Kate Thompson | 10.10.2023
Vape-friendly Dinner Party Ideas
According to the Daily Mirror last year, some of the ultimate dinner party faux pas include using a mobile phone at the table, discussing your sex life, and vaping. The poll of 2,000 adults revealed that vaping indoors came top of the list!
While we’re not going to disagree with some of these faux pas when you’re with older relatives (or indeed younger relatives for that matter) or even acquaintances, we know that the best parties are the ones we throw with our like-minded friends.
Your mates might not be on board with your particular penchant for Watermelon Ice (yet) but if they’re all vapers, we know the vapes will be on the table from the start of the evening right through until the early hours!
If you love to be the host or hostess with the most or ‘mostest’, from the dressing up and setting the scene right down to the actual party itself, then buckle up for some of the best dinner party ideas in the UK - complete with after-dinner vapes.
After-dinner Vapes
You’ve heard of After Eights, now meet After Vapes. If your friends’ dinner parties are getting competitive, we’ll give you the edge by adding ideas for after-dinner vapes to accompany your menu.
Ready to get creative but not sure where to start? Welcome to the blu guide to vape-friendly dinner parties with vegan and veggie options to make sure everyone has the best time.
Set the scene for your dinner party
Setting the scene is so often overlooked but it will make all the difference for a relaxed and easy-going evening for everyone. So, once you’ve set the date and invited your friends, decide how you’re going to set the scene for maximum effect.
Lighting
Your choice of lighting shouldn’t be underestimated. A bright and unforgiving light can make everyone feel self-conscious and unable to relax. Go for dimmed, low lights or simply light the room with candles and fairylights for a pretty glow. Lanterns look particularly interesting and using LED tealights can be safer than lighting candles.
Music
Background music is a must at a dinner party because, even if you’re all talkers, it fills in the natural pauses making sure there are no silent moments where guests can feel awkward. You might be a Drum ‘n’ Bass aficionado, but less is more when it comes to dinner party tunes. Go for some background music, a playlist that’s not too loud with at least a handful of tracks most people are going to know.
Flowers
We know your home’s not Buckingham Palace (unless that’s you, your majesty, reading this…), but whatever type of home you have, a few natural leaves and colourful petals can add interest and scent to even the smallest of spaces. And if you’re not a fan of cut flowers - they only ever last a few days, after all – invest in a pot plant like a potted orchid which, with weekly watering, will last you for years so you can bring it out at every dinner party!
Create Your Dinner Party Menu
DRINKS
The evening always starts with a drink so offer a drink to your friends as they come in – whether it’s a bottle of beer, a glass of wine, something bubbly or a cocktail/mocktail, it’s a great start to the evening. You could also put out a selection of different flavoured blu bar disposable vapes or a tray of nibbles to get everyone in the mood.
STARTER
A cold or sharing starter is the easiest and with a variety of foods on offer, your friends can pick what appeals to them. Just make sure you only serve small amounts because the main event comes next.
Simple: A sharing board of different flavours of hummus (lemon and coriander, roasted red pepper etc.) served with a choice of warm pitta bread and crusty French bread is simple and delicious. You could also add black and green olives and carrot sticks along with a choice of pâté, cold meat slices, smoked salmon or prawns.
Sophisticated: Arancini are Italian fried risotto rice balls and a little out of the ordinary. Arancini go well with a leafy salad and you could also add some marinated beetroot, stuffed olives and crusty bread. Make them yourself to impress everyone or buy readymade – no one will ever know!
MAIN
Simple: A lasagne is a very easy people pleaser that most people will like. Allow yourself enough time to make it and have it in the oven just as your friends arrive (it should then cook for around 40 minutes). Serve with a simple side salad of mixed leaves and cherry tomatoes. You could also add a slice of garlic bread, too.
Use veggie mince or green lentils for a veggie option and make a dairy-free bechamel sauce with soya milk, vegan butter and nutritional yeast for a vegan version.
Sophisticated: A Thai green curry made with all fresh ingredients served with jasmine rice, coriander and fresh lime could go down a storm. Adjust the chilli to suit your friends’ tastes and for that icing on the cake, place each portion of rice into a small ramekin before turning onto the plate and serving the curry around it. Once ready, remove the ramekin and the rice will be perfectly set into the shape of your ramekin.
If you’re making the curry with chicken, then vegan/veggie guests will enjoy a separate plant-based version which you’ll find in the Meat-Free aisle of your supermarket. Don’t forget vegans also won’t eat a fish sauce but there are readymade Thai curry pastes that are fine for vegans and so suitable for everyone.
If you want to really impress everyone, a Lychee Ice vape could make a great alternative palate cleanser.
DESSERT
Simple: Who doesn’t love a warm chocolate brownie served with ice cream? Put your own twist on this classic by serving something more unusual like ginger ice cream or coconut milk sorbet (the vegans will be impressed!) Remember vegans don’t eat dairy or eggs so if you have vegan guests, make the brownies vegan.
Sophisticated: Strawberry Pavlova is an impressive finale for any dinner party. Own it by adding some slightly more unusual berries to the top like redcurrants or create your own version with exotic tropical fruits like pineapple, lychee or kiwi and passionfruit for a real showstopper.
After-dinner Vapes
Classic: a Mint disposable blu bar is the obvious choice.
Fruity: our best-selling Strawberry Ice will go well especially after a classic strawberry Pavlova.
Sophisticated: Grape Mix or refreshing Grape Ice is a great choice if you’re serving wine.
Exotic: Tropical Mix, Lychee Ice or the popular Kiwi Passionfruit will be a fine accompaniment, especially if you’re serving a tropical fruit Pavlova.
Top 10 Tips for a Vape-friendly Dinner Party
Check if your friends have any special dietary requirements and make sure you have vegan or gluten-free options, if required. There’s nothing worse than serving up meat to someone who’s just gone veggie or cheese to someone who’s now vegan.
Have a variety of drinks on offer and include a choice of soft drinks even if you’re serving alcohol. There are some great non-alcoholic beers and wines available for anyone not drinking and remember, any drink served in a fancy glass will seem special!
Make sure everyone knows how to get to your place and has a way of getting home safely without driving if they’re drinking. Friends who haven’t visited before will benefit from a postcode as well as your address whether they’re taking their car or booking a taxi.
Tell your friends what time to get there but make it around thirty minutes to an hour before you serve the starters just in case anyone’s late.
Serve drinks as people arrive and have some nibbles on hand in case anyone’s hungry as you won’t be serving anything immediately.
Make sure you have enough chairs and cutlery. It’s so easy to invite more and more friends but a dinner party is generally a sit-down meal so only invite as many people as you have chairs for.
Make your meals ahead of time so they just need to be heated up or you’ll miss all the conversation, or worse, get distracted in the kitchen and ruin it all!
Be careful to make sure you cook meat, fish or seafood properly. You don’t want anyone getting food poisoning!
Have a variety of vape flavours available in case your friends don’t like the ones you’ve chosen for the evening.
Finally, keep it casual and easy going. It’s a dinner party, not a wedding and they’re your mates not food critics. Even if it doesn’t all quite go to plan, rest assured the after-dinner vapes will be a highpoint of the night!
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