Fun Valentine’s Potluck Theme Ideas + free potluck printables!

If you’re planning to host a casual Valentine’s Day party with friends or a big potluck to celebrate love, check out these creative and fun Valentine’s potluck themes to get some inspiration! Be sure to grab my FREE Perfect Potluck Planning Blueprint to help you plan your next potluck!

Throwing a Valentine’s Day dinner party or get-together and looking for creative potluck themes that break out of the norm? It is so much more fun to have a cozy dinner party with a great theme! I know first-hand that everyone who joins in on the experience, even those who may not be as familiar in the kitchen, will have a ton of fun with a creative theme for the food. 

Plus, a fun theme is a great gateway to conversation. In all the potlucks I’ve thrown, we’ve had a blast with getting creative and then talking about the story behind the dishes we all brought. Let’s get movin’ on helping you figure out a super fun theme for Valentine’s Day! 

After you look through these themes, be sure to grab your FREE PERFECT POTLUCK BLUEPRINT! It includes 5 of my most popular potluck themes PLUS menus to go along with them! And, some super helpful menu planning tips to help you get started!

10+ Creative Valentine Potluck Theme Ideas

After you pick your favorite theme, head over to my Top 10 Must-Read Tips for Planning the Perfect Potluck for some tips on how to simplify the planning and maximize the fun!

 1. Hungry Honeymooners
If your guest list includes a bunch of married couples, have everyone bring a dish that reminds them of food they ate on their honeymoon. If they remember a specific meal they had – whether it was at a fancy restaurant or some street tacos they gobbled up while they were out sightseeing – have them re-create that meal! But, if they don’t have a particular meal in mind, just have everyone make a dish common to the place they traveled. 

Back in the day, we went to Florida for our honeymoon, and we ate a couple of yummy seafood meals while we were there, so I’d probably figure out how to re-create a seafood dish. Not my specialty (growing up in Central TX, you don’t eat seafood that often), but I’d have a ton of fun experimenting in my kitchen with a tried-and-true recipe from someone else. 

2. Wedding Menu
Once again, if your guest includes a bunch of married couples, instead of having them bring a dish that reminds them of their honeymoon, have them bring a dish that was served at their wedding. It’ll be so fun!

At our wedding, we had kind of a fancy-ish southern menu with nice BBQ, candied sweet potatoes, spicy mac & cheese, and Tex-Mex salads. I’d make one of those! 🙂 

3. Bonjour Bites
Since France is often associated with romance and love, have some fun with everyone cooking a French-inspired dish. I have no idea what I’m doing in this area, as most of my cooking involves southern-style, healthy-ish comfort food, but I’d totally love the excuse to branch out of the norm and try out some new recipes!

4. Food from the Heart
Have folks get creative and bring food either shaped like a heart or with hearts on it. This can totally be done! Strawberries or tomatoes cut into hearts for a salad. Casseroles baked in a heart-shaped cake pan. Dish out mashed potatoes in the shape of a heart on a platter. If you need some main dish inspiration on this, be sure to check out these Valentine’s Day enchiladas! 🙂 

5. Fondue Foods
Fondue is such a popular novelty during the Valentine’s season! Enjoy breaking out of your normal menu and have everyone bring food that can be eaten with fondue. Believe me, there’s more than just cheese & chocolate fondues! Just go type in “fondue” on Pinterest and you’ll have more inspiration than you need in a matter of 30 seconds. 

You could have a couple of people responsible for a few different fondues, and then everyone else bring food that accompanies those fondues – meats, veggies, fruits, and cookies. It’s going to be goooood! 🙂 

6. Love Story Movie Menu
Have everyone bring a dish inspired by their favorite love story movie! And no, these don’t have to be chick flicks. Remind the guys that they can totally bring a food inspired by Braveheart! 🙂 

7. Fairy Tale Fare
Bring a dish inspired by a fairy tale. Get creative! Something pumpkin-y since there’s a pumpkin coach in Cinderella. Something with apples because of the apple in Snow White. Something you’d serve at a tea party based on Alice in Wonderland. You get where I’m goin’ with this! 

8. Elegant Eats
Don’t we all want a little excuse to get fancy every once in a while? Have people bring a dish that’s a little fancier – maybe it’s served with a nice sauce, cooked a certain way, or presented in a lovely way on a platter. If you want a no-fuss elegant dessert idea, check out my chocolate-covered strawberry poke cake! YUM!

9. Heart-Healthy Meal 
Prep foods good for the heart! Look up dishes with ingredients that are particularly heart-healthy, and have a celebration of food while you celebrate keeping your hearts healthy and happy. 🙂 I have something for you to add to your menu – a crazy delicious fruit salad. Make it more Valentine-ish by only using pink & red fruits. How fun!

10. Upscale Hors D’oeuvres
You know – just fancy finger foods! Think: crostinies, bruschetta, chocolate-covered strawberries, baked brie with crackers. 

11. Plates of Crepes
Have a menu inspired by different crepes! Dinner crepes, breakfast crepes, and dessert crepes. I used to work at a coffee shop that served several different types of crepes, many of which came packed with veggies. So, you can easily make a menu of crepes that still help cover the “side dish” portion of a meal by having some choose recipes that have veggies (and some with fruit!) in them. Not sure where to start? Here’s a basic crepe recipe to get your wheels turning!

12. I Love Lucy Foods
You can’t help but suggest this – it’s just one of my favorites! Have everyone bring a dish inspired by this beloved show.

Menu ideas could include: rice & beans, a Cuban meal, spaghetti (from when she had that famous scene at the Brown Derby with Bill Holden), watercress sandwiches (anyone know the episode!?), and of course, a healthy dose of chocolate from the all-time famous chocolate factory episode. 

13. Sweet Tooth Picks
Forget the main dish! Have everyone over for a big feast of desserts. Maybe even make a game night out of it since it’s easy to have a casual helping of desserts while you’re playing games together.

Have fun with this – maybe you could just do a big ice cream bar where you have different options of ice cream flavors and a bunch of toppings. Have everyone bring their favorite dessert. Suggest that guests bring a dessert that’s Valentine’s themed. It’ll be so fun! These heart-shaped strawberry cake mix cookies or this strawberry Nutella puppy chow would be perfect for this theme!

Be sure to snag your free Perfect Potluck Blueprint to help you plan your potluck! 

Love these ideas and want to remember them later? Be sure to save this to your favorite Pinterest board!