How to host the perfect last-minute Coronation party

The King’s coronation is rapidly approaching and at BestNewBingoSites, we’re extremely excited!

We already outlined how to throw an amazing street party in honour of the coronation, but if you’re guilty of waiting until the last minute to plan something, fear not: we’re here to help you throw a memorable last-minute Coronation party in the comfort of your own home!

This step-by-step guide covers everything you need to plan a party at the eleventh hour.

1. Invite your guests

Decide who you’re going to invite. Remember, your home is likely to have limited capacity to accommodate people, so be realistic with the numbers.

Given the last-minute nature of your party, we recommend eschewing paper invitations and using your phone or computer! Set up a Facebook group or a WhatsApp chat to fill your guests in on the details, but perhaps consider phoning people individually to invite them.

Don’t forget:

• Think about the access needs of your guests when considering numbers. Older guests or disabled guests may need particular types of seating to be comfortable, so make sure you have allocated them a space to use.
• Younger or more mobile guests may be happy to sit on the floor, but we recommend gathering as many cushions and blankets as possible to ensure they are as comfortable as possible. You could ask guests to bring these with them if you don’t have enough at home!
• Depending on how many people your space can accommodate, you may want to consider adding additional screens to ensure everyone has a good view of the event as it unfolds. You could ask people to bring smaller TVs, laptops or tablets along for this purpose if you don’t have enough.

2. Plan your menu

There are tons of food options you could consider for your party, but as a host, it’s likely to make your life easiest if you opt for a buffet, meaning guests can help themselves as and when they’re hungry AND you won’t be stuck in the kitchen the whole time.

We’d suggest getting to the shops sooner rather than later, as they’re anticipating heavy footfall this week as a result of Coronation celebrations. Be sure to check your local supermarket’s opening hours over the bank holiday weekend!

Many supermarkets have dedicated sections both online and in store dedicated to Coronation food. Waitrose have a particularly lovely selection. Be sure to check if any of your guests are vegetarian or vegan

We love the following recipes:

To honour Queen Elizabeth II:
Here are a handful of recipes designed in honour of the Queen, who passed away in 2022 after a lifetime of service to the nation:

Coronation chicken
Created in honour of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1952, Coronation Chicken has been a British sandwich staple for many years!

Platinum jubilee chicken
This is a more recent recipe, designed in honour of Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee.

Platinum pudding
A competition was held to find the official puddings of the Queen’s platinum jubilee: the winner was a Lemon Swiss Roll and Amaretti trifle.

To honour the new King:
There are three official recipes which famous chefs have devised in honour of King Charles III’s coronation. You may like to cook these for your party.

• Ken Hom’s Coronation Roast Rack of Lamb with Asian-style marinade
• Nadiya Hussain’s Coronation Aubergine
• Adam Handling’s Strawberry and Ginger trifle

The Royal Family have released an official Coronation Quiche recipe which you might like to make, and celebrity chef Jack Monroe has also provided a low-cost version in honour of the coronation. Both are suitable for vegetarians, but not vegans.

Popular party food staples:

Bunting biscuits 

Adorable, on-theme and loved by everyone, you can’t go wrong with these lovely iced biscuits.

Mini pork pies with piccalilli 

Another British party and picnic staple, these pork pies will please young and old alike.

Fruit scones

Can you host an event celebrating Britishness without scones? The argument about how it’s pronounced is part and parcel of the day.

Raspberry and rosewater cordial 

If you fancy making something a bit different, this gorgeous cordial will quench your guests’ thirst a treat.

 

3. Plan some games

No party is complete without games!

Our Coronation Bingo is the perfect game to play while you watch the ceremony unfold. You can customise the entries if you’d like, or use our pre-programmed ones: either way, the eagle-eyed will be rewarded!

We’ve also designed a Coronation quiz for you to play, with questions suitable for everyone. Questions and answers are here – you can simply print and play! Just make sure you don’t give the answers out with the question sheets.

4. Pick some tunes

While you’ll spend most of your time watching the coverage of the coronation, it’s a good idea to make up a playlist for background music to play during any gaps in proceedings. We recommend:

• Selecting family-friendly hits (avoid songs with swearing or explicit themes).
• Picking a range of songs from across the decades to appeal to all ages.
• You might like to heavily feature British artists to tie into the theme of the coronation. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport have made an official Coronation Playlist on Spotify using British artists if you’d like to use theirs!
• Given that Eurovision is being hosted in the UK this year, you might like to play some classic hits from the contest over the years. Who can resist a dance to ABBA?

5. Decorate

This part is optional, but if you’d really like to get into the spirit of things, decorating your home is a fun way to do it.

You can scarcely enter a shop at the moment without seeing Union Jack flags and bunting because they’re a classic décor option for the coronation. If you wanted to tailor your decorations to the coronation specifically, you can pick up King Charles III coronation memorabilia from a range of nationwide stores: we love B&M’s coronation selection, which has everything from balloons to paper plates to napkins with the official coronation logo emblazoned on them at a low cost.

If you really want to go the whole hog with the decorations, M&S have everything from Coronation handwash to royalty themed cushions!

However, you can be a bit more creative if you’d like: paper chains and homemade bunting can really add to the charm of an event like this AND can be re-used in the future. This has the added bonus of providing some entertainment, whether for yourself or as a family project. You may even like to invite the children of your guests to produce their own paper chains and bring them along!

6. Enjoy!

Now you’ve scrambled to get your party together, you can sit back, relax and enjoy this momentous occasion. The coronation is bound to be quite the spectacle, and no doubt it will provide plenty of talking points (and possibly some awkward silences if the reaction to the proposed pledge of allegiance is anything to go by).

We hope you and your guests enjoy the fruits of your labour as all of you participate in a key moment in history.