How to Throw a Greco-Roman Toga Party

More Than Your Typical College Toga Party

Classic history lovers and toga-lovers alike will enjoy hosting a Greco-Roman toga party! This theme embraces the Greco-Roman world that evokes familiar images of ancient people wearing white togas among classical architecture. It’s similar to a classic college toga party, except instead of beer kegs you have red wine. And the food and décor are more intentionally thematic. If you can’t wait to get your toga on, let’s cover all the ways you can help your guests step back in time a couple thousand years to enjoy the beautiful world of ancient Greece and Rome!

A woman wears a white Greco-Roman costume gown with gold lining and headband while holding one of several standing lit torches, dressed for a classical toga party in Paraguay — Juliano Astc; Plato Terentev

A white marble bust statue stands on a stone stand against a background of garden greenery — Juliano Astc; Plato Terentev

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Greco-Roman Toga Party Hosting 101

1. Turn Your Home into an Ancient Empire with Classical Greco-Roman Décor

A classic Greco-Roman style black bust sculpture of a man rests on white counter, classy decor for toga party — Sami Abdullah

To transform your party space into the ancient Greco-Roman world, cover it in any classical Greco-Roman-style decorations such as imitation marble bust sculptures, white columns, and vine-like foliage including artificial grapes. You can achieve this look with any of the various backdrops, tapestries, and decorative items listed below:

2. Prepare Greco-Roman Food

A small stream of olive oil is seen being poured into a small clear glass bowl mostly filled, with a few green olives sitting to the side, a must-have topping to dribble over savory appetizers at a toga party — Pixabay

Delicious mediterranean food is one of the most enjoyable features of a toga party! Stick to the regional staples and serve platters with grapes, cheese, nuts, olives, and olive oil infused with fresh herbs. Serve plenty of red wine, non-alcoholic sparkling grape juice, and grape juice to drink. Below are plenty of delicious recipes for your toga party menu:

Top-down close-up photo of a plate with a small bowl filled with green olives, a couple of slices of baguette drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with powdered cayenne pepper, next to a small bowl filled with olive oil, classic refreshments to serve at a toga party — Polina Tankilevitch

3. Create an Ancient Ambience with Greco-Roman Music

To really set a Greco-Roman vibe, play traditional music that was common during that era with any of these ancient Greek and Roman-inspired tracks:

A bronze statue of flying Cupid with bow and arrow against a bright clear blue sky in Dnipro, Ukraine — Volodymyr Tokar

4. Add Evocative Scents

We covered the sights, the flavors, and the sounds of the Greco-Roman ancient world. Now, consider the scents! To fully immerse your guests in a Greco-Roman toga party, introduce pleasant aromas with any of these Greco-Roman inspired scented candles:

White stone classical nude statue seen from the back in Stockholm, Sweden — Evren Aydin

5. Plan Toga Party Games

Brush up everyone on their Greek mythology with any of these printable digital downloads:

6. Establish Guest Participation (Wear a Toga)

Young man wearing a toga costume comprised of a white sheet bunched over one shoulder and green vine headband, dressed for a toga party — Alessandro De Bellis

This is one party with a strict dress code: togas! Guests don’t have an excuse for lack of costume – it isn’t something they have to buy if they already sleep on a bed with sheets. A sheet is all they need to wrap themselves up, toga-style! More fashionable folks can also find plenty of toga costumes and other period-inspired costumes like this Greek goddess gown with a gold sash.

You could also request that guests bring a dish or drink to share, which would help simplify (and lower the cost of) food acquisition/preparation. Most people are happy to contribute, but always make sure you communicate any required or requested participation when you initially invite people.

Checklist of Items You Need

Close-up photo of plush, fat, bright purple grape clusters on a vine - a classical snack to serve at a toga party — Luiz M. Santos

Now that we’ve covered what you’ll need to do for a toga party, here’s a list of all the tangible items you may need to acquire for it:

Greco-Roman décor
Greco-Roman party refreshments
Greco-Roman music
Greco-Roman inspired scented candles
Greco-Roman themed party games
Toga

Preparation Checklist for Your Toga Party

Photo looking up toward a corner of the Parthenon in Athens against a clear blue sky — Clark van der Beken

Most of these steps for party preparation apply to any type of party you host. So while we covered toga-specific details and ideas above, below are basic party planning guidelines to neatly order each step of the process (you can find more thorough details in the Best Party Practices posts):

1. First, confirm that people can come on any chosen date

Choose party date/time, and preferably alternative date(s) as well
Choose guest list and establish minimum number of guests you’d like (to make it worth your effort)
Six weeks out, confirm guests’ interest in the party and availability on chosen party date(s). The only details you’ll need to share at this time include what type of party it will be (toga-themed); any requested participation; party date and general time of day; and your address (or other location if elsewhere)
This first step is just to get people to confirm that, barring unforeseen circumstances, they are able and willing to attend and will save the date to do so. If your preferred minimum number of guests confirm interest and availability, have them secure the calendar date for your awesome toga party!

Statue of classical Greco-Roman man wearing toga set within depressed recess of exterior concrete wall — Joaquin Carfagna

2. Then, proceed with the fun planning

Once you have your toga party date established, you first need to get out your calendar and map out when you plan to do every step of preparation. This means you schedule time for each preparation activity that you’ll need to do. If you don’t schedule time on your calendar early enough, you may find yourself overwhelmed and unprepared the day of the party. Don’t do that to yourself! Check out the How to Be a Good Party Host post for more clarification on exactly what you can do to be confident, prepared, and ahead of the game. Party planning isn’t rocket science, but it naturally requires some thought and effort (which people notice). Below is a general overview of what you can expect to do leading up to the party.

Close-up photo of several bunches of both purple and green grapes in an open wicker basket — Gunter Hoffmann

First, sit down and schedule time on your calendar for each step of party prep as listed below
Create invitations with all the details and send them out 4 weeks before the party
Order any party supplies and decorations 3 weeks out (so they arrive in time to set up)
Shop for any party supplies/decorations you don’t order online, as well as non-perishable food/drinks
Acquire perishable food/drinks early enough in advance to prepare in time
Set up decorations
Prepare food/drinks (depending on how long things keep)

3. Day of Party

Ripe green grape clusters on a vine in sunlight — Laura Stanley

It’s very important to get as much party prep done far enough in advance that you have some time to yourself to relax come party day, especially if you’ve been busy. So be sure to plan your day-of-party preparations early enough to have that time and space to yourself as well. Within those amply planned/set-aside time slots, you can expect to do these preparations during the day of your party:

Complete any last-minute food/drink prep that are too fresh to do any earlier
Set up any quick/easy last-minute supplies and decorations (if not up already)
Prepare ambience (music, candles)
Get dressed in your toga
Once everything’s ready, take the time for any preferred self-care activities that get you in a good head space if you aren’t already. This is in your own and everybody else’s best interest (they’ll pick up on your contagiously good vibe)! You want to be a relaxed, energized, and happy host in a toga 😊

Close-up photo of a small clear glass pitcher of olive oil with several green olives piled inside, a fitting dip for fresh bread served at a toga party — Mareefe

All Set to Host an Epic Greco-Roman Toga Party

Every part of the party planning process is meant to be enjoyable – from planning the menu to putting up decorations. At the end of the day, the goal is for you and your guests to have an awesome time – even if that looks different than you envisioned. As long as you put thought and care into party preparation and keep a flexible mindset that allows grace for when things turn out differently, your toga party will be a terrific time everyone will remember.