How to Hauste: An Art Gallery Inspired Dinner Party
A step-by-step guide to throwing a MoMA-themed holiday gathering…
we turned a dinner party into an art exhibition — and how you can, too.
If there’s one thing we always say, it’s this: dinner parties are an art form. Not because they need to be fancy or perfect, but because hosting is one of the most creative things you can do at home. It’s mood, intention, design, storytelling all wrapped into one night.
This holiday season, we wanted to lean all the way into that idea. So we created a theme inspired by one of the most iconic museums in the world:
MoMA: The Museum of Modern Art
Located in New York City, MoMA is known for its modern and contemporary art collections, bold installations, and the way it pushes creativity into everyday life.
Our version?
MoMA: The Museum of Modern Appetite
A dinner party where food becomes the art, the room becomes the gallery, and the whole night feels like an exhibition opening.
If you’re looking for creative dinner party ideas, holiday hosting inspiration, or a way to make your gatherings feel more intentional, this breakdown has everything you need.
Why MoMA? The Inspiration Behind Our Theme
We kept coming back to a single question: What if the dinner table was the art itself?
Instead of the typical holiday setup (evergreen, red & gold, plaid napkins) we wanted a theme rooted in imagination, something immersive, and something that made guests feel like they were stepping out of real life and into a curated experience.
The art of hosting became our guiding idea.
Setting the Scene: Creating a Gallery at Home
To make the room feel like a small-scale MoMA exhibit, we:
Draped our dining room in silky fabric to create soft “gallery walls”
Kept the lighting low and warm
Styled the table as the main installation with sculptural food displays
The Edible Tablescape (and Why It's the New Centerpiece)
Instead of flowers or a traditional runner, we built an edible tablescape—one of our favorite trends for creative hosting.
For our MoMA display, we created:
A cheese checkerboard
A butter + radish tower
Sculptural cones adorned with salami, grapes, blackberries, and cream puffs
Clusters of pears, figs, and pomegranates
Candles anchored in baguettes
It doubled as decor and dinner instantly making the table interactive and abundant. This is a great idea if you’re looking for grazing table inspiration, edible centerpiece ideas, or holiday tablescape design tips. Here are the items we used to make it all happen:
The Blind Wine Tasting: A Fun Dinner Party Activity
We told guests to bring a wrapped bottle for a blind tasting (any price point, any varietal). When everyone arrived, we slipped each bottle into a velvet drawstring bag (highly recommend—it makes the whole thing feel elevated and keeps the labels fully hidden).
Then throughout the night, we opened one bottle at a time and poured small tastes for the table. No rules, no scoring system, no formal descriptors… just guessing, debating, and laughing. It was low-stakes and instantly got everyone talking.
The best part? A blind wine tasting forces you to try wine without the preconceived notions of a pretty label or a fancy name (something we’re very guilty of) It makes people more curious, more honest, and more willing to be surprised!
If you’re looking for a simple, fun, and actually-interactive dinner party game, this one gets an A+ every single time.
Shop the MoMA Tablescape
If you want to recreate this gallery-inspired dinner party, we linked every detail—serveware, candles, fabrics, and all the tabletop pieces on our ShopMy.
