Beach Dinner Party Ideas

Hosting a dinner party is both a huge task and a privilege. When given the opportunity to host, most people give it their all to make the dinner worthwhile for their guests. For any dinner party to succeed, it has to have certain must-haves. A dinner party can hardly be called a dinner party without excellent food, good company, and a great venue to tie everything together.

There is no better place to have an intimate and posh dinner than on the beach! What could beat the open space, sea breeze, great scenic view, and the therapeutic sound of the water? If you live close to a great beach or have beachfront property, you should grab the opportunity and give hosting a beach dinner party a go!

It might seem daunting, but all the effort you’ll put into it will surely be worth it after the successful conclusion of your beach dinner party. The view, experience, and good memories you’ll create from throwing that beach dinner party are guaranteed to be worth all the hard work and extra effort.   

So if you’re thinking about throwing a beach dinner party and are looking for ideas on how to make it extra special, then you’ve come to the right blog. Here are some beach dinner party ideas that you might find useful. Check them out:

pink sunset over beach

Rustic pink dinner party theme

A rustic pink dinner party would have the perfect theme for a girl’s night out or get-together. The pink theme would create a great setting for spending the night with your best girlfriends. 

This party idea would be an ideal fit for birthday dinner celebrations, bachelorette parties, baby showers, quinceañeras, sweet sixteen parties, or other celebrations where a chic pink theme would be appropriate. 

The following tips are a must to achieve this beach dinner party theme!

You might want to set up a series of wooden pallets on the sand. These wooden pallets will serve as the table, so they should be laid out flat on the sand, so the food won’t roll and fall off the pallets and into the sand.  

You can also place white sheets on both sides to mark where you and your guests will sit. Afterward, set up stakes around the table. The slates will be the base for hanging circle streamers and string lights. 

To make the table look classy, you can decorate it with eucalyptus leaves as a table runner, some hydrangeas to add colors, and mason jars to hold the candles. You can compliment the table design by using long-stemmed wine glasses, gold disposable cutlery, and clear plastic plates. To make the disposable cutlery look expensive, you may opt to tie them up in pink napkins and twine.

Serve some salad, chips and dips, pizza, and chicken wings. Compliment the snacks with a sweet dessert, and order some cute pink cupcakes or macaroons from your go-to bakery. As for the drinks, you can top the night off with a bottle of light rosé.

If you plan to throw a rustic pink-themed beach dinner party, consider shopping for these items: circle streamers, string lights, white sheets, clear plastic plates, gold cutlery, pink dinner napkins, mason jars, artificial hydrangea flowers, eucalyptus garland, and rose wine.

autumn leaf designs on table.

Boho autumn beach dinner

An autumn theme is already a splendid choice for a beach dinner party. But you can add another dimension to the party theme by complementing the autumn theme with a boho vibe.

To achieve this beach dinner theme, you need to set up some picnic-style tables, lay down some beach blankets for your guests to sit on, and add that boho-vibe by providing the guest with some boho-style outdoor throw pillows. 

To add an autumn element, you can put an orange table runner in the center of your table. It would be best if the orange is close to the shade of orange that leaves turn into during fall. To add more autumn elements to the table set design, decorate it with dried pampas on vases and autumn flowers. Consider using flameless candles with a pine bark effect to light up the tables while still keeping the autumn theme.

To light up the whole area, use some string lights but again decorate it with fall leaves on top, keeping with the autumn theme. To have something to hang on the lights, set up some poles around the dining area and then hang the string lights on the poles. 

To stay in theme, use nice gold-rimmed plates, then top them with smaller wooden dinner plates. To complement the wooden plates, place blue Shibori dinner napkins on top and add gold flatware.

For the food, serve some hearty autumn-inspired dishes. You can also serve seasonal foods that are usually associated with autumn. Consider serving sweet potato dishes, pumpkin-flavored treats and drinks, turkey sandwiches, ravioli pasta, and your pie of choice for dessert. 

Shop this idea:

fresh fruits and tiki themed cup

Luau dinner theme

If your family or inner circle of friends is more comfortable with a festive vibe, then you might want to throw a luau-themed dinner party.

A Luau dinner is perfect for the beach because nothing spells out tropical or island life more than the beach. You have to go all out on the tropical design to achieve that luau dinner theme. You can recreate that tropical island ambiance using bamboo stakes as poles for lighting.

Reinforce the Hawaiian vibe by surrounding the area with some tiki torches. Use those quirky pineapple string lights to liven up the place and add some color. For the table set up, to keep the tropical theme, you can cover the tables with a casual blue tablecloth complemented by table runners with a palm tree pattern design. Double down on the island theme by using bamboo-style disposable plates and faux palm leaves placemats. 

For the food, serve some tropical meals! Consider serving tropical dishes like mahi-mahi, kalua pig, lomi lomi salmon, and macaroni salad. While for dessert you can have some fresh pineapples and watermelon. As for drinks, you can serve some refreshing luau punch or pina colada.

To stay in theme, you can even set a dress code and ask your guests to wear floral or Hawaiian shirts and dresses. And after the meal, engage in some luau-inspired activities like playing limbo or a hula contest!

To top the evening off, play or have someone play the ukulele and encourage everyone to sing along. 

If you’re thinking of throwing a luau-inspired dinner party, you might want to consider shopping for tiki torches, pineapple string lights, blue tablecloth, palm tree leaf table runners, palm leaves placemats, disposable bamboo plates, Hawaiian leis, and limbo game.

These are just some of the beach dinner party themes we’ve come up with. Whatever beach dinner party theme you choose, just make sure to plan ahead, find a suitable place, prepare your guest list, and check the weather. Preparing a contingency plan for outdoor activities is also best in case the weather turns bad.

We hope you found this blog useful, and we hope that whatever the theme of your beach party is, it turns out successful and memorable!

If you are also planning a bachelorette party, you may read our Guide to Picking Fun Games for Bachelorette Parties for some tips and ideas.