Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard about, or been invited to, a paint and sip party in recent years. Local galleries, art instructors, and events companies have popularized the activity for birthdays, date nights, and bachelorette parties. We don’t blame them! What could be better than a paint party, with a little tutelage, and ample portions of wine? If you’ve got some artistic skill (or just want to throw a unique party) you can easily host your own paint party, and we’re gonna teach you how! Let’s Pour (wine this time)!
When to Host a Paint Party
Are you a starving artist that’s looking to monetize your artwork? Throw a paint party to draw attention to your work! Are you an art teacher looking for new students? Throw a paint party and invite people with children. Are you a business owner looking for a fantastic team building workshop? A paint party works great for that too! Raising money for a cause? Paint parties make a great fundraiser! Paint parties are great for a low-key bachelorette party, a teen girl’s birthday, or a ladies night out. You could even use it as a family fun night!
Step-By-Step Guide for Hosting a Paint Party
If you’re a “hostess with the mostest” then you already know how to host a party, and you’ll naturally find your flow planning a paint and sip too. Feel free to take these steps and twist them to fit your preferences. If this is your first go-round with party planning, we’ve lined it out, step by step, to help you keep your ducks in a row and plan the perfect shindig. Whether your budget is poppin’ or practically non-existent, you can still host a party. The greatest thing about a paint and sip night is its versatility!
Step 1: Set a Budget
You don’t have to spend a fortune to throw a great party. However, if you’ve got extra to spend, go for it! You can make your party as luxurious or as DIY as you want. There’s no right or wrong! Start with an overall amount that you want to spend on the party. Then, break your budget down into:
- Decorations and invitations
- Drinks and food
- Canvas and paint supplies
- Venue
- Professional help (optional)
Peruse your local art store, or do a quick scan on Amazon to gauge your expenses. This will help you decide how many people to invite. Some hostesses will choose to spend more on food and wine while keeping the art supplies cheap. Others will use their own art supplies and spend more on decor. Some will go all out on hiring a professional art teacher to instruct and skip the decorations. Again, you do you!
Most resources suggest a budget of $25-50 per person if you’re starting from scratch and supplying everything yourself. You can obviously save money by using supplies you already have, keeping the food and drinks simple, or charging a small fee.
Step 2: Choose Your Theme
Having a theme for your paint party is not a necessity. However, it actually simplifies the rest of the planning. Choosing a theme helps you reign in your ideas, pick decorations more easily, and have a cohesive presentation. If you choose a popular theme, you’ll be able to easily order party kits that include all your decorations, which vastly simplifies the process for inexperienced party planners. When choosing a theme think about costumes, decor, food, music, and what painting would work well with the theme. (Don’t worry, we’ll give you some ideas in a minute)!
How to Choose Your Theme
When choosing a design, you’ll need to think about your personal style, the guest list, the vibe you want to exude, and your budget. If you’re inviting the entire family, you may want to go with an alcohol-free party and choose a theme that the kids will love too. If you’re not the fancy wine-sipping kind, choose a Country Hoedown as your theme, and serve beers instead. Take some time to peruse themes on Pinterest or your local party store. Compare prices, and choose a theme that works within the parameters.
A Few Paint Party Theme Ideas

Ramp up the 1920s vibe with these black and gold retro decorations. Bring out the feathers, flappers, and jazz! Put some champagne on ice, and make this fun flapper girl by Artsybee your inspiration!
Along the same lines, you can dive into the French version of the era with a Moulin Rouge theme! This one works great for ladies’ night or a bachelorette party. Grab some red and black decorations with gold accents: think lots of feathers and pearls!
You can also find vintage Moulin Rouge posters on Amazon. You could even use your poster as your art inspiration for the night! Betty Boop or Jessica Rabbit would also fit nicely into this theme if you want to take a cartoon twist!
Sports Theme
Choose your favorite sports team and bust out the beer buckets. Art for this one is easy, as you can choose from a plethora of online images of your mascot or team logo. Costumes come easy too as you probably already have a jersey or team t-shirt lying about!
Seasonal
Take advantage of the clearance rack at your local store and throw a party with a seasonal theme. Choose a holiday theme like Valentine’s or St. Paddy’s Day, or it could literally be a flower-themed party for spring.
Landscapes are the name of the game here. Sunflowers by Van Gogh or one of Monet’s many spring landscapes would be perfect for summer or spring. There are tons of cute fall decor ideas out there that would make a great muse for an autumn night as well. Check out our Seasonal Pour Blog Section for the best ideas!
Superheroes
If you’re throwing a bachelor party or a birthday, superheroes are a lighthearted and fun theme! You can make bright-colored cocktails, and decor is easy to come by. Guests can simply throw on their favorite superhero mask and cape. Your art muse could be a strip of vintage comic strip or an original poster.
Step 3: Pick Your Venue
Most of your paint parties will likely be in-home affairs. Depending on the weather, you can choose to make them a yard party if that gives you more room. However, if you’re throwing a paint and sip party as a team building workshop or a fundraiser, you may consider renting a larger venue.
Think about your theme, your budget, and your predicted number of guests. Check out the local art gallery, your community center, large church halls, hotel lobbies, or rooftop bars. There may be a waitlist for popular venues, requiring you to book months in advance.
Step 4: Choose Your Muse
If you do a themed party, you’ll likely choose your art inspiration piece based on your theme. However, if you’re skipping the theme, you’ll need to strategically choose your muse. The art should be something that is easily reproduced. You’ll want to choose a piece that can be recreated in one night. Home decor like signs and door hangings are popular options. Try a pencil drawing, tracing, pour-paint piece, basic acrylic landscape/still life, or watercolor piece.
It’s incredibly important to consider copyright issues. If you’re making art for yourselves, it’s no issue. However, if you’re planning on selling the art as part of a fundraiser or for your own gain, you’ll need to make sure you aren’t using a copyrighted piece. If you plan on selling the pieces, the best option is to create your own artwork (or hire an artist who’s willing to release rights to you) and use that as your inspiration for the night. Be very careful with sports logos, trademark art, or mascots.
Step 5: Assess the Interest
Whether you choose physical invitations or virtual ones (we suggest Canva), you want to get a good idea of who’s coming. Send out invites at least one month in advance, and ask guests to RSVP by a specific date—preferably at least two weeks in advance. More people may show up, but some will undoubtedly skip out at the last minute too. Requiring an RSVP should give you a pretty good idea, and two weeks will be enough time to get your art supplies in.
Step 5: Order Supplies
We suggest you order your canvases and brushes in bulk. For planning purposes, you can get a 48-pack of 8×10 panel canvases on Amazon for about $30. For most paint parties, these cheap canvas panels are more than adequate. If you have a good collection of cheap art supplies, by all means, bust them out!
At minimum, each guest needs a canvas, brush, water cup, and access to the paint colors needed for the chosen art piece. You may also consider aprons or some kind of clothing cover for each guest. When choosing paint, you can either pick up cheap acrylic bottles from Hobby Lobby or Amazon. These are typically around $1 a piece. You could also buy a few larger tubes of Masters Touch Acrylic paints and partition them out amongst the guests. These paints are typically a bit thicker and better quality, which makes them stretch a bit farther.
Pro Tip: Outside of paints and canvas, you may want to have small foam rollers to quickly produce the background, a hair dryer to aid in drying, and a few cans of spray-on clear coat. These help to move the process along at a higher speed, ensuring that everyone’s art is finished and ready to take home at the end of the evening.
Step 6: Food and Booze
When throwing a party, food and drinks are often the largest expense. You can certainly hire a caterer, bartender, and DJ if you have the budget. We’ll assume that most of you aren’t going that big. You’ll likely be doing a more DIY version.
Check your local wholesale or bulk store for the best deals. At Costco or Sam’s Club, you can buy cases or large boxes of wine at a decent price. You’ll also find a ton of options for finger foods. Large bags of chips, nuts, mints, candies, and even charcuterie or veggie trays are typically cheaper from a big-box store than trying to buy it all at the grocery store.
Depending on your theme, you may also contact your local BBQ or Mexican restaurant. See if they’ll provide meat at a good price for pull-porked sandwiches or a taco bar. If you’re having an evening party, skip the food. Serve up an ice cream or pastry bar instead!
Step 7: Recruit Some Help
If you’re an artist, you won’t need any help for your paint party. You can use your expertise to help novice painters along. However, if you’re throwing a fundraiser or team building party and you aren’t an artist, you may want someone with experience to help run the show. Hiring a local artist to give painting tips or provide an inspiration piece is a fantastic way to up the legitimacy of your party!
It’s also a good idea to bring in a few friends to split the workload. While you can throw a great party on your own, more heads equals awesome ideas, and more hands equals less work for you!
Step 7: Prep and Decorate
Once you’ve gotten your RSVPs and your supplies, it’s time for setup. Spend some time thinking about lighting (this is a paint party after all), the flow of guests, and the placement of your decorations. If you’re not doing easels, you’ll need several long tables for your painters. Folding tables with plastic tablecloths is the most practical and inexpensive route. If you’re doing 8×10 canvases, you can fit six people on each table. If doing larger canvases, plan on three people per table.
Make sure you have space between the tables where you can easily move to help guests, and they can access the snack table and bathroom easily. Make sure to mark your mailbox or front door with some decor to guide guests who have never been to your home.
Step 8: Enjoy the Fruit of Your Effort
You’ve planned it perfectly. The room looks amazing. The music is creating the ideal vibe, and the lighting is providing a vibrant glow. It’s time to greet your guests! As people arrive, give them a quick tour—highlighting the food table, where to get drinks, and where the bathroom is.
Since you’re on a time schedule, you’ll need to start your painting pretty quickly. Get everyone seated, and begin on time. People will naturally wander and grab drinks as they come to stopping points in their painting process. You can also schedule stops at good spots if you want to have more structure. Remember, not to stress yourself. If you’re confident and having a good time, your guests will relax and enjoy themselves too!
Planning a Virtual Paint Party
If all this decorating or the thought of tons of people in your house gives you hives, you can always consider a virtual paint party. Utilizing Facebook Live or Zoom, you can host a public paint party while you enjoy private comforts.
This is also a much cheaper route to take. Guests will provide their own art supplies. There are no decorations or food to buy. You just provide the inspiration piece and help your guests create a masterpiece! It’s notoriously tricky, so if you decide to use Facebook, take a look at these Facebook Live tips before your party.
You may also consider turning over the reigns to an events planning company that specializes in paint parties. Paint and Sip Live or Canvas n Cup are two great options!
Getting Serious
If you’re throwing a large party for pay, or using your party as a fundraiser, you may want to get a membership to Paint Party Headquarters. They are a collaborative group of artists and instructors who help party planners create the perfect paint party. Pphq members have access to the latest information, social media tips, art kit rights, editable marketing, and expert opinions to ensure that your party is a phenomenal success! If you plan on making paint parties a source of income, the $47/mo for Paint Party Headquarters is more than worth it!
Ready to plan your own paint party?
We think you are! Paint and sip parties are a fantastic way to raise money, team build, or just celebrate a special occasion with your besties. No matter your motive, follow these simple steps, and your bash is sure to be a success. Just remember not to stress too much. Art is your passion, and these are your people. You’re just sharing something you love with the people you love. It’s as simple as that. Have fun!
For more incredible art inspiration, check out our massive array of Canvas Paint Pour Project Ideas!