Mind The Gap! How To Throw A London Underground Party

The London Underground: overcrowded, often delayed, and somehow the inspiration for a rather brilliant party theme.

For this very British bash, everyone comes dressed as a London Tube station – from Sherlock Holmes (Baker Street) to an actual Angel (Angel). Add a few Tube signs, some sandwiches and scones, a G&T or two, and you’ve got yourself a party.

Count me in old chap!*

*(yes, we’re pushing out the boat on ridiculous British phrases in this one)

The I’m Short On Time Overview

• Ask everyone to come dressed as a Tube station
• Put a London Underground sign/map somewhere visible
• Buy/make a selection of sandwiches, scones and cakes
• Stock up on G&Ts, tea and a few beers
• Put on a British playlist
• Give the most creative outfit owner a prize for their costume
• Done. All aboard.

For those wanting to go ‘further Underground’, here are plenty of fun yet simple ideas for your London Underground party.

Tube Station Costume Ideas

The idea for this fun theme is that your guests come dressed as one of the London Tube Stations – quirky, memorable, and creative! Outfits can be a literal interpretation, pun-based, or just the vibe for that city area.

Easy outfit wins:

• Angel (Islington) → angel wings, halo
• Bank → suit, money, old school British banker vibe
• Camden Town → edgy, punk, alternative
• Wimbledon → tennis whites
• Bond Street → James Bond
• Green Park → all green, floral
• Baker Street → Sherlock Holmes, or chef’s whites
• Heathrow → pilot or air attendant outfit

Going the whole hog:

• Paddington → bear outfit, or blue coat and red hat plus marmalade sandwich
• Piccadilly Circus → circus ringmaster or otherwise circus-inspired outfit (subtle or bold!)
• Swiss Cottage → break out your lederhosen
• Chalk Farm → farmer outfit with chalkboard hanging round your neck
• Royal Oak → oak tree plus crown
• Canada Water → ice hockey kit with Canadian flag
• Canary Wharf → a yellow bird outfit
• Chancery Lane → barrister in robe and wig
• Knightsbridge → knight’s armour
• Canning Town → dressed as a food can
• Victoria → Queen Victoria ready for your coronation

With 272 stations in the London Underground, there’s plenty to choose from. Don’t tell anyone what you’ve picked – half the fun is guessing each other’s outfits!

Hard Mode

For a bit more fun, you explicitly tell your guests they are not allowed to tell anyone their station choice. Provide score cards with your guests’ names and space to list a station guess. Person who correctly identifies the most stations wins!

This also gets your guests all talking to each other as they guess each other’s outfits.

Keeping It British With Your Decorations: From Simple To Completely Bonkers

Decorating for this theme could be just a few Underground touches, to going completely nuts with British kitsch – it’s up to you and how much you want to do.

Keeping It Simple

• London Underground sign
• Underground map
• A red, white and blue Union Jack colour theme

Giving It Some Welly

The above, plus:

• Station signs on your doors
• ‘Mind the Gap’ floor markings
• Oyster-card invitations
• Tube-map table plan (for sit-down dinner)
• Station names for food / drink (see below for ideas)

Go Completely Underground

Your rooms become Tube Stations:

• Kitchen → Baker Street
• Bathroom → Waterloo
• Hallway → Piccadilly Circus
• Garden → Kew Gardens
• Bedroom → ‘Staff Only’

Food, Glorious Food – Fun British Food Ideas

We’re going full-on British for this theme:

Option #1 – British Nibbles

An afternoon tea selection of some cracking British favourites, to keep your guests in tip-tip eating condition. Ideally all served on tiered cakes stands to up your wow factor. Station-inspired ideas include:

• Blackfriars black tortilla chips and dips
• Paddington’s sandwiches (no one actually likes marmalade, so fill them with something tastier! Cut off the crusts for that posh afternoon tea look)
• Baker Street quiches
• West Ham pork pies (cut into wedges), with pickles and chutneys
• ‘Bacontree’ (technically Becontree, but who’s counting) sausage rolls or pigs in blankets
• Leicester Square cheese and crackers (featuring British cheeses such as Red Leicester and Wensleydale if you can get them where you are)
• Waterloo Wellington (mini Yorkshire puddings and beef)
• Wimbledon strawberries and cream
• Victoria sponge
• Battersea Battenburg
• Angel cake
• Bethnal Green wedding-cake style tier of cupcakes, complete with bride and groom on top

Option #2 – Dinner Is Served

You can throw a brilliant party without the slog of a sit-down meal, but if you love to cook and want a full-on dinner, then there are plenty of British options (especially for hearty, winter fare, after all it rains 90% of the year here) that aren’t too tricky to make and will keep your guests in fine fettle:

• British roast lunch/dinner (e.g. roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, roast vegetables, lots of gravy) – it’s all about the timing on this one
• Battered fish and chips (with peas/mushy peas/gravy, depending on whether you’re a Northerner or Southerner!)
• Steak and ale pie with mashed potato
• Or for something lighter, a ‘Ploughman’s lunch’ of crusty bread, cheeses, cold meats, eggs, salad, and pickles/chutneys
• Popular and simple dessert options could be Eton Mess, sticky toffee pudding, rhubarb crumble, strawberries and cream – or even mini trifles if you like nostalgia (they were very popular in the 80s)

If you’re feeding a crowd I’d lean towards a relaxed buffet, rather than attempting a full roast dinner for 20 while wearing your Paddington costume…

Marvellous British Tipples

Appropriate drinks for a Right Old British Knees Up could include:

• Local British ales or ciders
• Pimms (perfect for summer)
• Gin & Tonic
• A variety of tea options
• Station-themed cocktails e.g.
  • Piccadilly Punch – a big bowl of whatever fruity punch you fancy
  • Central Line – something red e.g. strawberry daiquiri, bloody Marys
  • Northern Line – dark and sophisticated e.g. Espresso martini
  • White City – something white e.g. White Russians, G&T, vanilla milkshake
  • Or mix it up. No one said the drinks actually have to correspond to the stations – we’re here for the names!

Set Your Music To ‘London Calling’

Create an upbeat British pop playlist full of Ed Sheeran, Adele, Dua Lipa, Harry Styles, Sam Smith, George Ezra, Coldplay, Robbie Williams, Take That, Spice Girls, Oasis, Blur, Elton John, Phil Collins, The Beatles… perhaps interspersed with random tube-style announcements like ‘the next station is Edgware Road, change here for the Hammersmith and City line’.

London Underground Party Extras

The theme is already fabulous, but you could add some fun extras if your friends would enjoy them:

• A ‘best station’ costume vote, for ‘most creative’, ‘funniest’ and/or ‘most obscure’ outfits, with suitably British prizes (e.g. Cornish fudge, box of Earl Grey tea)
• Tube Map Challenge – print a Tube map (no cheating and using mobiles) and give teams five minutes to find:
  • The station with the most ridiculous name
  • The station they’d most like to live near
  • The best station for a date
  • The worst station to be stranded at
• Underground Pub Quiz – a handful of easy questions about the Underground. Prizes to the top team.

Hosting Timeline

• 2–4 Weeks Before:
  • Choose your date
  • Invite your guests
  • Tell everyone their mission: come dressed as a Tube station
• 1 Week Before:
  • Decide your own costume
  • Buy decorations
  • Sort your playlist
• 1–2 Days Before:
  • Buy food and drinks
  • Make anything that can be made ahead
• 2 Hours Before:
  • Put up signs
  • Set out food
  • Get into costume
  • Pour yourself a drink
• When Guests Arrive: Let the fun begin.

Our Top Tips For This Theme

Why We Love This Party

It’s social – the costumes mean everyone has something to talk about, and an easy icebreaker to chat to strangers, as soon as they arrive.

It’s creative – guests get to interpret their station choice however they like.

It’s easy – the costumes provide the entertainment.

It’s memorable – let’s face it, you’re unlikely to forget the night your mate turned up as Cockfosters or Shepherds Bush (because someone is not going to be able to resist, right).

Best of all, you don’t need to spend months planning elaborate decorations or activities to make the theme work and for all your guests to have a fantastic night full of hilarious memories.

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