but billyballs, ranunculus, or carnations would have worked, too.
Lexi’s polka dot party ended up looking so great—and it was so easy to put together! And once you know you’re throwing a polka dot party, you start seeing them everywhere! If you throw your own polka dot party and use any—or all!—of these ideas, don’t forget to share your pics on Instagram and tag @darcymiller.
Shop Our Polka Dot Guide
For spot-on ideas to help you throw your own polka dot party, check out our shopping gallery.
