Since RuPaul’s Drag Race hit UK television screens back in 2019, drag has become an iconic part of popular culture. Which is hardly surprising.
Quite aside from the fabulous costumes, double entendre, scathing sarcasm, and sparkling repartee, all combine to make drag great entertainment. So why not mark your next special occasion by holding a drag party to celebrate?
Whether you want to go all out in full costume or simply wear something flamboyant and sparkly, a drag party is a fabulous excuse to don your finery and have fun.
Love the idea but need some inspiration. Read on, we have some great drag party ideas we’d love to share.
So, let’s start planning an eleganza extravaganza!
Décor
Think loud and OTT – go to town on the glitz and glamour; more is definitely more where drag is concerned! We suggest:
- A metallic fringe door curtain in bright pink or purple so your queens can make an entrance.
- Balloon arch
- Large alphabet balloons spelling out queen, shade, werk etc
- LED light up balloons
- Outsized pink fans
- ‘CONDRAGULATIONS’, ‘SASHAY AWAY’ or similar bunting
- A pink carpet runner
- Holographic streamers
- Rolls of sequin tulle to decorate chairs or tables
Food and drink
Theme your party food and drink by adding labels which reference well known drag queens or a drag catchphrase. You could, for example, label white wine ‘Sauvignon Blianca’ (Bianca Del Rio) and crisps as Baga Chipz. Cupcakes are easily matched to the theme by adding a drag related topper and spritzing with edible glitter spray.
Drinks
- Add sparkle and colour with Sparkle Drops
- Accessorise with cocktail umbrellas, foil sparklers or honeycomb paper fruit and flamingo sticks.
- Serve in sugar dipped glasses – mix a small amount of liquid food colouring with granulated sugar. Dip the tops of your glasses in egg white and then in the coloured sugar. Allow to dry before use.
- Combine sugar dipped glasses with sliced lemon or lime wheels
Table dressing
- Serve food on brightly coloured or metallic paper plates
- Sprinkle table confetti liberally – jumbo lip shapes or acrylic diamonds would work well
- Use a sequinned table runner
- Add a bling centrepiece
Games and entertainment
Drag Trivia Quiz
Test your guests’ knowledge of all things drag with this quiz based on RuPaul’s Drag Race
Reading is Fundamental
No drag party would be complete without guests ‘reading’ each other. Queens often start with a compliment and then go in for the kill with witty insults based on the appearance or performance of whoever they’re reading. Create a sign announcing, ‘The Library is Officially Open’ and provide some outlandish spectacles for queens to wear while ‘reading’ their rivals.
Lip-Sync contest
Essential requirements:
- Willing participants
- Music tracks
Fun optional extras
- Blow up microphone/s
- Mini white boards or laminated cards and markers for the audience to give contestants their scores.
Asks guests well in advance so they can select a song and practise their routine. This is as entertaining to watch as it is to perform, so you don’t necessarily need everyone to take part. If you are a very large group, you may need to limit the number of performers or ask two people to lip-sync to one song at the same time. When each performer finishes, guests give them a score out of ten. Assign someone the task of tracking points to determine who wins. You could also play this with two equal teams rather than individually.
Pin the eyelashes on the queen
A drag themed version of the classic pin the tail on the donkey game.
Requirements:
A large poster with a queen’s face.
Set of printed eyelash stickers – available on Etsy or print your own and use glue dots.
A sleep mask or scarf
How to play
Guests are blindfolded and turned around several times before they attempt to stick the queen’s eyelashes as close to the eyes as possible. The winner is the queen who places her eyelashes closest to the correct position.
Drag Queen Bingo
If you’re after an evening of fun and frivolity, consider drag queen bingo – a brilliant fusion of bingo and drag culture which is sure to make your party the talk of the town! We suggest hiring a professional drag queen who will host a fabulous game of bingo in your own home. Expect traditional bingo mixed with jokes, insults, lots of audience interaction and a live performance.
You can hire a drag queen right here on Party Wizz.
Alternatives:
- If you have a great drag performer amongst your guests, ask them to take on the role of bingo caller.
- Buy a game of drag bingo with cards, chips etc and make your own fun.
- Take part in a virtual game online and screen it through your TV.
Drag Race Taboo
Purchase a digital download of this version of Taboo from Etsy. Simply print and cut out the drag themed cards and play as usual. You will also need an egg timer or phone.
How to play:
Players are split into two teams. Competitors then take turns to describe the phrase or character on their card to their team, taking care not to use the taboo words printed underneath. Teams take it in turns to guess as many cards as possible during a one-minute time limit. The winning team is the one with the most points.
Drag Race Drinking
This game can be played while watching an episode of Drag Race. Compile a list of things that are said, or happen, on that episode and distribute to players. Whenever one of the items on your list occurs, players must take a drink. Here are some suggestions:
- RuPaul uses a catchphrase
- Prize money is mentioned
- There is a double elimination
- Sequins are mentioned
You will of course need to tailor your list to whichever episode of the show you intend to watch.
Please drink responsibly – try making every other refill a non-alcoholic one or set a limit to the number of refills.
Photo booth or magic selfie mirror
With everyone dressed to impress, it’s a great opportunity to capture the moment for posterity, so why not hire a photo booth or magic selfie mirror? Magic selfie mirrors are a relatively new idea which enable full-length selfies. Most mirrors are about five feet tall and come to life when you touch the screen. Photos are printed instantly for guests to take away. Depending on the package you book, your mirror or photo booth may come with a selection of props for guests to use. If not, we have a few suggestions for providing your own props to help guests embrace their inner queen:
- Feather boas
- Long gloves – preferably sparkly or sequinned
- Large bling style costume jewellery
- Outsize paper flowers
- Coloured wigs
- Plastic tiaras
- Oversized glamorous spectacles
If you’re based in Ireland or the UK, you can book a selfie mirror here on PartyWizz. You can also check out this article to determine which photobooth is right for your event.
That’s a wrap
We hope you’ve taken inspiration from our drag party ideas. But whether you love to lip-sync, quiz on queens or dabble in drag race drinking games, we’re sure your party will be so incredible it’s sickening!
At PartyWizz, we specialise in providing entertainers and suppliers such as magicians, photographers, videographers, musicians and more. We pride ourselves in only working with the best in the business.
