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How to Host a Parent Trap Themed Party

October 12, 2024

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If you’re thinking about hosting a parent trap themed dinner party, you’re in the right place! I grew up watching The Parent Trap (hello, child of the 90s!), so being able to bring the movie to life in my backyard was the most fun. There are just so many directions you can go…you can lean into the Camp Walden vibes, channel the California vineyard aesthetic, or go for the sophisticated Elizabeth James moments. You can’t go wrong, and there are so many ways to include the elements you love the most!

Hosting a parent trap party is a “brilliant beyond brilliant idea” and anyone can do it! Here’s how.

Step #1: Choose a Venue

No reason to overcomplicate this one! You can host this anywhere. I did it in my backyard with an outdoor showing of The Parent Trap after dinner. It was perfection. But it would be just as cozy with a smaller group of friends in your dining room and then moving to the living room for the movie. You could even take the party to a nearby vineyard if you want to go all out California vibes! Or host a bachelorette weekend at the lake and channel your inner Meredith Blake. So many options!

an outdoor movie at a parent trap party

Step #2: Incorporate Decor from The Parent Trap

Thankfully the movie has so many details that are easy to include in your party planning. I really focused on the details, and my guests noticed every single one. So worth it to make the night extra special!

Floral arrangements

Ok, if I’m being honest, the flowers are one of my favorite parts of the whole thing. For this party, I was inspired by Annie and Hallie’s matching orange and pink polo shirts in the hotel scene, so I went for soft pinks and oranges in the flowers. I love to do the arranging myself and found these at a local Nashville wholesaler that I go to for special occasions like this. (Looking at you, Import Flowers!)

a pink and orange floral arrangement on a dinner party table

Another idea I had was leaning into more “camp vibes” and sticking to white and green. That would have been so easy to accomplish with hydrangeas and daisies from Trader Joes or Publix. They don’t have to be fancy…just find something that brings in some color. I love a floral moment, and I think it adds so much life and warmth to a table!

Evian bottles and lizards

evian water bottles with lizards on a table

My guests LOVED this. I used gorilla glue from Home Depot to attach the lizards to the Evian bottles. (These are the lizards I purchased from Amazon!). Everyone needs water anyways if you’re having a dinner party, so this was a great place to include a movie moment in something also practical. Plus, they just look so fun in photos and it instantly makes you think of Meredith Blake.

Photos from the Movie

a wedding photo from the parent trap with a floral arrangement behind it

Printing photos from the movie is one of the easiest things to do, and I’m so glad I did. I printed five or six photos and had them displayed throughout the decor. The best one was of course the wedding photo of Nick and Elizabeth ripped down the middle. Iconic!

Deck of cards

I’ll take a whack at it! Remember poker night at Camp Walden? This was an easy decor addition on the dessert table that brought back all of that fun competitiveness between Hallie and Annie at Camp Walden.

parent trap decor on a dessert table

Camp Walden ideas

I’m talking green and white checkered table cloths, wooden table accents, green and white florals, camp walden t-shirts, etc. I didn’t include many of these elements, but you could go fully in this direction and it would be so fun!

Step #3: Include Parent Trap Themed Food

Another one of my favorite elements in planning this night was thinking about the food. I wanted it to be casual and relaxed but also upscale enough to merit sitting at a beautiful table with flowers and candles. I ended up going with Chessy’s Famous Chili and fancy grilled cheeses (I offered 3 options with upscale cheeses and combos).

I printed the menus and displayed them as part of the table, which automatically made things feel put together and *fancy*. Such an easy thing to do!

parent trap themed dinner menu at a place setting

For dessert, we did peanut butter and oreos and s’mores by the fire. You can’t go wrong with such parent trap classics, and my guests loved the individual peanut butter cups that made it easy to dip just like the girls did in the movie.

Step #4: Parent Trap Themed Drinks

Ok, maybe every part of the party planning was my favorite because I also LOVED planning the drinks.

Parent Trap Themed Wine

parent trap themed wine bottles in a decorative basket

I could NOT miss a chance to print custom wine labels from the movie. I did a Pinot Noir (from Trader Joe’s!) and printed the “Where Dreams Have No End” label to put on it. And then I did a nod to Nick Parker’s vineyard with a Chardonnay and “Parker Knoll Vineyard” label. For a dinner party with 15 guests, I did 5 bottles of red wine and 3 bottles of white wine. And honestly we had extra of both because the cocktails were where it was AT.

Parent Trap Themed Cocktails

I decided to theme the cocktails based off of the minor characters in the movie — The Butler, The Chessy, and The Grandfather. It was such a crowd pleaser and so fun to come up with different recipes for each one. Keep reading for the recipes!

parent trap themed cocktails displayed at a party

Cocktail Recipes

The Butler was a fancy earl grey iced tea based off of Martin and his British background.

2 parts earl grey tea, 1 part cherry juice, a few TBSP honey (multiply if making for a crowd), sparkling water to top

The Chessy was a fall sangria with white wine and hard apple cider.

2 parts white wine, 1 part hard apple cider, simple syrup, apple, orange, lemon, cinnamon.

Combine it all the morning-of so the flavors have some time to infuse.

The Grandfather was a maple bourbon smash, my favorite and SUCH a great fall cocktail.

2 oz bourbon, 2 oz orange juice, 1 oz lemon juice, 1/2 oz maple simple syrup, a few dashes orange bitters, top with ginger beer and garnish with orange and rosemary. (Recipe for 1; multiply for a crowd.)

Step #5: Dress Up as Your Favorite Character

When I sent out the invitations, I asked my friends to channel their favorite character and they *understood the assignment.* It was so fun to see everyone’s take, and it also allowed for people to go ALL OUT or take a a more chill approach. I mostly wanted everyone to feel comfortable and not feel the need to be fancy, and I think it worked out so well. Everyone had fun with it!

Here’s me as Hallie James!

Gracie posing by a dinner table at her parent trap themed party

Host Your Own Parent Trap Themed Party

Trust me, this is such a fun and easy theme that you can incorporate into your own bachelorette party, dinner party, or girls night. We all grew up on this movie, so it’s fun to have an occasion to bring it back. I think I watched it like 3x while planning this party which was a total bonus. It never gets old!

Plus I think even when you’re in your 30s, it’s so important to have fun with your friends and enjoy special, memorable nights together. That was the goal of this party…to celebrate the people who were in my life this year and show them how much I value their friendship. It was a total success, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

If you host your own parent trap party, let me know in the comments!

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POST: 5 SEO Tips for small businesses

Post: What are Backlinks?

You'll also love

Socialize

tell me more

I'm Gracie – an SEO and content expert who can help your business rank for the right keywords on Google. 

Meet Gracie