4 Tips For Hosting A Great Melbourne Cup Day Party At Home With Friends
As fun as heading to Flemington for Melbourne Cup Day is, it isn’t for everyone - and certainly not every year. The vast majority of people will be tuning in from home, and there’s no reason they need to have any less fun than those attending the event. Every second backyard will be playing host to an event of some sort on the big day, and these tips can help you to host a great Melbourne Cup party at home.
1. Stock up on food and drinks
Of course, this isn’t exclusive to Melbourne Cup Day - anytime you’re having a few people over you ideally want to be able to offer them something to eat and drink! Cup Day is no exception, and given most parties will last throughout much of the afternoon and often into the night, it’s important to make sure that you’ve catered for a long day. The races start at around midday and run all afternoon, so from a food perspective you ideally want to have a range of smaller finger foods to keep people going for a number of hours. And in terms of drinks - well, just make sure that you have enough.
2. Give your TV pride of place
At most parties your TV won’t exactly play a major role, but at a Melbourne Cup Day party it certainly will. Not everyone who attends will want to settle in and watch each and every race, but likely a few people will and you’ll certainly want to be tuning in at around 5pm when the big race jumps. Don’t be afraid to move your TV to somewhere a little more accessible for guests to make sure that those who want to watch the racing action can do exactly that.
3. Get guests involved by organising a sweep
The Melbourne Cup Day sweep is a hugely popular way for people to get involved in the big race, and you can add to the atmosphere of your Melbourne Cup Day party by organising one of your own. Doing so is pretty easy - all you need to do is pop the name of every horse into a hat and have everyone who wants to get involved pull a name out. Your sweep can simply be for bragging rights, but to add to the excitement a little more, get everyone to chip in a little cash and distribute it to whoever picked out the winner and placegetters.
4. Host your own version of Fashions on the Field
Fashions on the Field has become a major part of every Melbourne Cup Carnival, with Flemington attendees competing for style supremacy at this iconic part of raceday. But there’s no reason that fun needs to be reserved exclusively for those at the track. To add to the Melbourne Cup theme, ask your guests to dress up in their best race day attire and run your own version of Fashions on the Field, with prizes on offer for the best dressed guests.
Having a great Melbourne Cup Day doesn’t necessarily need to involve heading to Flemington. Plenty of people around Melbourne and indeed Australia enjoy their day from the comfort of their own home, and backgrounds around the country are home to Cup Day parties on the first Tuesday of November. There are a number of ways you can spice up a party of your own, and the above four tips should help you to do that.
