Ideas for an England Themed Party
England. Football's spiritual homeland. Whatever the state of the country economically, culturally or politically, the one thing (other than moaning about the weather!) that
can usually be relied upon to pull the English together and get us all talking is football. When the national side is winning, we are as one in singing their praises.
When they lose, we seem to over-react and over-criticise. Either way, the national team still generates huge interest and following, and what better way to celebrate our national game than by
having a few friends round and
throwing a football party?!
English Party Decorations
Decorate yourself and your room with
England shirts, flags and scarves (see links, right).
If you're serving food, search for red and white table covers, napkins, plates, cups and
cutlery on our general
Football Party Decorations Page
For bunting, flags, balloons and more
English Party Decorations Ideas,
visit our
European Football Party Decorations Page
As for colour schemes, in addition to the above ideas, anything else you can find in red and white will help create the right atmosphere.
Food for a English Themed Party
It's fascinating to see how the "English" cuisine has changed over the last 50 years or so. In common with many other northern European countries, a typical English
meal of 50 years ago would have been "meat and two vedge", fairly bland and unspiced. These days, most people would include dishes such as Spaghetti Bolognese,
pizza and Chicken Tikka Masala in a list of English recipes! Our diet has become much more diverse, reflecting a more culturally diverse country as a whole.
So what do we include here as "English" recipes? Feel free to get in touch with your suggestions and thoughts.
Starters
Meg's FA Cup o' Soup
Potted Shrimps
Onion & Ale Soup
Main Courses
Winter Warmer Shepherds Pie
Beef in Ale Casserole
"Toad in the Hole"
Lancashire Hotpot
Staffordshire Oatcakes
"Bangers" & Mash with Onion Gravy
Sweet Dishes
Manchester Pudding
Drink for a English Themed Party
Despite the fact that we have turned into a nation of lager drinkers, there isn't really a great English lager. The ones that leap to mind are Fosters (Australian), Carlsberg
(Danish), Heineken (Dutch) and Stella (Belgian). Oh, what about Carling, so proud of their British barley, and sponsors of the Carling Cup? Yes, they're probably the only major one, but did you know
that Carling is owned by Molson Coors Brewery of Canada?!
Whatever. Although we do make some wine in England, it's not widely recognised as being the finest in the world - we don't really have the climate for it, although the quality and reputation of English wines -
especially sparkling wines - are improving all the time.
What we do make well are ciders and bitters ("dark" beers). There is usually a huge choice of each available in supermarkets or online:
If it's a cold day - pretty good chance during the football season in the UK! - try our
Mulled Cider recipe.
