If you are planning a dinner party and looking for some entertainment ideas, have a look at my top 10 list of some of the best entertainment around Hampshire and the Home Counties.
Each entertainer has a short description and a link to their website, whatever your taste you should be able to find the perfect entertainment for any of your dinner parties.
1. Close up Magician
Add some magic to your dinner parties with one of the finest close up magicians in the UK.
Roger Lapin has been amazing guests at dinner parties for over 18 years. Roger is a member of the world famous Magic Circle and guaranteed to give your guests a magical experience they will not forget!
Roger is a Hampshire Magician based near Southampton and available to hire across the UK, watch the showreel below to see him in action.
2. Saxophonist
A saxophonist will give your party a much smoother, rich ambience. Playing soulful music, a Saxophonist will perform for your guests giving them an original background sound!
You cannot beat the sound of a Saxophone!
Wendy has played for many years both on the professional circuit and performs solo as well as in bands. Alongside all the solo work Wendy undertakes, she also directs her own 8 piece jazz funk fusion band Spiral, performs regularly with her jazz outfit Coco Jazz and the sax and vocal duo, Saxuality.
https://www.wendy-allen.co.uk/
3. Fun Casino
Setup a private casino in your living room with Blackjack, Poker or Roulette. You play with fun money but the competition is high. Using full size casino tables – it’s just like the real thing. A great hit at dinner parties!
Viva Las Vegas are a family run business based in the south of England
They are a professional, friendly, experienced, family team established for over 20 years. Providing an exceptional service.
https://www.vivalasvegasuk.com
4. Silhouette Artist
Imagine a skilled artist cutting the silhouette of each of your guests out of a piece of black card and then presenting it to them in a card they can keep forever.
Charles Burns has cut many notable portraits, including two silhouettes of the Queen. He is the UK’s busiest silhouette artist, working at a huge variety of events at home and overseas.
5. String Quartet
If you want the soundtrack to your party to be a cello & violin you need to hire a string quartet. Professional musicians playing classic or modern music, it’s the perfect soundtrack to your party.
The 4Strings Quartet is an experienced professional Hampshire wedding string quartet based in Portsmouth.
They provide competitively priced quality live music for all types of corporate functions and private parties.
They also offer a violin and cello string duo for the smaller dinner party.
https://www.4stringsquartet.com/
6. Murder Mystery
How about turning your dinner party into a night of mystery? A murder has been committed and you and your guests need to work out who the killer is? Dinner party games are always a great hit and murder mystery is the ultimate!
Their Murder Mystery Party is the perfect answer for a fun evening – perhaps an intimate dinner with friends, a Hen or Birthday Party or any get-together where you want to immerse yourself and play both suspect AND detective in your own event.
http://www.murder-mystery-uk.com/
7. Ice Sculpture
Whilst not exactly dinner party entertainment an ice sculpture is an amazing centrepiece to your evening; alternatively why not have some vodka based fun with a vodka ice luge setup in your dining room?
The ICE Agency are specialists in vodka ice luges, ice sculptures, live ice carving displays, themed décor
, ice bars, event management, ice cube and dry ice, audio visual, ice table centres and much more for more than 20 years.
They cover the UK and Overseas with ther Ice Creations and are a global ice carving company. Their designs are competitively priced and they will happily beat any quote you have received.
8. Chocolate Fountain
What could be more unique and fun than indulging in a chocolate fountain at your dinner party?
The finest ingredients and ripest fruits will surround the fountain, using Belgian chocolate and an elegant array of dipping items. Forget the desert! Everyone will be begging to get onto your guest list when they found out your having unlimited chocolate!
Chocolate Coast provides professional chocolate fountain hire for all special occasions and functions covering the South Coast.
http://www.chocolatecoast.co.uk
9. Caricaturist
A fun idea for your dinner party guests is to send them home with a hand drawn cartoon image of themselves. A caricaturist will take your guests one by one and within 10 minutes present them with a cartoon likeness which they can take home and remember your party for ever!
David from grovescartoons.co.uk has been entertaining at events as a freelance caricaturist since 2012 and attends over 120 plus events each year. He has a wealth of experience of caricaturing clients.
https://www.grovescartoons.co.uk
10. Singing Waiters
Imagine half way through your meal, the waiters who have been serving your food and wine burst into song ranging from pop to opera. You can choose the songs and really surprise your guests with something they definitely were not expecting!
The Singing Staff have been performing across the UK for the last 9 years and only use professional singers and west end stars.
https://www.thesingingstaff.co.uk/
11. Fun things to do at a dinner party
Whilst hiring professional entertainment is a great idea, it can be expensive, sometimes the simplest ideas get the most laughs, here are a few simple dinner party games you can play.
Choose a couple guests and take them aside, ask them to play some simple pranks on the rest of the party with a prize of a bottle of wine or chocolates.
- Pick a couple and ask them if they would be prepared to have a full blown row in the middle of your party, get one of them to accuse the other of cheating on them or forgetting their anniversary and get them to tell the other it’s over. This get’s some amazing reactions from your guests and then when the heat has died down make sure you let everyone know that is was just a prank and for their trouble they have won a bottle of wine each.
- Get one of your guests to pretend they have a really bad itch and see if they can get other guests to scratch it! The bigger the itch the better the prize.
- Tell one guest that you have dropped your contact in the trifle and as you can’t see it, you need to get it out with a spoon. Leave them for a few minutes to see if they can fish it out, then tell another guest that the first one is eating all the trifle. This will get some laughs!
Use your imagination and make sure nobody else knows what you are up to! Your parties will become well known and your guests will not know what is happening and will be begging you to have another party as it was so much fun.
Conclusion
Dinner parties are the ultimate evening entertainment and you are sure to want to ensure your guests have a great time, whilst you don’t need to spend a lot of money, just having a few dinner party games is not really going to cut it if you want your party to be a hit. Hiring at least one professional form of entertainment for your party can guarantee your guests will be talking about your dinner party for weeks to come!
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