No doubt about it, pizza is one of many people’s food faves. According to a research, Americans eat almost three billion pizzas everyday. That’s like 23 pounds of pizza per person! Since this food is so popular and yummy, why not throw a party with it as the main theme? Pizza parties are always fun, entertaining and can be enjoyed by people of all ages.

The wonderful thing about a pizza party is it can suit different types of occasions. Whether you’re celebrating a birthday, a reunion, or you just want to throw a casual dinner party, you can use this theme. It’s not so difficult to plan. All it takes is just a few simple pointers, and you’ll have a smashing good party.

Here are some suggestions to make your pizza party enjoyable.

The Pizza Invites

Some people who hold casual pizza parties make-do without the invitations. They simply call up their friends or send e-mails and invite them over for the fun. If the event is very informal and spontaneous, you can do this, but if you want to be a bit more creative, then sending cool invitations is a better option.

If you don’t want to fuss too much over the invites, you can buy ready-made kinds from party supply shops or even craft stores. There are many different kinds available today, with fun designs and humorous wordings on them. With the many options, you can surely find one that suits your taste.

Another creative option is to send homemade invitations. If you’re artsy, imaginative and have a lot of spare time on your hands, this is a better option. All you need is a few craft and coloring materials, and you’re all set.

One idea is to make a pizza slice, by cutting red-orange cardboard into a triangular shape. Splash a bit of yellow paint over it (for the cheese), then put green strips and red circles cut from art paper all over, to serve as green bell peppers and pepperoni, respectively. Print the details at the back, put it in an envelope and mail it.

If you don’t mind spending a bit of cash, you can send pizza-related items as invites. Small chef figurines holding pizzas, are great examples. Attach a tag to them, then deliver personally to the guests. They’ll not only serve as invites, but also as party favors.

Decorating Pizza-Style

A pizza party will look bare and boring without any party decorations. Transform your party venue into something that suits the pizza party. It’ll let your guests feel the theme better. Here are a few tips you can try.

• Focus on pizza colors: red, yellow, green. Get a mix of streamers, confetti and balloons in these colors and put them around the place.
• Italy is the birthplace of pizza, so why not create an Italian ambiance for the party? Hold the event outside, at your garden. Set up small quaint tables covered with red tablecloths, and place a bowl of uncooked pasta in different shapes and colors on each table as eye-catching centerpieces. Hang an Italian flag on the wall.
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  You can use this for your table cloth pattern
  Cover the tables with red and white checkered tablecloths and put unlit candles in Chianti bottles.
• Create a Pizza restaurant atmosphere. Design a large and colorful signboard, like the ones you see in these food joints. Use your name for the restaurant, like “Anne’s Pizza” or “Rob’s Pizzeria”.
• Use a chef’s toque, oven mitts or a pizza pan for table centerpieces.
• Draw large cardboard pizzas using paint and construction paper. Hang them all over the venue.

What To Wear?

Unlike other kinds of celebrations, pizza parties are usually informal and simple. Many hosts ask their guests to come in comfy attire, so they can move around easily and they won’t mind too much if they get pizza stain on them. If you don’t want your guests to worry too much about the party, don’t pressure them into dressing up. Indicate in the invitations that the attire is casual.

If you really want the party to be a bit more special, you can ask them to come in “pizza colors”: red, yellow, orange and green. Any outfit will do, as long as it’s got one of these colors.

Another idea is to dress up as pizza chefs. When they arrive, give them a pizza chef apron and a paper toque.

Having Fun With Pizza

When things get dull during your party, it’s up to you to liven the atmosphere and make your guests happy and entertained again. Try these fun pizza-inspired party games.

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  One of the guests trying to catch the pizza dough
  Pizza Dough Toss – The challenge is to toss the dough like real pizza chefs do. Pair off the guests, and give each pair a ball of dough. Line them up with each person facing his partner. When you say “toss!” they must toss the dough to their partner. If the partner catches it, they are safe. If the dough falls, they are out of the game. The safe pairs are then asked to step back, then they toss the dough again. Keep repeating this, until only one pair is left standing.
• I’m Making A Pizza - This game is just like “I’m Going On A Trip”. The players form a circle and they take turns saying “I’m making a pizza with ____ on top” The first person fills the blank with an ingredient for the pizza (anchovies, ham, cheese, and so on). Afterwards, the next person repeats what the first one said, and adds another ingredient. If a player forgets an item previously named, he or she is out of the game. Keep repeating this until only one player is left.
• Pizza Box Folding Challenge – You need several unfolded pizza boxes for this game. First, divide the guests into two teams and give each team the same amount of pizza boxes. At your go signal, the teams must race to fold all their boxes. The team that finishes folding all their boxes first wins.
• Pizza Pass – Let everyone have fun while making a large pizza. Ask the guests to stand around a large table, with the pizza ingredients in the middle. Give the first guest a dough-lined pizza pan and play some music. The guests must pass the pizza pan around slowly. When the music stops, the person holding the pan adds an ingredient, in proper order. The guests continue to add ingredients while passing the pizza around. After everyone had their turn, bake the pizza and let everyone share it.

Check out this video from the Pizza Box Folding Championships.

Your Pizza Feast

After all the excitement and fun during the party, you now come to the most important part: the feast! Your guests will be expecting a sumptuous meal, so make sure you’ve prepared enough food to go around!

• Salad – You need something to start the feast with a light but tasty appetizer, so why not prepare a healthy salad? You can prepare either fresh greens, potato salad, fruit salad or macaroni salad. Just choose one or two, so it won’t be very difficult for you to prepare.
• Pizza – This is the main food item that must be on your menu. If you don’t have too much time, have the pizzas delivered. You can also make your own. Prepare different kinds with different flavors and toppings. Get the usual flavors, like Hawaiian, Ham and Cheese and Meat Lovers, but you can also get unusual kinds like Strawberry Pizza or Pizza Mhargerita. If you’ve invited vegans or vegetarians, get Veggie Pizzas or Three-Cheese Pizza. Make sure you’ve got enough variety, so your guests won’t get tired of just one flavor.

A delicious pasta dish

Yummy pizza for the guests

• Pasta – This always goes well with pizza, for a filling and delightful meal. Prepare different kinds like Bolognese, Carbonara or even Seafood Pasta.
• Drinks – Many people like downing their pizza with refreshing soda, but if you want something healthier, prepare some fruit juice or punch. Wine is also a classy and tasty choice that goes well with pizza.
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  It looks like a pizza but its a cake
  Pizza Cake – If you’re celebrating a special occasion, like a birthday, this is a delightful addition to your menu. Bake a round yellow cake, and put it in a pizza pan. Top it with red frosting, but not reaching the edges. Then, spread grated white chocolate over it, and put strawberries, blueberries and kiwi as the toppings. Put it in a real pizza box, but without the lid.
• Dessert – Serving a sweet treat is the perfect ending to your party feast. Ice cream, sherbet or blueberry cheesecake cake are great choices.

Pizza Party Favors

After all the pizza has been devoured, you now have to wrap up the party. Don’t let the guests leave without party favors. Give each of them a mini pizza to take home. Small pizza cookbooks are also great. You can also give them a jar of pizza sauce, to use whenever they feel like making their own pizza treat.

Yummy mini pizzas to take home for the guests

Give your guests mini pizzas for party favors

Everyone loves pizza, so if you want to have an enjoyable and exciting celebration, have a pizza party. You and your guests will have a great time with this party theme.