Create your own DIY hot dog bar for your next party

Earlier this month, my husband and I hosted a housewarming party for our friends. In terms of food, I wanted to have something that was fun, easy to eat and customizable so I decided to have a DIY hot dog bar! Having something like a hot dog bar allows you to feed a lot of people, while keeping things on budget by adjusting the amount of toppings you have. We catered for about 2 buns and 2 hot dogs per person.

Hotdog bar with different topping options

Here are the toppings that I included in the hot dog bar:

• Shredded Cheese

• Caramelized Onions

• Roasted Peppers / Capsicum

• Jalapenos

• Bacon Bits

• Gherkins

• Sour Cream

• Chilli Con Carne

• Mustard

• Mayo

• Ketchup

• BBQ Sauce

• Peri Peri Hot Sauce

• Buttered Corn

• Guacamole

• Salsa

• Corn Chips

• Side Salad

Some other topping ideas or sides you could include are:

• Relish

• Coleslaw

• Pico de Gallo

• Roasted Garlic

• Fresh Onion

• Baked Beans

• Ham

• Pepperoni

• A variety of cheese

• French Fries

• Onion Rings

• Avocado

• Pineapple

I got a whole bunch of wheat bowls and small plates that were perfect for the various toppings. If you're in Singapore, you can check it out on Shopee here.

Using a computer riser is a great way to get some height on the table

For the hot dog bar, I wanted to make it more exciting so I included some small themed items that elevated the experience of the setup. I included little place cards to label the various toppings, included an A4 hot dog bar signage and had some cute hot dog designs on the wall (you can easily turn this into a bunting instead!). These are available in the Hot Dog Bar Printables on the July Baby Etsy store.

I also got some cute pink and red polka dot paper plates to match the theming. Some extra decoration ideas that you could include for your party are:

• Balloons

• Tablecloth or table runner with fun designs

• Bunting

• Instead of paper plates, get hot dog boxes

• Backdrop

• Food flags instead of tent cards

For drinks, I wanted to go along the hot dog / fast food theme and included milkshakes to order. It was a fun option that was also easy to make as it really only requires two ingredients: milk and ice cream. I really just estimated the amount but in general note that you’ll need a lot more ice cream and the milk is there to just thin it down a bit. You can check out this recipe here if you’re needing more precise measurements: milkshake recipe.

My mistake with the milkshakes was not getting enough ice cream initially and in the end we had way too much milk. I wanted to give guests three flavor options for the milkshake: chocolate, vanilla and strawberry so I bought two tubs of neapolitan ice cream. This ended up only making about 6 milkshakes though, and they were served in the small party cups too! You can either get big tubs of each milkshake flavor and use whole milk with that, or you could also just get vanilla ice cream and use flavored milk for the flavoring instead.

Check out the signage I designed for the milkshake bar:

Download it for free here: Milkshake Bar Sign

As a final touch, I created little bags with gummy bears in it as well as a custom 'Thank you beary much' sticker, these were put on the table as a party favour for guests to take with them!

You can also download these beary cute stickers for free to print on sticker paper for your party favours here: Gummy Bear Thank You Stickers

Adding small touches like a sign or tent cards can really elevate your party and make the guest experience more fun. I hope this gives you some ideas for your next party or gathering!