How to Throw a Dancing With the Stars Premiere Party at Home: Easy Menu, Mocktail, Games & More!

Turn Dancing With the Stars premiere night into a family celebration with an easy appetizer-style dinner, a sparkling Southern muscadine mocktail, Mirrorball Cupcakes, DWTS Bingo and plenty of ballroom-worthy fun.

There are certain nights at our house that are technically just television nights... but somehow become events. Dancing With the Stars premiere night is definitely one of them.

Amanda and I have been counting down to the new season, and after watching Dancing With the Pros together and cheering for Adele all the way to the win, we are ridiculously excited to see her step onto the ballroom floor as a pro this season!

Naturally, simply sitting on the couch and watching the premiere wasn't going to cut it.

So we're turning premiere night into a full Dancing With the Stars family watch party—complete with a tapas-style dinner, a sparkly signature mocktail, Mirrorball Cupcakes, DWTS Bingo and a few other surprises.

Are the boys equally excited about Dancing With the Stars?

No. 😂

Are we roping them into watching it with us anyway?

Absolutely.

That's where the food comes in.

My goal was to create a party that felt special without spending all day cooking or buying a cart full of ingredients. Instead of a formal dinner, we're setting up a buffet filled with small bites everyone can grab throughout the show.

It's easy. It's fun. It keeps everyone together. And honestly, those are some of my favorite kinds of family nights.

So if your family loves Dancing With the Stars too—or you just need an excuse to add a little sparkle to an ordinary weeknight—here's everything you need to recreate our DWTS Premiere Night Party at home.

Why Turn a TV Premiere Into a Family Night?

Because sometimes the smallest traditions become the things everyone remembers.

Life gets busy. Kids get older. Schedules fill up. And increasingly, everyone has their own screens, interests and places to be. So whenever we find something that gives us an excuse to all pile onto the same couch, I want to lean into it.

You don't need a birthday, holiday or elaborate event to celebrate together.

Sometimes you just need:

Good food. Something fun to watch. A few people you love. And maybe a little sparkle.

That's very much what we're about here at Roots & Wings. Our version of Carolina living isn't about creating a picture-perfect life. It's about making the life we're already living feel a little more meaningful—and a lot more fun.

And tonight, apparently, that means disco balls and cocktail weenies. I'm okay with that. :)

How to Set Up an Easy Dancing With the Stars Watch Party

You absolutely do not need to turn your living room into an actual ballroom.

A few little details make the night feel completely different from an ordinary evening at home.

1. Create a cozy viewing area.

Make sure everyone has a good view of the television, then bring out extra pillows and blankets. We're keeping everyone in the same space rather than eating dinner at the table and moving afterward. That's one of the reasons the grazing-style menu works so well.

2. Add some sparkle.

Disco balls are obviously perfect if you have them, but you can also use string lights, metallic serving pieces, gold or silver napkins, battery-operated candles or anything sparkly you already own. Don't go buy an entire party aisle. A few strategically placed details will give you the effect.

3. Make dinner a buffet.

This might be my favorite part of the whole plan.

Instead of preparing a traditional entrée with several sides, we're making a collection of appetizers, small bites, fruits and cheeses.

Everyone can build a plate before the show and come back for more during commercials.

It also means there should be something on the table that appeals to everybody—including those members of the household who may have been strongly encouraged to participate in Dancing With the Stars night. 😉

4. Give everyone something to do.

We're making DWTS Bingo so everyone has something to watch for during the show.

We'll also make predictions, score our favorite dances and, inevitably, debate the judges' scores from the couch as though our opinions carry some sort of official ballroom authority.

[LINK TO DWTS BINGO — COMING SOON!]

Our Dancing With the Stars Premiere Party Menu

I wanted this menu to feel festive while still being realistic for a family weeknight.

Think tapas meets charcuterie board meets game-night food.

Here's what we're serving:

🪩 Muscadine Mirrorball Mocktails

Our sparkling signature drink made with homemade Southern muscadine juice, sparkling rosé, raspberry-lime sparkling water, fresh berries and edible shimmer.

🪩 Cranberry Cocktail Weenies

Sweet, tangy and ridiculously easy. These cook in the slow cooker and can stay warm throughout the show.

🪩 Cheesy Bacon Crescent Roll-Ups

Cream cheese, cheddar, bacon and green onions rolled inside flaky crescent dough.

🪩 Loaded Cheddar Bacon Dip

Cream cheese, sour cream, cheddar, bacon and green onion served with fresh vegetables and crackers.

🪩 Mediterranean Chicken Pasta

I already had this Costco favorite in the refrigerator, so onto the buffet it goes!

This is also my permission slip to you: you don't have to make every single thing.

Use what you have. Add a prepared dish. Empty something into a pretty bowl.

We're creating memories here, not auditioning for a catering job.

🪩 Charcuterie Add-Ons

We added sliced meats, Gouda, goat cheese, cucumbers, bell peppers, carrots and crackers to round everything out.

🪩 Fresh Fruit

Apples, oranges, raspberries and blueberries add something fresh—and some gorgeous color—to the table.

🪩 Mirrorball Cupcakes

And obviously we needed dessert worthy of the ballroom.

Our homemade vanilla funfetti cupcakes get topped with fluffy vanilla buttercream, silver sprinkles and plenty of sparkle.

Muscadine Mirrorball Mocktail

This may be my favorite part of the menu because it brings a little bit of our Southern roots into the party.

We grow muscadines at home, and this year I made pure muscadine juice from grapes picked right from our vine. No added sugar. No artificial flavoring. Just muscadines.

And if you've never had a muscadine, they are very different from the typical grapes you'll find at the grocery store. They're native to the southeastern United States and have a rich, distinctive grape flavor that makes them wonderful for juices, jams, jellies and—apparently—sparkly ballroom mocktails!

For One Muscadine Mirrorball Mocktail:

• 2 oz pure unsweetened muscadine juice

• 3 oz non-alcoholic sparkling rosé

• 1 oz raspberry-lime sparkling water

• ½ oz fresh lime juice

• Fresh raspberries and blueberries

• Ice

• Tiny pinch of edible drink shimmer

• Sugar for the rim, optional

• Orange or lime slice for garnish

1. Run a lime wedge around half of your glass and dip it into sugar.

2. Fill the glass with ice, then add the muscadine juice and lime juice. Pour in the sparkling rosé and raspberry-lime sparkling water.

3. Add just a tiny amount of edible drink shimmer and give it a gentle stir.

4. Finish with fresh berries and an orange or lime slice.

Then watch it sparkle.

Don't Have Homemade Muscadine Juice?

Most people probably don't have a muscadine vine growing in their backyard, so don't worry! Look for 100% muscadine juice at Southern specialty markets, farm stands or some grocery stores.

Can't find that either? Use 100% Concord grape juice or white grape juice instead.

It won't have exactly the same Southern muscadine flavor, but you'll still get a beautiful sparkling mocktail.

Tip: If your store-bought juice contains added sugar, taste your drink before adding anything else sweet. Our homemade muscadine juice is unsweetened, so the sparkling rosé provides most of the sweetness in our version.

Easy Cranberry Cocktail Weenies

This is one of those appetizers that requires almost no effort but somehow disappears every single time.

You'll Need:

• 1 package mini cocktail weenies

• 1 (14 oz) can whole-berry cranberry sauce

• 1 (12 oz) bottle Heinz Chili Sauce

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, optional

• Zest of ½ orange, optional

To Make Them:

1. Add everything to your slow cooker and stir.

2. Cook on LOW for 2–3 hours, stirring occasionally, then switch the slow cooker to warm for serving.

That's it! :) The cranberry sauce gives them sweetness, while the chili sauce brings enough tang to balance everything out. A little Dijon and fresh orange zest make the sauce taste more interesting without adding any real work.

Cheesy Bacon Crescent Roll-Ups

These are exactly the kind of food I wanted for this party: easy enough for a Tuesday night but good enough that everyone keeps going back for another one.

You'll Need:

• 1 tube refrigerated crescent roll dough

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened

• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or cheese blend

• ¼ cup bacon bits

• 2 green onions, finely chopped

To Make Them:

1. Mix the softened cream cheese, shredded cheese, bacon and green onions.

2. Unroll the crescent dough and gently press the seams together to create one sheet.

3. Spread the cheese mixture in a thin, even layer over the dough.

4. Roll it up tightly, then slice into pinwheels.

5. Arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 375°F for approximately 12–15 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown.

6. Serve warm.

Loaded Cheddar Bacon Dip

Cold dips are perfect for this kind of buffet because you can make them hours ahead of time. And this one doubles as an excuse to get some vegetables onto everyone's plate.

You'll Need:

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened

• ½ cup sour cream

• ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese

• ½ cup bacon bits

• 2–3 green onions, sliced

• ½ teaspoon garlic powder

• Salt and black pepper to taste

To Make It:

1. Mix everything together until thoroughly combined.

2. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes so the flavors have time to come together.

3. Serve cold with:

• Cucumbers

• Bell peppers

• Carrots

• Crackers

• Pretzels

• Celery

• Whatever else you love dipping!

You can also surround the dip with sliced meats and cheeses to turn the whole thing into an easy grazing board.

Build Your Own Premiere-Night Grazing Board

Here's where you can make this party your own. You don't need everything we used. Look through the refrigerator first and build around what you already have.

Try combining a few things from each category:

Cheeses: Gouda, goat cheese, cheddar, Brie, pepper jack or cheese cubes.

Meats: Salami, pepperoni, prosciutto or whatever sliced meats your family likes.

Fresh: Cucumbers, carrots, peppers, apples, oranges, grapes or berries.

Crunchy: Crackers, pretzels, pita chips, breadsticks or toasted baguette slices.

Warm bites: Cocktail weenies, crescent pinwheels, meatballs, mini pizzas or another family favorite.

That's really the formula: Something warm + something cheesy + something fresh + something crunchy + something sweet.

Done.

Premiere Party Grocery List

Shop your kitchen first! You probably already have more of this than you think.

Produce

• Limes

• Green onions

• Cucumbers

• Bell peppers

• Carrots

• Fresh berries

• Apples and/or oranges

Dairy & Refrigerated

• Cream cheese

• Sour cream

• Shredded cheddar

• Gouda

• Goat cheese

• Crescent roll dough

• Butter

• Eggs

• Whole milk

Meat

• Mini cocktail weenies

• Bacon bits

• Sliced salami or other charcuterie meats

Pantry

• Whole-berry cranberry sauce

• Heinz Chili Sauce

• Dijon mustard

• Crackers

• All-purpose flour

• Granulated sugar

• Powdered sugar

• Baking powder

• Vanilla extract

• Rainbow sprinkles

• Silver/white sprinkles

Drinks

• Muscadine, Concord or white grape juice

• Non-alcoholic sparkling rosé

• Raspberry-lime sparkling water

• Edible drink shimmer

And remember: you absolutely don't need every item on this list.

Use the menu as inspiration rather than a mandate.

Make It Ahead So You Can Actually Watch the Show

This is important. I don't want to spend premiere night standing at the stove while everyone else is watching the first dance!

Most of this menu can be prepared earlier in the day.

Bake and decorate the cupcakes. Make the dip. Assemble the cocktail weenies in the slow cooker. Prepare the crescent pinwheels and refrigerate them unbaked. Wash and cut the vegetables. Set out your serving pieces.

Then, shortly before the party, bake the pinwheels, heat anything that needs heating, assemble the grazing board and make the mocktails.

I made myself an entire Premiere Night Prep & Timing Planner because apparently that's who I am. 😂

But it means I can get the work out of the way early and actually sit down with my family when the show starts.

[Download our DWTS PREMIERE NIGHT PREP & TIMING PLANNER PDF Below]

DWTS_Premiere_Night_Prep_Plan.pdf

Download PDF • 30KB

Don't Forget the Mirrorball Cupcakes! 🧁

Of all the recipes we're making, these are probably going to get the biggest reaction.

They're homemade vanilla funfetti cupcakes with fluffy vanilla buttercream and silver decorations inspired by the Mirrorball Trophy.

They're festive enough for a premiere party but easy enough that you don't need professional cake-decorating skills.

And honestly? Sprinkles hide a multitude of sins 😏

You can save the recipe card, print it and tag us @rootswingsfamily if you love it:

Mirrorball_Cupcakes.pdf

Download PDF • 493KB

Food gets the boys onto the couch.

Now we need to keep them there. 😂

One of the easiest ways to turn a Dancing With the Stars watch party into an actual family event is to add a few simple games everyone can play throughout the night. Nothing complicated—just enough friendly competition to keep everyone watching, laughing and arguing about whether that dance really deserved a 9.

🪩 Play DWTS Bingo

Give everyone a Bingo card at the beginning of the show and mark off squares as things happen on screen. Some fun squares could include:

• Someone gets a 10

• A judge mentions “chemistry”

• Someone cries

• A standing ovation

• A costume change

• Someone loses a shoe or costume piece

• A lift makes everyone gasp

• The judges disagree

• Someone says “journey”

• A celebrity's family is shown in the audience

• Someone gets their highest score yet

• An unexpected song choice

• Sequins. So. Many. Sequins.

• Someone at your house yells at the judges 😂

First person to get five in a row wins!

[LINK: GET THE FREE DWTS BINGO PRINTABLE]

💃 Try DWTS Charades or Pictionary

Commercial breaks are perfect for quick rounds of Dancing With the Stars Charades or Pictionary.

Write dance-related words and phrases on slips of paper and toss them into a bowl. Think tango, cha-cha, salsa, foxtrot, mirrorball, ballroom, jazz hands, lift, disco, or even angry judge.

For Charades, act it out. For Pictionary, draw it. Set a one-minute timer and see who can get the most correct before the show comes back on. Bonus points for anyone willing to actually demonstrate a cha-cha in the living room.

⭐ Be the Judges

Give everyone a DWTS Scorecard and let your family become the unofficial fourth judging panel.

After each dance, everyone gives the couple a score from 1–10. Keep track throughout the show and see how your family's rankings compare with the actual judges. You can make it even more interesting by choosing categories such as:

Dance • Costume • Song Choice • Wow Factor

At the end of the night, total your scores and crown your family's Premiere Night Favorite.

🔮 Make Your Predictions

Before the results are announced, have everyone secretly write down:

Who do you think will be eliminated?

You can award a point for every correct prediction throughout the season and keep a running family leaderboard.

And on premiere night, take it one step further: have everyone choose the couple they predict will win the Mirrorball Trophy. Put those predictions somewhere safe and don't look at them again until finale night.

Whoever called the winner way back at the beginning gets serious bragging rights.

Between Bingo, judging, predictions and some completely ridiculous commercial-break charades, even the family members who claim they're “just here for the food” might find themselves surprisingly invested by the end of the night. 😉

The Best Part Isn't Really the Party

I love making things special.

I love the food, the decorating, the ridiculous themed names and finding an excuse to put edible glitter into a drink.

But that's not really why we're doing any of this.

Amanda and I would watch Dancing With the Stars together regardless.

What I love is turning something we already enjoy into an excuse for all four of us to stop what we're doing and spend the evening together.

The boys may initially be here for the cocktail weenies. That's okay. Because they'll also be sitting beside us.

We'll laugh. We'll argue about scores. Someone will inevitably steal the last crescent roll. Amanda and I will probably become far too emotionally invested in our favorites.

And someday, I don't think anyone will remember what we did on most random Tuesday nights.

But they might remember the nights when Mom put disco balls on the table, made sparkling muscadine drinks and somehow convinced everybody that a television premiere deserved cupcakes.

Those are the little moments we're trying to make more of around here.

Create more. Explore more. Connect more. And occasionally...

Dance more. 💃

If you throw your own premiere party, please tag us or send us a picture! We would genuinely love to see what you make, what you add to your menu and who your family is cheering for this season.

Follow @rootswingsfamily for more Carolina living, family adventures, recipes, DIY projects, travel, printables and ideas for making a little more out of everyday life.

Christina

Roots & Wings Family Co.

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