October is right around the corner and it brings the amazing fall vibes. It’s also that time of year when Oktoberfest is celebrated. Oktoberfest is the world’s largest beer festival. It’s annually celebrated in Munich, Germany and in other German colonies around the world, like in Blumenau, Brazil. However, as many other events around the world, Oktoberfest was put on hold again in 2021 due to COVID.

But if you’re missing its vibes, you can still celebrate Oktoberfest at home. Last year we celebrated it with a few friends and I thought it would be nice to share some ideas with you. Hopefully your party isn’t as big as the original in Munich and you won’t have to feed 7 million guests! Haha.

Remember: Hosting any kind of party can get out of hand quickly if you’re not organized. So plan everything ahead and create a checklist to help you stay on top of things.

Snack board items

Pretzels (hard and soft)
Pretzel buns
Pretzel crackers
Bavarian Bratwurst – pork, veal and veggie
Frankfurter
Sauerkraut
Muenster cheese
Emmental cheese
Cambozola cheese
German Limburger
Cured ham
Salami
Pub cheese spread
Herb dip
Grapes
Apple slices
Cornichons
Pickled beets
Dried apricots
Candied pecans
Honey mustard
Stone ground mustard
Apple cider jam
Curry ketchup

Drinks

Beer

Hofbrau Oktoberfest (5L)
Hofbrau Original (6 12oz bottles)
Paulaner Oktoberfest (6 12oz bottles)
Paulaner Hefeweizen (6 12oz bottles)
Weihenstephan Korbinian (2 16oz bottles)
Ayinger Dunkel (2 16oz bottles)

Beer is obviously very important for any Oktoberfest party. You should be able to find a number of Oktoberfest-style/German beers at your local grocery or liquor stores.

For our party, we bought 2 mini kegs and a mix of other other German beers, and we also made Erdbeer bowle, a german inspired punch (see recipe below). We got the alcohol from Bevmo.
We also bought boot plastic mugs that we labeled with guests’ names so everyone knew which one was theirs. Our guest also took them home as party favors.

German strawberry punch

Erdbeer bowle – German strawberry punch

Recipe by Dayana Macedo

0.0 from 0 votes

Cuisine: GermanDifficulty: Easy

Prep time

minutes

Ingredients

2 pounds strawberries
2-3 tablespoons orange flavored liqueur
1 bottle of dry, white wine (chilled)
1 bottle of sparkling wine (chilled)
6 pieces lemon zest
1 cup powdered sugar

Directions

About two our three hours before the guest arrive wash the strawberries and pat them dry.
Remove the stems and half or quarter the large berries. Leave the small ones whole.
Place the berries in a bowl – I like clear containers. Sprinkle the powdered sugar over the berries (optional), stir, and let it sit for about 15 minutes.
Add the liqueur, the lemon zest, and half a bottle of wine and marinate for about an hour in the fridge.
When the guests arrive add the remaining wine and sparkling wine.

cheers

If you need a little help to calculate the amount of food and drinks visit the party calculator from Party by Me.
PS: The amounts of food and drinks at our Oktoberfest were for 9 people.

The vibe

First, choose the space! We made our small party at our living room/kitchen. To help create the vibe and accommodate everybody we moved most of the furniture. We hosted the party inside because it was a cold fall day in Seattle, but it is definitely a party you could host outside at your backyard or deck.

A few items will help bring the Oktoberfest ambiance to your home. Get some traditional decor, such as a blue and white tablecloth or a party pack that includes themed disposables. You can easily find those at Amazon.

Conscious tip
• You can avoid buying a lot of items if you ask your friends to bring what they have at home to help with the decor or use things that you already have.
• After the party you can store the decor items in bins so you can use in the following years.

And don’t forget to put a traditional Oktoberfest playlist on with some German brass band music that’s typically played at the festival. And if you have a karaoke, go fot it! You’ll be ready to get up and sing Sweet Caroline like no one’s watching. Believe me!

Dress up

Costumes and traditional clothing are the quickest way to get into the vibe for any theme party, and Oktoberfest is no exception. “Dirndls” (women’s traditional dress) and “lederhosen” (men’s traditional leather pants) are the most popular attire worn at Oktoberfest. If you go for it, let your guests know when inviting them.

Oktoberfest is all about eating, drinking, dancing, and singing with others. It’s a (really) great excuse to enjoy life with the close ones – and who couldn’t use that right now?

Xoxo,
Day

Oktoberfest at Home

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Snack board items