Hosting a dinner party is exciting but requires lots of hard work. While you’re busy in the kitchen preparing scrumptious dishes for your guests, there are great ways to keep them entertained. Our My Kitchen Rules SA judges and guests often enjoy welcome drinks, share good banter, and a few have broken out in a song or two around the table.

We drew inspiration from them and made a list of fun ways to keep your guests entertained during this festive summer season!

Build your own starter platter
Once the guests arrive and welcome drinks are served, add to the fun by laying out different types of foods for your guests to build their own starter platters. Some cool ideas can range from a spread of different types of cheese and crackers to a salad bar where they can build their own salad; or how about a drink bar with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks they can serve up themselves?

A selfie corner
Decorate a corner in the dining room or wherever it suits you for the guests to take fun selfies with each other. If you really want to go big you can get all sorts of fun props like hats and funny glasses that guests can try on for more laughs.

Pick a question from a bowl
Come up with fun and easy food questions and put them in a bowl. Each guest can take a turn picking a question from the hat and try to answer it. The person who answers the best or most correctly can get a small prize or maybe even just some extra ice cream.

Watch the contestants play a fun game of reverse Pictionary.

Or play a game of who's in the pot?

Pick a summer song
Ask your guests what their favourite summer song is, before the gathering. Make a playlist of all their songs and play them when the guests are seated around the table. They'll be sure to love it! They can even try to guess each other's songs. 

Dress to impress
Create a festive dress code theme or a summer colour theme. Your guests are bound to show up with their best outfits and get creative. This will get them talking and admiring each other's outfits and add to the festive atmosphere. You can even have a vote at the end of the night for best-dressed guest!

Ice cream bar
An ice cream or dessert bar is a perfect way to end an evening. Your guests can show off their plating or decorating skills with their sundaes.

Catch all the drama on My Kitchen Rules SA season 4 on Sundays at 18:00 on M-Net 101. 
Share your festive summer ideas on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok using the hashtag #MKRSA.