September Theme Party Ideas

The long, hot summer is over, and the holiday season is months away. The month of September, it seems, is wide open for party creativity. So if you want to throw a party, don't wait until Halloween. Get your party on with any one of a bunch of offbeat ideas.

September is chock-full of recognitions, celebrations and appreciations. Among others, September is National Blueberry Popsicle Month, Classical Music Month, Honey Month, National Piano Month and Better Breakfast Month. It's also Hispanic Heritage Month, so throw a party with refreshing margaritas and tequila drinks, Mexican food and salsa music and dancing. To celebrate International Square Dancing Month, throw a party with country-and-Western food and decor, and hire an instructor to give line-dancing lessons. Celebrate Chicken Month by throwing a party with chicken decorations, delicious chicken dishes and a big cake that looks like a chicken, and invite your guests to wear at least one article of clothing with a chicken on it.

September has individual days that make for great party themes. There's Labor Day, which most people have off of work, and a three-day weekend always begs for a party. To celebrate Chocolate Milkshake Day, use brown party decorations and hats, entrees with chocolate, such as chicken mole and, of course, delicious chocolate milkshakes. Get apple-tastic for Johnny Appleseed Day with bright, red-apple decorations, appletinis and apple cider, and a dessert bar offering apple pie, apple crisp, apple turnovers, apple tarts and fresh apple cake with whipped cream. Get similarly creative for National Peanut Day or invite the family over to celebrate the older generation on Grandparents' Day.

Celebrate autumn, which shows up at the equinox in late September, by throwing a fall party. Decorate with gourds, pumpkins, chestnuts and squashes. Hang up colored leaves made of paper and light up your party with spice-scented candles. Use balloons, flowers and streamers in fall colors: orange, brown, maroon and gold. For inexpensive centerpieces or accent pieces, fill different-size vases with acorns, apples, pears, tangerines, nectarines and plums. If it's not yet cold, serve hot dogs, sausages and s'mores cooked on the backyard grill or over an open fire. Or just set out a dessert bar that features a wide range of fall-themed desserts made with gingerbread, cranberry, marshmallows and apples.