Bright Ideas Event Coordinators has a long-standing tradition of including international employees in their support team. Many of our international interns come from Germany, so we would like to introduce you to a German theme idea for your next event. The first thing that comes to the mind of most people when they hear “Germany” is “Oktoberfest”. Of course, thirst-quenching beer and delicious sausages are a typically a German thing, but trust us – there is a lot more to Germany than this!
Introduce the theme to your guests
If you would like to get away from the classic Oktoberfest theme, you should think about using the German flag and their colors as your event colors instead of the Bavarian blue-white patterns. Black and red colors combined with some gold accents can make your decor shine and give your guests a hint of what to expect with the event theme when you include them on the invitation.
A very special way to create in your invitations is to include these traditional gingerbread hearts. They are usually sold on fairs and decorated with messages such as “I Love You”, etc. Why not send out these gingerbread hearts and replace the typical messages with the invitation theme or location?
On the event day, use some typical German phrases to welcome your guests (“Herzlich Willkommen!”) and choose German music to set the mood. There is a nice variety of music for every taste, beginning with the classical music (Beethoven, Mozart), covering the area of rock/pop music with artists as Milky Chance or The Scorpions and ending with recent Techno and Electronic music, represented by worldwide recognized acts as Kraftwerk, Paul Van Dyk, and Paul Kalkbrenner.
The Most Important Thing-The Food!
When you are thinking about offering your guests some typical German dishes, there are lots to choose from. One blog post would never be enough to introduce to all of them! A lot of the dishes vary in the different regions of Germany, but some are well-known throughout the whole country. Start with some canapés that use a variety of German bread, for example Rye-Wheat, Whole Grain or Sunflower Seed bread, topped with different kinds of cheese, fish, and sausages. Add some filled vegetables with cream cheese dip and herbs.
As a main dish, serve German style potato salad – is usually served with some snack-size meatballs or steamed sausages. There are different ways of preparing this salad. In the north of Germany it is usually made with a mayonnaise sauce whereas the south loves their potato salad with oil and vinegar, so offer your guests a variety. A German specialty is “Currywurst”, which is basically a sausage, either Bratwurst or a steamed pork sausage, served sliced and spiced with curry ketchup and curry powder. A lot of German cities claim to have invented this specialty, but it is most commonly associated with the capital, Berlin.
Yet another traditional finger food is small “Bratwurst” sausages served in a bread roll and usually spiced with either mustard or ketchup. You can add some nice flavour by adding the traditional “Sauerkraut” or other vegetables. As a side dish you could serve bite-sized Pretzel bread rolls topped with different seeds. Your guests will love them! Guten Appetit! (This means “Enjoy your meal!”)
For those guests with a sweet tooth at your event, offer them the traditional Black Forest cake, updated into a bite-size mini-cupcake, or serve German-style cheesecake, which features raisins in the dough. Another nice addition is miniature ‘Berliners’. This specialty is also called ‘Pancake’ in some areas of Germany. They are similar to doughnuts, but instead of having a hole in the middle they are filled with strawberry or cherry jam and covered with icing sugar. A desert that is especially appreciated in summer is stewed red fruits, traditionally served with vanilla sauce or whipped cream. This tasty delight that usually contains strawberries, raspberries and currants is originally from the North of Germany but nowadays is well-known in the whole country.
Have your guests engage in German culture
When having a German theme, of course you cannot miss out on some German beer. Why don’t you organize a beer tasting with different German beer types? Split your guests up in groups and let them guess which of the delicious beverages is a Pale Lager (“Pils”), a Wheat Beer (“Weizen”) or Stout (“Schwarzbier”). The group with the most correct answers could win a prize.
But please, do not forget about German wine as well! Offer your guests the best German wines from the Rhine area to delight those who are not into beer. A nice Riesling or Dornfelder will surely be appreciated by your guests.
For entertainment at your event, invite some traditional German dancers or musicians playing traditional folk music. To help your guests mix and mingle, why don’t you include a German Trivia game during cocktails? Show your guests pictures of some European sights and mix the most important German ones in. Then let your guests try to figure out the German sights. Some nice examples could be the Brandenburg Gate or the Cologne Cathedral.
Having a German theme for your next event can be much more than just another Oktoberfest celebration. Call us today or request a quote and we will be happy to help you incorporating the German flair to your next event!
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