How to Put Together a Board Night Worthy of TikTok

If you’ve been absolutely anywhere on TikTok over the last few months, we’re sure you would have seen all the videos of people hosting ‘board nights’ littered across your ‘For-You’ page. As it stands, the #boardnight has over 92 million views and #boardnightchallenge over 4.6 million.

If you haven’t seen this iconic trend in action, it’s basically where you gather a bunch of friends — dinner party-style — and all bring a different-themed board of food to share.

It’s essentially the glorified modern day version of bringing a share plate of food to your primary school end-of-term class party. But nevertheless, it’s an excellent way to spice up a catch-up with your mates or a Sunday family get-together.

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This trend comes off of the back of other dinner party trends. A prime example is the viral ‘dip night’ — where everyone brings a different dip ranging from sweet to savoury.

So, what should I bring to a ‘board night’? 

If you just type ‘board night’ into your TikTok search bar, you’ll find an abundance of different options if you’re keen to host one of your own, but to save you the effort, we’ve condensed down some great charcuterie-esque board ideas.

A few are pretty obvious, and others not so much — at the end of the day, though, anything really goes! You can also theme it more exclusively for different events. For example, pink items only for a pink-themed party, novelty/fun treats for a hen’s night or something tamer for a baby shower. The world is your oyster.

• Charcuterie board
• Fruit platter
• Sushi platter
• McDonald’s platter (nuggets, fries and cut-up serving sizes of cheeseburgers)
• Cookie platter
• Dessert platter (you can separate this into a chocolate board/lolly board etc.)
• Chicken wings platter
• Chip + dip board
• Mexican-themed board
• Greek-inspired board (make your own gyros etc.)
• Bruschetta board
• Cinema snack board

Board night essentials 

Take the party with you anywhere

Firstly, in order to ace your board night endeavours, you’ll want to start with a good board. Go figure.

This Cheese Board and Knife Set is our top recommendation when it comes to investing in a good one. That’s because it comes with a great amount of board space, a built-in drawer of all the essential knives and cutlery, as well as lil’ labels for all the food (this is especially handy if the board night is taking place at a park or somewhere where you don’t have access to the kitchen draw). There’s even an added smaller platter and some condiment squares to make your life so much easier.

You can buy the Cheese Board with Knife Set ($69.95 with code ‘HOMSNS’) here.

This one doesn’t come with all the added extras but still does the job all the same. So, if you’re looking for a good no-frills option, this board will be a great foundation for all your charcuterie board ideas and creations.

You can buy the Bamboo Charcuterie Board ($37.20) here.

If you want to take it up a notch

You know how we mentioned the whole themed-board idea? Well, if you want to get extra cheeky for a Hen’s night or a friend’s birthday, this cheese board set will take your BYO plate to the next level. And hey, that’s one way to break the ice with anyone you don’t know.

You can buy the Novelty Penis Aperitif Wooden Board ($15.99 with code ‘PAUG10’) here.

On the other hand, you can also play it PG and go for a wholesome touch with this cute heart-shaped chip and dip platter.

You can buy the Heart-Shaped Platter Bowl Set ($19.96) here.

Don’t ever skimp on the dessert offerings

While you might be assigned to something basic, like a dessert or charcuterie board, that doesn’t mean you can’t give it an extra oomph with your presentation. The best way to do that is none other than a three-tier serving stand. A neat little single-tier cake stand also goes a long way, too — and you might even have one of those at home already!

You can buy the Ambrosia Zest Three-Tier Serving Stand ($149.99) here.

Give your guests the luxury of easily accessible condiments

Now, this isn’t essential, but if you’re making a country-inspired board like a Mexican board or a Thai board, you might have a bunch of sides you need to add, like salsa or peanut sauce. These little ramekin dishes will keep everything separated and mess-free, so you don’t have to worry about the corn chips drowning in the salsa.

You can buy this Condiment Platter ($55.83) here.

Alternatively, this might be the most extra thing ever, but if you want to bring the sauce to the people, you can also invest in these neat little dip clips that clip onto your guests’ plates, so they can dunk n’ dip as they go — because what’s more annoying than enjoying your plate of food and having to get up for a sauce refill every five minutes?!

You can buy the Dip Clip ($45.16) here.

Go the extra mile

Nowadays, many people have dietary requirements and intolerances, so getting some cheeky little labels to litter across the boards helps your guests to know what’s in each of your charcuterie board ideas. That way, you can make sure your vegan/vegetarian friends know what’s safe for them to devour. You can even just keep it strictly allergy-based, like ‘peanut-free’ to make things less complicated (particularly if we’re talking kid’s parties).

You can buy the Fun Slate Markers ($23.20) here.