The ultimate guide to hosting a Toga party

About Toga parties

People typically wear a Toga at these parties and show more skin. This party can be Greek or Roman themed.

This party is popular with college students.

If you want a classier event you could have a Mount Olympus party which makes people Greek gods and goddesses.

How to make a Toga

Most people make Togas from sheets. Some use safety pins to attach the join the sheet to itself, some tie the ends together.

Sheets are typically white but any color will do. It may be better to use cheap sheets since you're partying. You would need a fairly big sheet, a queen sized sheet or longer is recommended.

Normally you would put a sheet around your waist then over your left shoulder and put it around your right hip. For any remaining sheet you would put it around your waist. Finally you could choose to join it with a safety pin or a brooch.

Women would probably want to wrap it around their upper chest to mid calf before putting it over their shoulder.

You may want to wear underwear in case your toga is not as secure as you think.

A group might like to make their Togas 30 minutes before your party starts. You could also have spare sheets available if people arrive without togas.

Gold colored sandals are usually a good choice for footwear. Some alternatives are leather sandals or flip flops.

Some people wear a ivy headdress. This is the more time consuming part of your costume. You would typically need florist wire, floral tape, and some ivy.

Basically you need the wire to form a double layered circle; the circle size should be smaller than the top of your head. You cover the wire with floral tape

Once the base is done stick the ivy on with floral tape.

If it's not strictly a Toga party you could suggest people come as Hercules or Xena.

Room temperature

Since many people will only be wearing a bed sheet their chest you'd probably want the room fairly hot.

Outdoor party

If you live in the tropics or it is hot where you live you could have a Toga party outside. You'd probably want to put sun block on any exposed skin.

Invitations

If you're going with paper invites and a Greek theme you could have paper rolled up and tied with a ribbon. This will make your invite seem like a Greek announcement.

You could buy Greek themed invitations in stores or order them online.

If you're doing a Facebook event perhaps you can find pictures of people in Togas to put up.

You could also have references from the move Animal House such as sunglasses.

For a Mount Olympus party you could feature rich colors on the invitations such as gold.

Drinks

Wine and beer are good choices and you can also serve Roman inspired cocktails such as Roman Holiday.

Food

Grapes and other fruit would be great. Other healthy options include hummus and pita bread, veggies (especially olives) and feta cheese.

If you have more time to prepare you could offer roasted lamb, baklava, spanakopita, or some horiatiki salad. Your attendees could also bring some of the dishes if they feel like sharing the work.

Alternatively you could just order from a Greek restaurant.

Music

The Animal House soundtrack might be a good option, but if you prefer other music that's fine.

Lighting

Consider getting oil lamps to have a more older times feel to your party.

If you don't want to party without disco lights, that's fine too.

Decorations

You could decorate your place with white and gold. Buy streamers and balloons. You could also buy cheap items to spray paint white and gold.

If you have the budget or time you could have cardboard or plastic columns, statue busts and pedestals. These could be rented from party suppliers but you can also make your own with paper mache.

You can hang up white sheets and put them over seats for a Mount Olympus party.

Games and activities

You can have games like Chariot Races. People pair up, piggy-back and race trying not to spill the drink. You could also use wheelbarrows as Chariots.

Another game would be Still As. Participants pose as Roman statues and stay still for as long as possible. Whoever doesn't move the longest wins the competition.

Beer Pong and Flip Cup may also be great games to play too.

You could have a trivia game with a Greek mythology theme, and you could slip in questions about the movie Animal House.

A Toga fashion show could be a fun thing to do. You could have prizes for the person wearing the most authentic costume and the costume that has the best accessories.

You could have Olympic type activities at your event such as long jump or discus throw. These activities might be more appropriate outside.

Rome in the foam

You could consider adding foam to your party which might be a different experience. However foam isn't suitable for all places. Read more about foam parties.

Movie

If you want something on the screen the comedy movie Animal House features a Toga party. It stars John Belushi.

TV episodes with Toga parties

The TV show Greek featured a Toga party in the first episode of season 4. The series was a comedy-drama on ABC family.

The forth episode of Silicon Valley also featured a Toga party.

World's biggest Toga party

According to the Guinness World Records the biggest Toga party ever was held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia with 3,700 participants. The event was held on 24 February 2013.

Some historical facts about Toga parties

Early mentions of Toga parties exist in U.S. year books from the 1950s.

Franklin D Roosevelt had a Toga party in 1934 after critics called him Caesar.

Before Toga parties similar parties were called "bed sheet and pillow slip parties".

Thanks for reading

I hope that you have a great Toga party.