Oktoberfest at Home – How to throw your own personal Oktoberfest

It was just a regular ‘ol Wednesday when I decided… you know what? Let’s make this a special Wednesday! My husband had left for work for the evening, so it was just me and my son (who is 1.5) and we (well… me I guess) decided to have our own little Oktoberfest. We made a whole afternoon out of it and it was so much fun.

There was also the MOST ADORABLE VIDEO you would have ever seen… but somehow the file got corrupted and it’s not playable. I almost cried because for all the times my son is a bit of a monster (aka a toddler) he was just so precious in this video. We “prosted”, he ate his veggies and his Schnitzel and said “mmmm”, he was dancing to the music – the video seriously couldn’t have been better. But oh well… now it’s just a regular ‘ol blog post.

First we decided to take a walk to the local German market to get some Oktoberfest Beer and fresh pretzels. (Side Note: if I hadn’t had leftover Schnitzel from the night before, I would have 100% bought some.) Then we stopped at the flower shop to pick up some fun fall flowers to decorate our lovely table.  

When we arrived home, we put on the Spotify Oktoberfest Channel (which I was skeptical of, but was actually really great!) and did a little decorating. I didn’t go all out, just a nice Bavarian themed tablecloth that I picked up on Amazon and I put our fresh flowers in a beer stein instead of a vase.

Then we got all dressed up! I wore my new favorite dirndl, the Little Black Dirndl with the white Sweetheart Blouse with Draped Sleeves, Industrial Edelweiss Necklace and Edelweiss Wrap Bracelet. My son wore his turquoise gingham shirt and Lederhosen we picked up from Bavarian Specialties.

Then it was time to prepare dinner. Like I mentioned earlier, I had a leftover Schnitzel, which I re-heated in the toaster oven along with some frozen French fries. I sautéed some green beans with garlic, olive oil and soy sauce to go with the meal and it turned out delicious. Just enough for the two of us. While I was cooking, I poured myself a stein of Weihnstephaner Festbier to help me get into the Oktoberfest spirit.  

My friends and family thought I was nuts when they saw my post about this on social media… but no joke, it was a blast. Turning an everyday activity (like dinner) into a fun afternoon/evening extravaganza kept my little guy entertained and ended up being a lot of fun for me too! And yet another way to wear your dirndl haha!  

If you want to throw an Oktoberfest at home, here is the checklist for you:

1️⃣ Get dressed up in your Dirndl and/or Lederhosen

2️⃣ Make a classic German meal (check out Dirndl Kitchen or Just Like Oma for recipes) or order pickup/delivery from your favorite German Restaurant (like Laschets Inn)

3️⃣ Pour yourself a good German Beer, Wine or Saft

4️⃣ Put on some of your German favorites like Alex Meixner Band, Klaberheads, Chardon Polka Band or some good ol Heino!

5️⃣ Get a polka party started!

🚻 BONUS - get on an app like Marco Polo, FaceTime, Zoom etc to invite some family and friends to attend your party virtually!

Here is what you’ll need for a quick Oktoberfest:

• German Food
• Oktoberfest Beverages
• A few Bavarian Decorations
• Oktoberfest Playlist
• Dirndl and/or Lederhosen

What do you think? Do you feel ready to throw your own mini Oktoberfest at home?

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