I strongly urge you to throw a Scottish theme party. Scotland, a small country of little over 5 million people has one of the strongest, most unique and well known cultures in the world. Considering its small size and population, that is really saying something. The whole world loves Scotland and we should pay homage to our Celtic friends by throwing a Scottish theme party in their honor. This can be held on Burns night, which is January 25th every year or else you can hold a Scottish party whenever you like.
There are so many things that Scotland is known for that making use of them will be simple and should be taken advantage of for your party. Over the centuries, Scotland has changed the course of the world more than any other comparable country. More great men and women have been born and raised in Scotland than in any other country in the world, this will make your Scottish costumes easy.
So just what is Scotland known throughout the world for? Here is a short list, i’m sure i’ve missed loads; haggis, whiskey, the Scottish highlands, Ben Nevis, Rangers and Celtic, red hair, Braveheart, bagpipes, Loch Ness, shortbread, the inventor of the television (John Logie Baird), medical and scientific advancements, tartan, kilts, Halloween, Edinburgh which is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, Golf and the inventor of the telephone (Alexander Graham Bell).
All these things should give you many Scottish theme party ideas. For the rest of this article we’ll talk about Scottish party costumes, decorations, games, music, food, drink and invitations.
Scottish Party Costumes
You really should dress in some sort of a Scottish costume for your party otherwise it just wouldn’t be the same. Thankfully there are many awesome costumes for both men and women for you to pick from.
Scottish Costumes For Women
1. Scottish Lass – To go to the party as a Scottish Lass you’ll need to get a red haired wig, a tartan hat and skirt. Remember that being a Scottish Lass is half about being feisty as well as what you’re wearing.
2. Simply have a look at the Scottish party costumes for men and wear one of those.
Scottish Costumes For Men
1. Braveheart – You all know the William Wallace look and this will be instantly recognizable at the party. See our Braveheart costumes page for more info on this!
2. Bagpiper – Dress in tartan like a Scottish highlander. Though you’ll probably need a genuine set of bagpipes to be truly authentic. This will be quite the show stopper at the party. You can actually order them for a range of prices from cheap to more pricey. Check out the picture.
3. Celtic / Rangers Football Fan – This one will be real easy and all you require is a Football shirt. This is for those with less imagination, or for those who leave finding a better costume to the last minute.
4. Highlander – This is the classic Scottish look that we all know and love. The full works! All the tartan and everything that goes with it. You’ll want a tartan kilt, shoulder sash and knee high socks. The beret hat is optional, or you could go for a red haired wig.
5. Groundskeeper Willie – This is for those with a sense of humor. You know his uniform, basically just a pair of blue overalls. You can actually order a Groundskeeper Willie face mask on Amazon.
Scottish Party Decorations
As with any theme party, it is your Scottish party decorations that will make all the difference. You should set a budget aside for some Scottish party decorations to provide the right atmosphere for your party. Here are a few suggestions for you, simply pick and choose from the ideas you like:
1. First of all, you should get plenty of little flags for the tables. You should also get a few larger flags to adorn your entrance and walls with.
2. Order some Scottish table sets for the dinner table. These will include Scottish themed paper plates, napkins and table cloths.
3. You could make a table centerpiece in the style of Loch Ness. You could use a blue table cloth cut into the centre of your Scottish table cloth. Order a miniature Loch Ness Monster online.
4. Hang pictures or posters of famous Scots. There are many to choose from for example; William Wallace, Rob Roy, Sean Connery, Robert The Bruce, Robert Burns, Andrew Carnegie, Billy Connolly, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Annie Lennox, Sir Alexander Fleming, Lord Macbeth, Mary Queen of Scots, Saint Patrick, Allan Pinkerton, Groundskeeper Willie or Gordon Ramsay to name only a few, the list goes on.
5. Pin up loads of balloons around the place. These should obviously be in the Scottish colors of blue and white. You could perhaps create a ballooned archway for the entrance.
6. Once through the entrance, you could perhaps have a backdrop of the Scottish highlands or Edinburgh. Your guests could then perhaps have their photos taken in their costumes.
7. Bagpipes are a must. If nobody has their own set then you can order them online for surprisingly cheap and they’ll be great fun for the guests too.
Scottish Party Games
1. You could have your own miniature Highland Games. There are many cool and ragged things you can do for this, many include seeing how far you can throw, hurl and toss strange and obscure objects, some by means of using other objects to throw them with.
You can do the “sheaf toss!” This is the art of seeing how far you can toss a bag of twine using a pitchfork. You’ve got to love those Scots! Then i’m sure you’ve all heard of the “caber toss.” This is the fun art of tossing a tree trunk. You should try and obtain a tree trunk for your party and see who can toss it furthest, in your kilts of course. You get extra points if you can keep the trunk straight. Then there is the “stone put” similar to shot put but with a large stone of similar weight.
2. Consider having a highland dancing contest. Of course this must be done in kilts.
3. You should also have a best dressed Scottish costume award for those who make the best effort.
Scottish Party Music
There’s actually many ideas you could use for Scottish music. There are many great bands and singers who come from Scotland and you could perhaps make a compilation disk from some of the more well known songs. Consider some songs from these iconic performers:
1. Wet Wet Wet
2. KT Tunstall
3. Annie Lennox
4. Travis
5. Franz Ferdinand
6. The Proclaimers
7. Texas
8. Bay City Rollers
9. Rod Stewart
Of course you should also consider mixing the Scottish bands and singers up with some real Celtic songs. My favorite of all time is straight from one of the best movies ever made, i strongly recommend this Wicker Man Soundtrack disk, if you don’t believe me then just have a listen to some of the previews. It was the soundtrack that made the movie what it was, in my opinion.
However, your Scottish theme party would not be complete without some bagpipes playing somewhere. So how about a mixture of bagpipes and traditional Celtic songs. See the picture to the side! If you have a budget, or a friend who can play the bagpipes, then you simply must have some bagpipe music playing. No Scottish theme party would be complete without this essential element.
Scottish Party Food
Scotland is a little less well known for their quality of food, they do however have a few things on the menu that helps them to stand out.
Haggis will be a must for those wanting to go that extra mile, trying to be completely authentic. I’ve never tried it though so i can’t testify to its taste. The Scots are very fond of anything deep fried. This includes deep fried Mars Bars, so if you want to be truly Scottish then you can give this a go. The Scottish are also very famous for short bread and Scottish tablet which is a fudge like treat. Scottish salmon will allow you to eat very well while still remaining authentic. They are also very big on pancakes and dumplings. Finally, don’t forget about the Scotch eggs.
Scottish Party Drinks
Well this part is going to be really easy for you. Scotland is of course very famous for it’s whisky, the best whisky in the world is made in Scotland. You should have Scotch or your party wouldn’t be complete. Irn Bru is a famous Scottish drink as well and this would be great for any kids at the party or for anybody who is the designated driver. Another drink that is very popular in Scotland and goes back literally thousands of years is heather beer. Heather beer has a distinct, slightly sweet taste to it that hasn’t changed much in centuries.
Scottish Party Invitations
You should look for some decent Scottish images online and print them off in the form of invitations. If you have a bagpiper with kilt then you could even attach a speech bubble and have the details of the party in there. For the other Scottish images then you should have another look at the ideas at the top of this page.
You should also create a Scottish theme party Facebook group and use it to invite all your guests to. You’ll be able to hype up your party as the day approaches, you can answer any questions your guests have on the group such as what costumes they should be wearing. You can also increase the attendance to your party by using a Facebook group because everybody will be able to see just how popular your party is going to be. Finally, a Facebook group will enable you to upload all your photos and images, tagging your mates in the pictures at the same time. This will create a permanent reminder to your party.
If you have any more Scottish party ideas then please let us know about them in the comments box.
