7 Epic Pizza Party Ideas (for Adults!)

Despite what you may think, pizza parties are not just for kids or awkward office socials.

Whether you’re celebrating a birthday, making the most of the summer, or feeding the troops on game day, a pizza party is the perfect crowd-pleaser – after all, who doesn’t like pizza?!

However, if you’ve never organised a pizza party before, it can difficult to know where to start.

In this blog post, I’m going to give you everything you need to plan the perfect pizza party.

I’ll share some of my best pizza party ideas, as well as what to serve at a pizza party, how to choose the most delectable toppings, and how to ensure your pizza party is inclusive and enjoyable for everyone.

So, if you’re ready for some creative pizza party ideas that will be a guaranteed hit, just keep reading.

7 Epic Pizza Party Ideas for Adults

Pizza Party Ideas

1. Potluck pizza party

Here’s the beauty of a potluck: everyone contributes a dish, sharing their unique tastes and lightening the load on the host. It’s a win-win situation, guaranteeing a diverse, irresistible spread, and helping to keep costs low for you at the same time.

Write a list of the things you’ll need (pizzas, garlic bread, sides, sodas), and ask everybody to bring something from the list!

Although pizza is undeniably the star of the show, a well-rounded spread needs a supporting cast of sides.

Consider asking your guests to bring refreshing summer salads, dough balls with garlic butter, and some sauces or dips.

A word of warning: you’ll obviously need a few pizzas, but be sure to specify that people should think outside the box -everyone loves a pepperoni pizza, but your pizza party doesn’t need 10 of them!

Top tip

When assigning potluck dishes, consider any dietary restrictions your guests might have. A quick note on the invitation can ensure everyone feels included and has a slice (or two!) of deliciousness to enjoy.

If you have vegan or gluten-free guests, be mindful of that and have a couple of extra pizzas on hand for them, just in case the potluck doesn’t go as planned.

2. Make your own pizza party

If you want your guests to have a really fun time, a make-your-own pizza party is the way to go!

Set up a pizza making station (a large dining table or kitchen island works best for this), prepare your dough in advance, and lay out a wide array of toppings for your guests to go wild with!

To take things up a notch, you can even add an element of competition.

Have your guests vote on which pizza is decorated the most beautifully, which uses the most unique (but still tasty!) combination of toppings, and which is the most authentically Italian. You can award prizes to the winners, and have a forfeit for whoever made the worst pizza!

Another way to spice things up (literally) is by having your guests try a bunch of hot sauces to see who can handle the heat!

Pizza topping ideas

• Red onion
• Fresh basil
• Rocket/arugula
• Oregano
• Chili flakes
• Sun-dried tomatoes
• Cherry tomatoes
• Speck
• Spicy salami
• Jalapeno peppers
• Mushrooms
• Garlic oil
• Prosciutto
• Anchovies
• Capers
• Gorgonzola
• Artichoke hearts
• Olives

Top tip

If you’re throwing a make your own pizza party, prepare your dough ahead of time!

This means that the cooking process is much quicker, as it’s only the toppings that need to be heated. Having the dough already prepped also makes things much easier for people who aren’t used to cooking.

3. Al fresco pizza party

What better way to enjoy pizza than by turning your party into a summer garden party?

Italians love to eat outside, and you can cultivate a lovely hygge feeling in the summer by bringing the fun outdoors.

Grab a red and white gingham table cloth, light some tealights, and drape some fairy lights over the fence, and you’re sorted!

4. Italian themed party

If you’re considering a pizza party, you might want to go all out and have an Italian party!

The décor doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated; fresh flowers, tealights, wine bottles as candle holders, gingham table cloths, and an Italian flag or two really set the scene for an Italian themed party.

When it comes to dress code, you could ask your guests to dress in any of the colours of the Italian flag (red, green, and white), or tell them go as glam as possible – Italians love to dress to impress!

Get stocked up on Prosecco, Birra Moretti, and aperitivo drinks like Aperol and Campari, create some aesthetic charcuterie boards, and get searching Spotify for some banging Italian playlists.

My guide to throwing an Italian aperitivo party may give you some more ideas for this! You can also check out my article about Italian food rules, to ensure you don’t offend your Italian friends with any culinary blunders!

5. Hire caterers

If you want to take your pizza party to the next level, you might want to think about using a party experiences website to find inspiration for unique party experiences. I had a look on a website called Poptop Parties while researching this article, and I couldn’t get over some of the services available!

From singing waiters and pizza vans to ice cream carts and photobooths, the sky is the limit if you’ve got money to spend and a lot of friends to impress!

Their Italian catering section alone is massive, with some of the suppliers charging just £8 per head (although it’s worth nothing that caterers usually require a minimum of 50 guests).

6. Pizza party sports event

If there’s a better way to watch football than with friends, beer, and unlimited pizza, I haven’t come across it yet!

I’m not a huge sports fan, but I love hosting viewing parties when there’s a big tournament on, and pizza is one of the easiest things to serve for get togethers like this.

Pizza and sports matches go hand in hand, and you can keep it casual by ordering in bulk from your local takeaway and giving everyone napkins and paper plates.

For drinks, make sure you have plenty of soda and ice cold beers!

7. Sleepover party

Some of my fondest childhood memories involve staying up late, eating pizza, and watching movies during sleepovers with my friends, but who’s to say that the fun has to stop when you’re an adult?

Sleepover themed parties are so much fun, and they don’t take much work to pull off!

Invite a handful of people (sleepover parties work best in groups of less than 10), insist on a PJs-only dress code, gather a bunch of classic sleepover movies (Clueless, anyone?), and feast on sleepover classics like pizza, popcorn, and hot chocolate with marshmallows.

You can even make a den in your living room, if you have the space!

Pizza Party Ideas | Final Thoughts

I hope that this article has given you some inspiration for your upcoming pizza party!

When it comes to themed parties, the sky really is the limit, and that couldn’t be more true for pizza parties.

Whether you want to keep it chill and enjoy takeout pizza while watching the game, or pull out all the stops and hire a Neapolitan pizza van with all the bells and whistles, the choice is yours.

That’s all I’ve got for today’s post, but as always, if you have any questions then please reach out in the comments section below!

Until next time,

XOXO

If you liked this article and would like to support my work, please click the button above to donate a couple of bucks and buy me a coffee. The ad revenue that I receive on this website is minimal, so support from my readers enables me to keep creating content that you (hopefully!) love to read.