5 Fun Summer Party Themes and Ideas Your Friends and Family Will Enjoy

Last Updated on August 8, 2024 by Prissila Murillo

Summer is the best time to have a party because you get to enjoy the clear blue skies, sunshine, and warmer temperatures. Apart from the weather, the best thing about hosting a party in the summer is that there are endless possibilities and ideas for Fun Summer Party Themes you can take advantage of to ensure everyone has a great time. This is regardless of whether you are hosting a graduation party, a backyard barbecue, or a block party. To ensure you have a great party, you need to have a theme, and we have provided a few themes and ideas to help you get the party going.

Fun Summer Party Themes: French Garden Party

A french garden party is typically an adult affair. For this theme, you will need a garden (your backyard might be adequate), refreshments, some food to snack on, and an array of beautiful flowers to decorate the garden.

To fully embrace the Parisian garden atmosphere, you need to choose the right foods and drinks. You will need a good selection of wines; typically, roses and white wines will do. You can choose either depending on the specifics of your event, but both choices will be great for a late-afternoon treat.

Go with a Parisian theme for the food, which can include seasonal fruits, a cheese board with the best French cheeses, and a selection of fresh croissants. These foods not only go well with different wines but also look great when arranged on a table surrounded by beautiful floral arrangements.

For the flowers, go with bright options that embrace the spirit of summer. Cream, purples, and light pinks work well for this theme. Being the national flower of France, you should also include lilies. They come in a variety of colors and are very easy to work with.

Fun Summer Party Themes: Luau Party

A luau party is one of the most exciting party themes because of its versatility. There is so much you can do with the theme as there is no shortage of decorations, food, drink, and party ideas here. Luau parties are rooted in Hawaiian culture and may be the best way to celebrate the summer. Although your luau party will likely not be on any of the Hawaiian Islands, you can still bring the spirit of Hawaii to you.

For party decor, you can use a lot of elements from Hawaiian culture to decorate the party space. Fun elements like tiki torches, palm trees, floral leis, and flamingos are just a few of the ideas you can explore. You can also bring in coconuts and pineapples that you can hollow out and use to serve your Hawaii-inspired drinks and cocktails.

There is no shortage of amazing Hawaiian food you can serve during the luau. You can roast full pigs in an in-ground pit or serve other foods such as haupia, poi, and poke. Light appetizers such as tropical salsa, mangoes, and pieces of pineapple will work well too.

There are no strict rules concerning the location as long as you can decorate the space. You can hold a luau party in your backyard or around your pool. 

Once you have everything ready for your luau party, it is time to start thinking about your guest list and inviting people. Typically, you want close friends and family to come to your luau party, so these are the people you should add to your guest list. 

Instead of sending invitations manually, you can use services like Greenvelope to send the invitations to your luau party. Greenvelope gives you different invite designs to use, helps you import your guest list, sends the invites to everyone, and tracks your RSVPs for you. You can also set auto-reminders to see who has checked the invite and who hasn’t so you can send them again.

Fun Summer Party Themes: Backyard BBQ Party

A backyard barbecue party is a classic choice that your friends and family will enjoy. This is one of the easier options as there is nothing much to do to prepare for this type of summer party. The main aim of choosing this theme is to make people feel at home and to foster friendship and relationships among friends and family. A backyard BBQ can achieve this because it is usually a small and intimate affair.

You will need the food for the barbecue, some seats, shade, and a grill or an oven. Bacon and steak are the usual BBQ options, but you can also go with hamburgers and hot dogs. 

For the decorations, there are no rules, so you can go with whichever decorations you like. You can drape colorful tablecloths over the tables, hang some mason jars or decorate the space with different types of flowers. It really is up to you.

Fun Summer Party Themes: Pool Party

This is another summer party staple. Pool parties are fun for both kids and adults. The party’s focal point will be the pool, but you can always get inflatable pools if you do not have one on your property. Add some flair to your pool party with themed floaties for the best experience. You can create a nautical adventure with anchor and sailboat floaties, complemented by blue and white striped decorations, or create an animal safari ambiance with inflatable elephants and giraffes. These high-quality pool floats from Custom Inflatables give the chance to create any imaginative shape and the quality gives a chance to use them for a long period of time.

As with the BBQ party, there are no hard rules about decoration, but there are some things that have to be included. An ice cream bar and refreshment stand, a tanning area with beds, and a fire pit to keep the space warm in the evening are key additions.

For the food, tasty finger foods and appetizers are always great options as people can grab some between swims. Other options include mini sandwiches, fruit spreads, and chips and dip.

Fun Summer Party Themes: Backyard Dinner Party

If you want something intimate between friends and family, an evening dinner party is a great choice. The best thing about this theme is that you can create the exact mood you are going for with your decorations.

Hang flowers to keep things bright and colorful or add mood lights to make the space feel more intimate. You can choose cool or warm color pallets for the plates, tablecloths, and decorations so that they complement the theme you are going for.

Fun Summer Party Themes: Are You Ready?

There is no shortage of summer party themes and ideas depending on what you are going for. More lavish parties call for a luau or French garden theme, while more intimate affairs call for an evening dinner with friends and family.