High Stakes: a casino night party, planned

The look: black and gold, with dramatic light

Black and gold, with deep green felt on the tables and a touch of red from the cards and dice. Keep the room lighting low and put a pool of warm light over each table; that contrast is what makes it feel like a casino rather than a living room.

The tables are the centrepiece. Even two of them, a card table and a dice table, with felt covers and proper chips, carry the whole theme.

• Green felt over folding tables, with layouts printed or marked in chalk pen.
• Gold and black balloons, kept to clusters at the entrance and the bar.
• Oversized playing cards and dice as table decorations.
• A red carpet runner at the door for arrivals.
• Candles in glass holders and warm lamps for low, dramatic light.

The invitation

Black card and gold lettering, written as a reservation: the guest's table is held for them on this date. State the dress code clearly, and if every guest gets a starting stack of chips, say so, so nobody brings cash expecting to play with it.

You're invited

Casino Royale

Place your bets. Black tie, high stakes and a birthday to celebrate: your table is waiting.

✓ Going? Maybe✗ Can't

The tables and how to play

Each guest gets the same stack of play chips at the door. At the end of the night, chips buy raffle tickets for a few small prizes, which keeps it about the game and not about money.

• Blackjack: the easiest table to learn and the quickest to run with a friend as dealer.
• Roulette: a tabletop wheel and a felt layout. Guests who have never played pick it up in one spin.
• Poker: one table for the guests who already know the game, with a cheat sheet of hand rankings.
• Dice: a simple high-low or craps-style game where the whole table cheers each roll.
• A prize table with the raffle draw at the end.

The martini bar, and an alcohol-free menu

A martini bar suits the dress code, but alcohol is optional, and the non-alcoholic drinks should be served in the same glasses with the same garnish.

• Classic martinis, shaken or stirred, with olives and lemon twists.
• Espresso martinis for the second half of the night.
• A non-alcoholic martini made with alcohol-free spirit, or a sparkling grape mocktail in a coupe.
• A lime and soda highball with plenty of ice.
• Champagne or sparkling cider for the toast.

Food and the cake

Canapés, so guests can eat with one hand and keep playing with the other. Put food on side tables, never on the felt.

• Smoked salmon blinis and crostini with whipped feta.
• Mini sliders and arancini for something more filling.
• A cheese board with grapes and crackers by the bar.
• Chocolate-dipped strawberries on a gold tray.
• The cake: a black cake with gold leaf and a stack of fondant chips, or a cake shaped as a pair of dice.

How the two hours run

1. 0:00Red carpet arrivals, a drink and a stack of chips each.
2. 0:30Tables open, with a quick how-to at each.
3. 1:15Canapés go round the tables.
4. 1:45Toast to the guest of honour and the cake.
5. 2:00High-stakes final round at every table.
6. 2:30Chips are cashed in for raffle tickets.
7. 2:45The prize draw and a last drink.

What to buy

Pack sizes are for about 15 kids. In PartyPal the list sizes itself to your headcount.

Common questions