Did you miss out on Oktoberfest this year or did you just enjoy the one that you attended so much that you decided to experience and share the jubilance of Oktoberfest once again at home with family, friends and neighbors. It's fun and easier to pull off than you think. It can be a subtle, low cost event or a party celebration as big as you want it to be. You have till the end of October so get with it! Some will celebrate this eventful day all year long!

Actually because of my German surname of Hingst, whenever the family gets together for a big FAMILY REUNION every few years or so at some designated location within the USA, we always would set aside a special day to schedule it as German Day.

To prepare for this day, all family members that attend our reunion will scour their German cookbooks and other internet sites months ahead to find, test and in most cases practice preparing for weeks, that perfect German recipe to present to the entire family on our scheduled German Day.

Our German Day is sort of like a huge pot-luck dinner with a German theme!

The family has adopted the name of our German Day celebration (or festival) and is now known as HINGSTOBERFEST! We call it Hingstoberfest no matter what month of the year we meet for a family reunion because some years we have held it in June, July or even in August.

Our Hingstoberfest is a great family event and activity that gets everyone involved with planning, cooking and activities leading up to the big dinner!

The children are heavily involved with the Bavarian decorations, music and dancing while the parents and older siblings are getting major satisfaction from perfecting their culinary skills with new German cuisine dishes that they have been crafting some for the first time... and we're not talking about just brats & sauerkraut either!

Das ist Gut!

The food is always tremendous from the meats, soups and salads down to the desserts! Alot of pride, love and effort goes into each dish that's prepared for this special day... and the stories that go along with each dish from selection to preparation is priceless!

To see your family (or others) doing the famous Chicken Dance or attempting to waltz to Ompah pah polka music is very entertaining in itself...  but to do the new Oktoberfest Gratitude Dance set to the clarinet polka tune is hysterical!

Let me now tell you how I created my own personalized home Oktoberfest celebration at home that'll keep your family (and neighbors) talking about it for months... and expecting it each fall season!

The origin of Hingstoberfest

In my own way to embrace a part of my German heritage... it was in the fall
of 1995 was when I initiated my first Oktoberfest celebration get together between family, friends and neighbors as more of a goodwill gesture to celebrate community and fellowship within the neighborhood.

It turned out to be a most relaxing neighborhood social cook-out ever where everyone felt right at home - like a big family gathering!

Just below is a wooden plaque that I carved out in the summer of 1997 to commemorate all future "HINGSTOBERFEST" celebrations.

A social setting of food and beverages with family, friends and neighbors is considered by most Germans a true expression and the ultimate display of "Gemüetlichkeit"  which simply translates to goodwill or a state of coziness.

We German-Americans will take advantage of this phrase on almost every occasion that we get to create a good-time get together whether by a simple  cook-out get together, or an elaborate festival celebration!

Because I had a fitting German surname of Hingst, I decided to improvise and use it as the title of my German themed fall cook-out celebration.

At that point Oktoberfest was transformed and personalized into my very own Gemüetlichkeit celebration that I named: HINGSTOBERFEST! 

If you choose not to utilize your own surname into the title of your own fest celebration, you could always use words like the original Oktoberfest, wurstfest, krautfest, bratfest, bierfest, beerfest or how about cornholefest, strudelfest, or even a (team_name)fest, bmwfest, polkafest, neighborhoodfest or a music theme Ompah pah fest! You can even use the name of your hometown, church or business too!

I quickly discovered that I had to make a few minute subtle changes to my new party theme (and you can do the same) to make it a worthwhile celebration for all that included:

• A personalized title party by inserting your SURNAME in the blank proceeding _______toberfest.
• Making the _______toberfest mandatory in October only. None of this about starting in September like the real Oktoberfest otherwise my party would be called HingstEMBERFEST!
• Plan on Brats, Beer (German imports) and football. Great for a Saturday afternoon (college football games and ample next day recovery time) or Sundays rooting for your fav NFL team!
• Have some staple German side dishes like kraut, red cabbage, pretzels, German potatoe salad, rye bread, cheeses, etc.
• Order some Oktoberfest decorations in advance which are typically affordable. You can always theme your combo party/cook-out/festival simply with fall /autumn colors of yellow and orange and browns. Then you can add in a bale or two of straw, a pumpkin, some gourds and a few corn stalks would be considered a nice touch. It would be really great to purchase some white and blue (bavarian blue) balloons and also a USA, German and Bavarian flags to create the themed atmosphere. I personally found numerous OKTOBERFEST party decorations, party favors, costumes, hats, signs, banners and anything else you desire to help theme your fest party online quickly and easily at places like Shindigz & Northcote Imports.
• Create some German-American recipes on your own like some innovative appetizers, a punch, dessert. I personally created some fantastic recipes for my Hingstoberfest that include a new German-American Potatoe Salad, Schwine Stiks and the ever popular Bier Hendl Chicken which is a simple beer can chicken recipe with a special ingredients rub & procedure.
• A party without some MUSIC is not a party... even with a football game as a focal point. You gotta have some actual authentic Oktoberfest Oompha pah polka music playing from a CD boombox at the least to create the proper atmosphere!
• The Chicken Dance once or twice is a must during your party... also do the Oktoberfest Gratitude Dance set to the classic Clarinet Polka song for lots of smiles and laughs!
• Want some very cool German related casual attire to wear to stimulate your party goers with a coversation piece? You have to get some of the clothing (or countless other items) from Spread Germanisms to share with others some very interesting, common and definately abstract words of the German language. "What does that German word on your t-shirt mean there Aunt Betty?" It's really fun to see people wearing them and you can also offer some of the Spread Germanisms attire as door prizes in your party too! 
• For the top German-American party game to play is of course the CORN HOLE bag toss game that has German-American origins out of Cincinnati, Ohio.
• If you do not schedule your own FEST party until the end of October... you can incorporate a side theme of Halloween into the mix with costumes, foods and some candy corn, an original German-American innovation from the 1880's

When you invite others to your personalized FEST celebration, be sure to WILLKOMMEN (welcome) them and suggest other German themed dishes that they may wish to bring themselves. Pot-luck is great even if it's a bag of pretzels, german rye bread, extra brats or a cold six pack of German import beer. You should also encourage your guest to feel free to dress up in any German costume they desire even if it's just a hat! As host, you may want to consider having a door prize of some kind for the best:

• German Costume
• German Dish (or best German recipe)
• Dance Contest winner
• Corn Hole Game Champion

Get Your Oktoberfest Decorations By Clicking Here

Any way (big or small) you present your own personalized German festival...
it is always considered a goodtime by all and defines just what exactly the German word  Gemüetlichkeit (goodwill, coziness) is all about!

The Hingster's Wish List - 

There are so many things that are German related that I wish were more of
or even fabricated already for consumers (like me and you) to easily locate, evaluate and purchase for personal use.

After recently speaking with other German-Americans from all across the USA, I asked them if they have ever shopped online or wished for something to add to their home (or personal collection) to enhace their German-American heritage and/or entertainment experience for their visitors to their homes.

I was surprised a bit that their responses generally matched my own. I took this information and combined it with my own wish list and this is what we all collectively came up with:

NOTICE:  To all manufacturers, fabricators and people in the product creation and distribution services - there is a viable market and demand for these tangible German related products listed  below: 

• German/Bavarian Bird Haus's
• Willkommen DOOR MATS
• Templates of German/Bavarian/Oktoberfest themes
• German Bier/Beer Patio Umbrellas
• Home Brew (custom name) Beer Labels
• Bier Garten Accessories
• Bier Garten Signs
• Bier Garten Kart (media/hosting patio serving kart)
• Schwenker Grills (assorted sizes)

For more discussion & details - contact us by email at:

  support@GermanNationUSA.com