Oktoberfest Celebration Recipes
Gather friends or family, savor this hearty meal and enjoy the best October has to offer.
Oompah-pah, oompah-pah, roll out the barrel and you'll have a barrel of Oktoberfest fun! Oktoberfest is a centuries-old German celebration. Originally lasting 16 days, it celebrated a royal marriage in Munich in the year 1810. Although times have changed, the celebration continues with great food, music and boisterous activity. So don those lederhosen, and let the good times roll!
Make It Special!
Oompah-pah Activities
- Create paper hats when guests first arrive to put everyone in the spirit. Supply paper, feathers and ribbon. Be sure to capture all the fun on film.
Games
- Pretzel rod and apple ring relay: Divide your group into two teams. Everyone gets a large pretzel rod (cigar size). Each team passes an apple ring, rubber band or round pretzel with a hole on the pretzels from person to person. Repeat once for additional fun!
- Word fun: Prepare a list of German words with the aid of a German dictionary. Guests then guess what the words mean. Assign points for having the correct answer or being able to bluff others that an answer is correct. If your group knows the language, make it a "no English" event, and punish slipups with a silly penalty.
Polka Fun
- Pass out song sheets. Everyone can sing along to polka music on CDs, or hire a live polka band for dancing and singing.
Decorations
- Place baskets of apples throughout the party area. Visit a local orchard for prime pics.
- Scatter real or plastic fall leaves on tables.
- Fill room corners and door entries with corn shucks, pumpkins and squashes.
- Place German flags in vases; place miniature flags on appetizer trays.
- Decorate walls with German posters picked up at travel agencies.
- Hang lederhosen or costume parts on wall.
Preparation Guide
Up to 3 Weeks Before
- Make Beer-Lover's Peanuts.
- Make Bread Machine Caraway-Rye Bread; slice, wrap and freeze.
The Day Before
- Make Cheesy Reuben Appetizer up to the point of baking; refrigerate.
- Cook the beets for German Beets; refrigerate.
- Make Bread Machine Caraway-Rye Bread if not made earlier; slice and wrap.
- Make Harvest Pound Cake.
The Morning Of
- Make Cheesy Pretzels. Make an extra batch if you expect hearty appetites.
- Assemble Bavarian Pork Chops in casserole; refrigerate.
About 1 Hour Before Guests Arrive
- Heat apple cider.
- Make Jarlsberg, Onion and Apple Canapés up to the point of baking; refrigerate.
- Bake pork chops.
- Finish making German Beets.
When Guests First Arrive
- Bake Cheesy Reuben Appetizer.
- Bake Jarlsberg, Onion and Apple Canapés.