Ideas for a Netherlands Themed Party
Holland. Or The Netherlands, if you prefer. The home of a seemingly effortless style of classy enjoyable football that has captivated the world - and made the Dutch many people's second favourite national team - since the 1970's.
Strangely, also the home of some very eccentric orange-clad footy fans. For those not "in the know", the orange obsession comes from the House of Orange, Holland's royal family.
The queen's birthday is celebrated all over the country every year as a national holiday, with open-air concerts and festivals, and the now traditional "free markets", during which
anyone is free to set up a market stall and sell whatever they wish to without having to pay tax on the profits. This turns the centres of many cities into giant open air car boot sales.
The other tradition of Koninginnedag ("Queen's day") is for everything to turn orange in her honour. There are orange banners everywhere, people seem to be able to find
entire bright orange wardrobes, bright orange food and drink are on sale (don't ask how much food colouring is in it!), and sometimes even the water in the fountains is coloured orange.
This "oranjegekte" (orange craze) has of course been famously borrowed by Holland's fanatical football supporters, and provides all the information you need for
colour theming your Dutch football party (although it is equally valid to use the colours of the national flag - red, white and blue)!
Dutch Party Decorations
Decorate yourself and your room with Holland shirts, flags and scarves (see links, right).
If you're serving food, search for orange table covers, napkins, plates, cups and
cutlery on our general
Football Party Decorations Page
For bunting, flags, balloons and more
Netherlands 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 orange will help create the right atmosphere.
Food for a Holland Themed Party
Given the traditions of
Koninginnedag and the
oranjegekte, you could almost get away with serving any food and drink you liked, as long as it's pumped full of orange
food colouring. But there are many more options to consider...
Dutch cooking today, unlike the cuisines of some neighbouring countries, has been influenced by their explorations over the past few centuries (think Dutch East India Company).
So there are many Malaysian and Indonesian restaurants, especially in the major cities, and spicy food is more popular than you might at first expect for a northern European country.
Additionally, there is quite a large Moroccan population living in Holland's major cities, and their style of cooking is also extremely popular. Combine these two diverse influences
with a traditional northern European "meat and two vedge" style of cooking, plus some internationally famous cheeses, and you will begin to see that the Netherlands has a surprisngly broad range of dishes to offer,
which is good news for those wishing to throw a Dutch football party.
Main Courses
Dutch Slow-Braised Beef (Draadjesvlees)
Fish with Tomato & Grape Salsa
Pork in Sweet Soy Sauce (Babi Ketjap)
Spicy Chicken (Ajam Seitan)
Dutch Roast Potatoes with Bacon & Garlic
Snacks
Dutch Spicy Winter Cookies - Speculaas
Drink for a Netherlands Party
Holland does not produce much wine, and is certainly not known for it. However, its beer brands - including
Grolsch
,
Heineken
and
Amstel
- are well-known internationally, and large
amounts of them are exported around the world, as well as being enjoyed in the Netherlands. Beer is in fact more highly regarded by some Dutch people than wine, and is certainly the
most popular alcoholic drink in the country. Grolsch, Heineken and Amstel should all be easy enough to find in supermarkets internationally for your
Dutch football party, or click on the links above.
