Hosting a party on the water is the most fun way to spend your summer. If you’re lucky enough to live by the sea or lake, you’ve probably rented (or even bought, if you can afford one) a boat and invited some people for a fun party on the water.
But even if you live nowhere near any body of water, you can still hold a boat-themed party at your home or at any venue you want. You will need nautical decorations and, of course, creative food ideas to solidify your theme.
If you want to host an awesome boat theme party, here are some food ideas to serve:
Shrimp with Snow Pea Sails
Upgrade your usual shrimp cocktail by making some fun hors d’oeuvres in the shape of a boat using marinated shrimp and snow peas!
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ lbs. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1/3 cup sesame oil
- 2 tbsp. rice vinegar
- Garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
- 15-20 snow peas
- Salt and pepper
Directions:
- Cook shrimp in boiling water until it’s pink.
- Drain the shrimp and immerse them in cold water to prevent overcooking.
- Drain again and place in a stainless steel or glass bowl.
- Whisk it together with oil, vinegar, ginger, garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Pour over the shrimp, and stir to coat.
- Cover and refrigerate for one to two days, and stir the marinade at least every 8 hours.
- On the day of the party, string the snow peas and blanch them in boiling water for 30 seconds.
- Drain and immerse the peas in ice water to chill. Drain well.
- Slice each snow pea in half crosswise to create two pieces that look like sails.
- Insert a toothpick from the cut end and along the straight edge of the snow pea. This will serve as the “sailboat mast.”
- Finally, stick the other side of the toothpick to a piece of shrimp and serve.
Life Rings and Crab Buoys
Lifebuoys are a great nautical decoration, but it’s more fun if you serve appetizers in their shape.
Ingredients:
- 30 slices of wheat bread
- 3 artichoke hearts
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 6 oz. crab meat
- 3 green onions, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced,
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
- Roasted red peppers, unsliced
- Round cookie cutters (sizes: 2 ¾” and 1 3/8”)
Directions:
- Spread wheat bread into plates and let it out for two hours to make it harden slightly.
- Combine artichoke hearts, onions, crab, garlic, and lemon juice in a food processor. Pulse it until everything is chopped small. Add cream cheese and puree until smooth.
- Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.
- Cut out around from each bread slice about 2 ¾” in diameter using a cookie cutter.
- Spread the crab mixture to completely cover each bread slice round. If needed, refrigerate after to make sure the bread and the mixture are firm for cutting out the center.
- Cut out the center of each round using a 1 3/8” cookie cutter to create a ring and a small round.
- Cut the roasted red peppers into 4 rectangles about ½” wide and slightly longer in length.
- Place the red pepper rectangles on top of the large bread rounds, equally spaced, to make it look like the red lines on a lifebuoy.
- Cut the roasted red peppers into three strips about ¼ inch wide, with one strip about 1 ½ inch long and the other two about 5/8 inches long.
- Place the longer strip across the center of the small round, then put the smaller strips on each side perpendicular to the long strip to make a red X.
Ranch Cucumber Bites
Summer calls for tasty yet fresh food options. Here’s an idea if you’re looking for a fresh new way to serve crunchy and refreshing cucumbers. It doesn’t get much easier than this one!
Ingredients:
- 2 large cucumbers, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds
- 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley
- 2 tablespoons dried dill
- 1-4 tablespoons buttermilk
- 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried chives
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Fresh chives, for garnish
Directions:
- Mix together cream cheese, dill, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, chives, and black pepper in a medium-size bowl until well combined.
- Add in the buttermilk, one teaspoon at a time. Mix until the cream cheese is thin enough to easily spread to cucumber slices.
- Pour the mixture into a piping bag.
- Pipe a tablespoonful heap of the cream cheese mixture unto each cucumber slice.
- Top each slice with half of a cherry tomato. Garnish with fresh chives.
Fruity Frozen Yogurt Bites
If you need a fresh idea for a yummy, fruity and cold dessert, rainbow-colored yogurt bites are something to try. It will surely be a crowd-pleaser for kids and adults alike!
Ingredients:
- 5 containers of Yoplait original yogurt (6 oz. each), one of each flavor: strawberry, key lime pie, lemon burst, French vanilla, and mountain blueberry
- 6 tablespoons each: diced mango, raspberries, diced kiwifruit, diced pineapple, and blueberries
Directions:
- Put a paper baking cup in mini muffin cups.
- Spoon 2 tablespoons of yogurt from each container into baking cups. You would fill 6 miniature cups from each container – 30 cups all in all.
- Sprinkle a teaspoon of fresh fruit on top of each mini yogurt cup to match the colors. Put raspberries on top of the strawberry yogurt, mango on the French vanilla yogurt, pineapple on the lemon burst yogurt, kiwifruit on the key lime pie yogurt, and blueberries on the mountain blueberry yogurt.
- Place the muffin pan in the freezer for at least two hours or until firm. Serve.
Sparkling Mint Lime Iced Tea
Not everyone likes to booze it up, and some of your guests are probably avoiding alcohol. Providing a batch of minty, sweet tea will be a refreshing treat.
Ingredients:
- 4 cups water
- 4 mint tea bags
- 8 teaspoons lime juice
- 2 cups sparkling water, carbonated
- 4 sprigs of fresh mint (optional)
- 4 half slices of lime for garnish (optional)
- Honey, vanilla coffee syrup, or agave syrup to sweeten the drink (optional)
- Crushed ice (optional)
Directions:
- Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Remove it from heat and add 4 bags of mint tea. Let it steep for 10 minutes.
- Discard tea bags and pour some tea into a small pitcher. Refrigerate until well chilled.
- Chill tall glasses in the fridge or shortly in the freezer. Add crushed ice, a cup of tea, and sweetener if you like. Also, add one or two teaspoons of lime juice, depending on how tart you want your tea to taste.
- Add ½ cup sparkling water. Squeeze some mint sprigs and add them to your glass. Garnish it with half a lime, if you like.