11 Anything but a Cup Party Ideas Overflowing With Fun

Host an anything but a cup party for a casual and hilarious hang out with your closest pals. The rules of this gathering are to have as much fun as possible, but to bring a cup alternative for consuming beverages. The most clever idea wins the anything but a cup crown. Tap into your creative side with these ideas for anything but a cup party food, decor, and activities.

The point of an anything but a cup party is to challenge your guests to bring a clever vessel for consuming the irresistible drinks at your get together. Serve some of the most delicious cocktails and mocktails so your guests have every reason to bring the biggest, most effective cup-alternative they can think of. Serve colorful fruit drinks, sunny tropical cocktails, or sweet strawberry mocktails to get your guests excited to test their makeshift cups.

Since you're not using the cups to serve or enjoy drinks, give this humorous party theme a twist by decorating with disposable cups. Make paper cup party lights by punching a hole in the bottom of colorful paper cups and popping them over the bulbs of twinkle lights. String cups on ribbon or twine to create cup streamers and garlands to drape throughout your party.

While you're turning those cups into decorations, think up some party foods that are fun to serve in a cup. Your guests might skip traditional cups for beverages, so throw them a curveball by serving your snacks and food in cups instead. Trail mix and party mixes, jarred salads, dips, and countless desserts are easy to eat from cups, helping you bring a bit of irony to your gathering.

While your guests are figuring out their cup-alternative, tell them to plan a costume as well. Challenge partygoers to arrive with their drink vessel in hand and sporting a costume made entirely of cups. Hilarity will ensue with all these cup-centered party twists.

Forget the board! This party calls for charcuterie in a cup. Give each of your guests their own charcuterie selections in a clever cup presentation. They may drink their beverages from a watering can, but you'll serve the meats and cheeses in a cup with a side of satire.

There are tons of ways you can create little edible cups with your party appetizers. Phyllo dough and wonton wrappers make the perfect cups for your warm appetizers. Hollow out baguettes to make veggie or pizza cups. Quiche cups feel fancy, and mini waffle cone cups make ice cream extra fun to eat.

You've gotta find a use for all these cups! Play a few rounds of flip cup while you sip from your shampoo bottle. The rules are simple: players must face a table and toss an upside down solo cup on the table, aiming to flip it right side up. Think the bottle flipping game, but even more challenging! The first person to flip three cups right side up is the winner.

This risky party game is a viral sensation on Instagram and TikTok. Use those empty party cups for a dangerous game of Oreo roll. Tape cups to the edge of a counter or table by their rims and fill one cup with milk. All the other cups must be full of liquids or condiments that one wouldn't exactly enjoy dunking their Oreo in. Hot sauce, orange juice, mustard, pickle juice, or ketchup are just a few icky options. Players roll their Oreo from the other side and hope it lands in the ice cold milk. Otherwise, they have to eat the yucky Oreo combo that fate chooses for them.

The whole point of the party is to laugh at all the silly makeshift cups that guests bring. Inevitably, you may have guests who forgot their vessel or who thought a little too outside of the box and need an alternative option. Keep some clever anything but a cup options on hand, just in case. Spray bottles, pitchers, a traffic cone, condiment bottles, and kids' beach buckets are all practical and laughable choices.

It's a prize no one realized they wanted to win! Offer a few fun, but small, prizes for the guests with the best alternative cup idea. Give a prize for the most creative, the most outlandish, the biggest, and the smallest contributions.

There's a lot of irony in this party planning process. Give partygoers the one thing they needed most before they leave the party: a cup! Personalized cups commemorating the event are a cute keepsake and a way to make sure your guests always have a reasonable drinking vessel on hand. No more sipping from old mayonnaise bottles!

It's a silly party theme, but it's overflowing with fun and laughs. Step away from the serious side of life for a while and enjoy a perfectly planned party where the cups are not only optional, they are strictly prohibited.