The food you serve at your race car themed party has the potential to set the tone for the entire event. Paired with clever labeling and decor to match, the food can really rev your guests up for a good time. To complement the food, consider placing your utensils in a tool box and implementing designs like checkered flags and racing stripes throughout the party.

As your guests enter the party, offer them a race-worthy beverage. One simple option is to print out adhesive checkered labels to stick onto water bottles. The labels can say "Pit Crew" on them, and you can even label each one if you have a guest list of attendees beforehand. Another option is to fill a drink dispenser with a lemon-lime energy drink. These energy drinks look like anti-freeze and could be labeled as such. Pit crews are often seen drinking this type of beverage, too. Along those same lines, you could fill another drink dispenser with a dark soda like cola and label it "motor oil".

When it comes to an appetizer for this party, you can carve a mini car for each guest using fruit. To do so, use an apple wedge soaked in lemon juice as the base of the car. The lemon juice will prevent the apple from browning. Prop the apple slice upright and, using two toothpicks, skewer each end crosswise, so that the ends of the toothpicks are sticking out at all four corners. Place a grape on each toothpick end to represent the wheel. You can leave the cars as is, or purchase toothpicks with flags on them to attach to the top. Another snack option is grilled cheese sandwiches. Cut the sandwiches into bite-sized shapes using small cooking cutters that fit the race theme. Shapes like cars, flags or stars would be fun options. For a quick snack, fill a container with assorted nuts and candies and label it "Nuts and Bolts" to mimic car parts.

Choose a wheel theme for your main course. For example, personal-size pizza crusts topped with a black ingredient, such as an olive spread, look like tires. On the side, consider serving carrot and celery sticks with a dip like ranch salad dressing and call them "Engine Dipsticks." To give your guests the feel of being at a racetrack, serve food that you might find in the grandstand. Foods like hamburgers and hot dogs are easy to prepare and fit with the casual atmosphere. Set up a table with all of the food on it and call it "Fuel" for an added decorative touch.

Dessert is a literal showstopper, in this case, when you make brownies that look like traffic lights. You can either purchase a pan of brownies or a dense chocolate cake from a bakery, or make your own at home. Top the brownies with dark chocolate frosting and cut them into rectangles. Dot each rectangle with green, yellow and red hard candies in the order of a traffic light. Alternatively, make lollipops in car-shaped molds using melting candy. The lollipops could also serve as party favors for your guests. Try serving grape-flavored gelatin in individual plastic cups. The color will look like oil, so you can label them as "Oil Change Cups."