Sunday, April 28, 2019

Wheel of Fortune Party

For some reason, when I was trying to think of a theme for April's monthly dinner, the television show Wheel of Fortune popped into my head.  I don't even really know why as it isn't a show I watched very much growing up, but it is the longest-running syndicated game in show in US history!  When I started to think about this theme, my creativity started flowing, and I had so much fun putting together the theme for this dinner.  So, let's get to the details...


Invite:  Of course I had to use the iconic puzzle board as the main focus of the invitation along with the giant wheel.  I used PhotoShop to create the puzzle and add the other items.


Entry Decor:  It was fun to create the table decor for this dinner theme. I used a lot of bright colors and game show inspired pieces to make it fun.


For the centerpiece, I used scrapbook paper to make wedges to resemble the giant spinning wheel wedges from the show, and used my Cricut to cut out the numbers, etc.  I placed them in the center along with a $1 frame from Michaels that I painted with gold glitter.  I made a puzzle board with our theme on it to tape to the center of the frame.


For the place setting, I folded napkins to look like wedges and then added numbers.  On top of each plate, I had a puzzle for the guests to solve later in the evening.



I made the placecards to be name badges like they have on Wheel of Fortune.  I bought wooden ovals from Michaels to paint white.  I cut the blue oval out of cardstock and the letters on white cardstock.  They sat at each place setting to start, but I hot glued a large safety pin to the back, so once we sat down to dinner, the guests wore them on their clothing.



For my side table, I made a banner and a giant fake check.


I designed these fun labels for my wine! Vanna White Wine and Pat Sajak asking  if we want to "Buy a Vowel" to complete the Red Wine puzzle.


For wine charms, I printed out the Wheel of Fortune spinner wheel to wrap around the stem of each glass.  I cut a small white triangle of card stock to act as the "pointer."  Each pointer was glued to a different wedge, so guests could distinguish which glass was theirs.


Menu:  I had fun planning the menu for this dinner and trying to match it to the theme.  We started with a colorful green salad, but instead of serving it in a giant bowl, I separated the ingredients into wedges on a wheel.  The salad included spring mix salad, tomatoes, corn, orange peppers, and olives.


On the show Wheel of Fortune, there is often a prize wedge with some sort of vacation. For this dinner, we won a trip to Italy!!  I bought wagon WHEEL pasta that we served with a simple tomato sauce, sauted mushrooms, and fresh Parmesan cheese.  Easy and yummy.


We also won a car for this monthly dinner!  I borrowed my daughter's Barbie Corvette as a serving platter for garlic knot rolls.  These were just frozen rolls I found in the frozen section of the grocery store.  Five minutes in the oven and they were delicious.


We had a bit of fun with dessert with the "mystery wedge."  I converted a cake decorating turntable into the Wheel of Fortune wheel using colorful cardstock.  I bent a bright colored pipe cleaner to use to indicate which wedge the spinner landed on.  I bought a cheesecake variety pack from Sams Club, and placed a slice of cheesecake on each wedge.  Guests spun the wheel to see which piece they would get for dessert!


This was so easy and such a fun addition to the evening fun.


Party Activities:  We had a little fun with guessing puzzles in our own style of Wheel of Fortune.  At each place setting, I had a puzzle.  We didn't spin a wheel, but each guest was able to participate as Vanna White while the rest of us guessed the puzzle.


I placed the "solve" of each puzzle on the bottom of the plate, so each guest was able to know the answer before each round began.


For this dinner, I used the names of past monthly dinners.  It was fun to remember memories and laugh about them after we solved the puzzle and the game definitely got everyone involved.


Favor:  We were all winners with this game of Wheel of Fortune.  Each guest won 3 mini 100 Grand bars!  I created a simple game puzzle tag that read Thanks for Coming.

This was a fun party to design.  We had fun with everything from the food to decor.  Definitely recommend hosting one of these if you have friends that love game show-inspired games!