February 25, 2024

How to Throw a Vintage Games Night

I love nothing more than gathering my favourite people together on a Friday night for nibbles, drinks, and a little healthy competition!

My spin on a traditional Games Night is a bit of a retro throwback - think 1920's poker played with beautiful vintage playing cards, classic dominoes, and speakeasy cocktails!

HOW TO LAY YOUR TABLE:

1. Get crafty

A vintage games night isn't going to be complete without some Vintage Playing Cards. These are super easy, quick and fun to make and you can read all about them and how to make them here. I also made some beautiful little stir-sticks to give the cocktail glasses that added touch of glamour. Grab some tiny white shells (real or craft) and use a glue gun to attach each shell to the end of a long cocktail stick. Once the glue has dried, serve as-is, or slide 3 green olives onto the stick and lay the stirrer across the top of a champagne or martini glass - they look stunning!

2. Dress the table

This look is casual and fun with pops of colour, so choose a neutral linen tablecloth as your base. Place a stack of plates with linen napkins and a mix of modern and vintage cutlery at the end of the table for your guests to help themselves to snacks. Use a variety of small glass and ceramic vintage serving bowls to lay out simple nibbles like crackers, cheese, grapes, olives and crisps. Mix and match vintage champagne glasses with small coloured wine or martini glasses for an eclectic look and use them to serve your favourite bubbly or cocktail. Scroll down for a full rundown of the products we used to create this look.

3. Add the finishing touches

Don't forget to personalise your table by adding those all important finishing touches. Scatter the middle of the table with some loose cocktail stirrers and whatever games you have decided to play - I chose classic dominoes and a few extra vintage playing cards. Snip some fresh flowers (vibrant summer roses work brilliantly) and arrange them randomly around the table either loose or in vintage vases or colourful glass bottles. To complete the delicately feminine 1920's look, I draped strings of pearls in and around the serving bowls and scattered a few solo ones across the tablecloth. If you don't have pearls an alternative could be marbles or decorative diamantes - make it your own!