I’ve been playing Bunco with the same group of girls for over 8 years now. Month after month we get together and play our hearts out for that Bunco crown and the $10 dollar gifts we could have just bought for ourselves. This is pure girl time with loads of snacks, drinks and conversation. The men and kids are banned; there is no room for them at the table.
My best friend Molli volunteered to host and I, of course, jumped at the chance to decorate and come up with a theme: Kentucky Derby Bunco. I can’t take credit for this idea – my coworker Dawn had the idea within seconds of coming to her for a brainstorming session.
After doing a little research I knew I didn’t want to do traditional colors for the Kentucky Derby, and I’m not a fan of red roses. So I went a more Kate Spade route using green, gold, bright pink, and black and white stripes. I was thrilled with how it simply came together and loved the amazing end result.
The Tables: Using black and white striped gossamer fabric roll, I made table runners to place over our white tablecloths. On a last minute whim, I used our mini trophies to create trophy napkin rings. I think that really added a cute detail with the pink and green plates. The centerpieces were super easy to make. I used foam board for the base, and glued on moss for the grass. I then glued together the dice from our large dice game and placed it on top of the base. Next, I spray painted our silver trophy, plastic horses and dowel sticks gold, and then filled the trophy with the painted horses on dowel sticks, plus the pretty blush roses and viola! 
The Drinks: What’s a party without a signature drink? A Mint Julep is the drink usually associated with the Kentucky Derby, but I knew that wouldn’t fly with my friends. So vodka and pink lemonade was the easy choice, with an option to add some mint leaves, lemon or lime wedges to the drink. (By the way, mint in your lemonade is pretty delicious!) Drinks were served in mason jars, each decorated with a gold horse tied on with green baker’s twine, and a metallic gold striped straw. 
I used our cute little glass jars to house the mint, lemon and limes, but I just couldn't stop there. I felt compelled to make little award ribbon labels for each jar, and it was so easy to do I might start labeling everything this way! The Food: We noshed on southern favorites like chicken and waffles, Kentucky hot brown sliders, Kentucky bourbon beer cheese with veggies, and my often-requested roasted purple fingerling potatoes with lemon garlic aioli (really it’s just fancy mayo). For dessert I tried my hand at some horseshoe-shaped sugar cookies. 
Let's Roll! For everything else I kept it pretty simple, using paper poms as little decor accents. I spray painted an old champagne bucket gold and used it as a vase for the pink and white roses. My friend Dawn crafted an amazing Kentucky Derby style Bunco crown which was the most fabulous Kentucky Derby hat ever! Sadly the crown never made it back home with me – I'm pretty sure Sarah stole it. 
In the end our Bunco girls' night usually dissolves into fits of ridiculousness and telling each other how amazing we are. It’s loads of fun and I can’t wait to do it again next month! Get my recipe for the roasted purple fingerling potatoes and lemon garlic potatoes and check out the how-to for my adorable Kentucky Derby Bunco Centerpieces. All photos were taken by Adam Wiltgen of Quiet Chap.
