COVID has changed nearly every aspect of our lives, and it can be disheartening. Last April, my mom and I started planning my graduation trip to France. We’d start in Paris and then head down to Lyon and later the Riviera. My grandpa gave me Christmas money that I set aside for snorkeling in the Mediterranean, and my sisters, mom and I worked on a Google doc with our itinerary wish lists. We spent over a year planning and paying off our trip, and COVID canceled our trip to France. Although extremely bummed, my sister had the bonne idée of throwing a France-themed party.

Whether your trip got canceled or you’re looking to throw a France-themed party, I’m rounding up how we celebrated and made the most of a tough situation.

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Décor

To have a smashing success of your France-themed party, nailing the décor is key. Over the years, I have amassed an uncountable amount of French memorabilia. Like, you don’t even know. Some ideas to help you set that French mood, display maps and photos of France. I am obsessed with this map from Rifle Paper Co., and when it’s not being used at a party, it usually hangs on my bedroom wall. I also stacked my photo book from my first trip to France and displayed Paris in Color by Nichole Robertson. If you love France, this book is a coffee table must.

We also set up my letter board and spelled out, well, you guessed it: FRANCE. And we had a long piece of twine on which we attached bleu, blanc et rouge bows. I found a glass version of the Eiffel Tower at a thrift shop for just a couple bucks, and it was a great touch. String lights and flowers (fake or fresh) are always a great way to decorate, too.

Taylor absolutely outdid herself by turning her bedroom into the Louvre. She printed out photos of artwork featured in the Louvre, mounted them on colored paper and taped them to her wall. Tay even printed out photos of French landscape and landmarks and placed them on the walls throughout the apartment.

The bathroom was transformed into Giverny where Claude Monet spent extensive time. She printed out Monet’s works and placed them on the shelf.

Food

This is arguably one of the most important parts of any party but especially for a France-themed party. Taylor made this mixed berry overnight French toast, and I made chocolate peanut butter macarons. Both were très fantastique!

We filled the table with grapes, apricots, mixed berries, almonds, walnuts, assorted cheeses, salamis and crackers. And of course we had to top off our snacks with these darling French flag toothpicks.

Pro tip on bringing your France-themed party to the next level: display your snacks on a cheese board. I love my marble board from Bed, Bath and Beyond. And it has a little drawer for the cheese knives!

Activities

For our France-themed party, we streamed Midnight in Paris and Moulin Rouge. And Taylor had her own mini “gift shop” where she gave us our Je T’aime t-shirts and berets from Banana Republic Factory. Too cute!

I also led a mini French lesson on party vocabulary and used printable sheets from my blog. You can print them for free here.

No, it wasn’t the same, but it was so sweet to spend time with my mom and sisters as we celebrated a country I love dearly. If you’re planning a trip to France, be sure to pin my Paris and Toulouse city guides. Share your favorite France-themed party ideas in the comments.