What’s on the menu for July? Well, if you’re anything like us, you might be heading for a festival. Of course everybody like something different - while the posh are carrying their picnic hampers down to Glyndebourne in their evening dress, the dedicated field festival aficionado is heading for Latitude. T in the Park appeals to those who don't mind midges and like to combine their festival with a north of the border holiday, whilst the Llangollen Eisteddfod has a die-hard appeal for fans of  choral music including Choir of the World - that’s a pretty big claim, isn’t it?

But perhaps you can’t get a summer holiday or even a weekend away to attend a festival? In which case, why not bring the festival to you, by hosting a Festival Fancy Dress party.

Costumes for this party are pretty easy - any cheap 70s fancy dress costume will work pretty well, or you can go for the full Hippy look. Then you just need to create your playlist of 1960s hits, lay one some appropriate food and drink - lots of red wine, colourful salads, bean sprouts of course, and some brownies (better make them plain though, nothing too … exciting in the ingredients!)

Get your guests to bring their guitars for a strum along, light a bonfire (a fire pit or just a fire log will do just as well) and lay out some rugs or blankets to sit on … look up at the stars and remember why the hippie era was a gentler, happier period.

Of course hippies invented festivals but they didn’t copyright them, so you could choose to dress like a Glastonbury Goddess (wellingtons, mini-dress and Kate Moss hair) or a Bestival rocker … whatever works for you, up to and including that full evening dress and picnic basket for Glyndebourne.