Everything You Need to Host a Summer Pizza Night

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There’s just something about summer nights that makes everything feel a little more magical—and what better way to soak it all in than with a laid-back pizza night with your closest friends? To be honest, anytime pizza is involved, we’re 110% percent in.

Hosting a summer pizza night is the ultimate low-key way to spend time with friends, enjoy something delicious, and soak up those golden hour vibes. Whether you’re making your dough or setting up a build-your-own pizza bar (highly recommend), it’s all about good food, chill music, and fun memories. Add some string lights, your go-to drink, and a cozy outdoor setup, and you’ve got yourself a night that’s a chef’s kiss. 

Today we’re breaking down everything you need to pull off the ultimate summer pizza night that you’ll remember for years to come.

Want more hosting ideas? Check out these articles:

• Everything You Need to Host a “The Summer I Turned Pretty” Party
• How to Host a “Taste the Movie” Party
• How to Turn Your Home Into a Bagel Shop

How to Host a Summer Pizza Night

Send Invitations

A summer pizza night is not a formal occasion whatsoever, but sending a cute invitation via text will get your friends hyped to have a fun time. There are so many adorable Italian-inspired invitations you can send that are perfect for the occasion. Here are some of our favorites:

Prep for Pizza-Making

Now, on to the main event — pizza-making! To create the ultimate experience for you and your friends to enjoy, you’ll have to make decisions about a few things. Those include:

• How to cook the pizza: Are you going to use your conventional oven in your kitchen or a pizza oven? Whichever you decide, is up to you, but it will determine how the pizzas are made.
• Toppings: Serve an assortment of toppings for your friends to enjoy. We love to provide multiple types of cheese(mozzarella, parmesan, asiago, cheddar), sauce(red sauce, Alfredo sauce, olive oil, etc.), chopped vegetables, and meat(pepperoni, sausage, prosciutto).

In addition to the basic equipment and ingredients, you’ll probably want to think about some more of these pizza party essentials:

Don’t Forget the Beverages

A crisp cold soda, sparkling wine, or bubbly soda hits on a hot summer night. Ask your friends to bring their favorite beverage to dinner, so there’s something everyone will enjoy.

Create a Cute, Italian Table Setting

We’re all about setting the right vibes when you’re hosting, so why not go all-in on the Italian theme? Think red and white tablecloths, cute plates and napkins, and a thoughtful table centerpiece. 

To create an even cozier ambiance, you could hang string lights on your backyard patio — if you choose to host outdoors.

Set the Mood with Music

Choosing the perfect playlist for a party is an important element. For a summer pizza party, we think you could go one of two ways. You could choose to play a summer dinner party playlist or an Italian-inspired playlist. You can’t go wrong with either.

Serve Dessert

Serving dessert is totally optional, but we think it’s essential to creating the ultimate experience when hosting. You couldmake anything as simple as chocolate chip cookies and brownies or prep a homemade ice cream ahead of time.

Here are a few of our favorite desserts that pair well with a pizza dinner:

Play Games or Watch a Movie

Playing games with your friends is always a fun way to make memories and break the ice with any people at the party who haven’t met everyone before. Here are some of our favorite games to play when we’re hosting a bunch of people:

Send Your Friends Home with a Treat

After a good night of food, drinks, games, and laughter, we always love sending our friends home with any leftovers of a homemade sweet treat. It’s so simple, but it’s our favorite way to tell them “thank you” for coming.