This Is How You Host A Charming Shrimp Boil Party

This guide for how to host a shrimp boil party is complete with décor, menu, and recipe ideas. It’s perfect for summer entertaining at home. This is exactly how you turn a classic Southern tradition into a charming dinner party! It will also work for a seafood boil, a crab boil, or a lobster boil.

shrimp boil party ideas & menu

Shrimp Boil Party Ideas

This party idea goes back to my roots. Serving up a shrimp boil is a true Southern tradition and tastes amazing!

The classic way to do it is to cook everything together and then turn it out onto a table that’s been covered with newspaper. Then everyone grabs from the pile and eats with their hands. It’s a true sense of communal dining. 

We hosted a super fun shrimp boil party several years ago when my husband’s uncle came up from Hilton Head. He brought a whole bunch of fresh shrimp with him so we invited a group of friends to come over for a shrimp boil. I decorated with a coastal theme, and we played bocce ball and socialized – it was a great day!

I’ve dressed up the idea of a shrimp boil to a more intimate dinner party for 4 or 6. The details include a table setting, a buffet with hints of the coast, a retro-modern fabric print, and red & white color scheme. 

shrimp boil dinner party table setting
host a shrimp boil dinner party

Table Setting & Decoratings

I love hosting parties with a theme and this one just screams coastal summer vibes. These are the ideas I use to decorate a charming shrimp boil dinner party.

  • Use fabric with a retro style pattern and cover both the buffet table and the seated table. This pulls the entire party together.
  • Set the dinner table with the pretty fabric and a simple floral centerpiece. You can add seashells if you like, and scatter them about or line them up like a table runner.
  • The place setting are the highlight of the table. Fill mini colanders with the shrimp boil serving and set them on top of layered plates. This small detail will elevate the experience.
  • Use kitchen tea towels as napkins and tie them with bakers twine and a name tag. Hands get messy during a shrimp boil so a large tea towel is a great choice. They’re bigger and can handle the job.

PARTY TIP: Pre-moisten the tea towels to make hand wiping easier during the dinner. Peeling those shrimp and eating the corn is messy business!

shrimp boil party decorations

Buffet Table Décor

  • Decorate the buffet table with coastal themed artwork as a backdrop. Anything that portrays the sea is good: boats, shells, coral, sea life, sandy beaches, etc.
  • Work with a color scheme and add a simple flower arrangement. Fill an oversize mug with white hydrangeas and set it on a small cake pedestal to give it height.
  • Additional ideas you can include are draping the table with fishnet, adding decorative coral and seashells, or adding height with vintage lobster crates. 
shrimp boil decorations, framed boat photo
white hydrangeas in red vase
summer party buffet

Menu Ideas

Food is a big consideration when planning a party {obviously}. And I always try to round out my menu so there’s balance.

Since a shrimp boil already consists of protein and starches, my buffet table is set with complementary items that can be nibbled on before the main event, or alongside.

  • Fresh homemade gazpacho (recipe below) is one of my favorite summer recipes because it combines so many great flavors like tomatoes, cucumber, cilantro, and onion. I prepared it and served it from a large bowl with a ladle. Scoop it into mini glasses and top it with crumbled bacon. Guests can enjoy it in a few sips and refill as they like.
  • Make baked artichoke & crab dip for an appetizer that incorporates more coastal flavor.
  • These baked scallops appetizers in shells would make a fabulous addition to the party.
  • Hummus is always a crowd pleaser and serving it with crudites makes it easy to add in more veggies to the menu.
  • The main attraction is the shrimp boil recipe. For a large crowd we typically spread newspaper on the table and pour it out into the middle. Guests pick and eat what they like. However for a dinner party like this I’ve served it in a more sophisticated way – in mini colanders!
  • Dessert can be a gorgeous cake from the bakery like we have here, or something hand held like our best glazed lemon bars, or outrageous fudge brownies
gazpacho for shrimp boil dinner party
fresh veggies and hummus

Drinks

  • A signature drink is always fun to serve guests when they arrive. This cherry-berry cocktail or mocktail is a great choice as the red color ties into the decor.
  • If you’re working with blue instead of red, this blue cocktail looks like the sea and is a terrific choice.
  • This blackberry moonshine cocktail would also add a great southern vibe.
  • Cocktails are delicious but we Southerners also think an ice cold beer compliments a shrimp boil like nothing else. My favorite is Red Stripe, a Jamaican beer.
  • Serve a crisp white wine with dinner, like Pinot Grigio or a white blend.
summer drink and party buffet
strawberry cake for summer

More Party Tablescapes

You can certainly find more inspiration and ideas for decorating a shrimp boil with one of these theme parties.

fresh homemade gazpacho recipe

Easy Gazpacho Recipe

Here’s the recipe for my gazpacho. It gets a hint of heat from the chipotle hot sauce, and I always add a bit of sugar to tomato-based recipes to counter the acidity. It helps take that “bite” away but doesn’t add sweetness.

This recipe is a smooth consistency for easy “shots” but if you want to serve in a bowl with a spoon, I would suggest chopping extra tomatoes and cucumber to add to the finished product. This will give more texture by the spoonful.

The list of ingredients looks long but most items are pantry staples. There’s lots of flavor in this cold soup!

PARTY TIP: Use leftover gazpacho as the base for homemade salsa. Just add enough diced tomatoes, onions, and cilantro to make it scooping consistency.

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gazpacho recipe card

Shrimp Boil Gazpacho recipe

Yield: about 4 cups

Serve up this delicious gazpacho for summer parties. This is a fantastic shrimp boil dinner party appetizer and is packed full of fresh ingredients and flavor.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks
  • 1 medium cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 1/2 yellow onion, cut into chunks
  • 2 garlic cloves, cut in half
  • 4 oz. roasted red pepper from a jar, drained and cut into pieces
  • 3/4 cup fresh cilantro
  • 23 oz. tomato juice {I use low sodium V8}
  • 1/8 cup lime juice
  • 1/8 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon chipotle hot sauce
  • 2 Tablespoons sugar
  • Cooked and crumbled bacon for garnish

Instructions

    1. In a food processor, pulse together the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, garlic, red pepper, and cilantro, until smooth. Stop to scrape down edges periodically.
    2. Pour mixture into a large bowl and stir in remaining ingredients {except bacon}.
    3. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
    4. Serve chilled, and top with crumbled bacon.

Notes

Use leftover gazpacho as the base for homemade salsa. Add diced tomatoes, onions, and cilantro to the gazpacho to make it thicker and easy to scoop

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10 Comments

  1. I love gazpacho and have never found a recipe I really like. I could eat gazpacho once a week! I am going to try this recipe! What a great get-together!

  2. That gazpacho is calling my name! I love the idea of putting it into little tiny cups – so adorbs. I love a good shrimp boil too – but adding the extra little nibblers before diggin into the shrimp!!!! Lovely display as always! SNAPS FOR CHRIS!

    1. Keisha, you know my philosophy – everything’s better in mini form and with bacon!

  3. Seriously gorgeous and you had me at SHRIMP. I’ll be waiting for the cocktail post because I’ve got my eye on those cherry looking garnish thingies- NEED! Lovely job (as always)!

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