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some that come to my mind..
for the cheese fondue use a ceramic fondue set like this one http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Swiss_fondue.jpg.
for meat fondue or fondue bourguignonne use a stainless steel or cast iron set. With the bourguignonne different sauces are usually served to dip in the fried meat. From regular mayonnaise, sauce bourguignonne of course, and so on. I love to mix mayonnaise with chipotle chiles for a nice twist.
I usually serve the traditional bread cubes along with walnut bread cubes and crispy steamed vegetables for the cheese fondue. For the chocolate fondue make sure you use a fondue set with a bain marie insert so the chocolate doesn't burn. For chocolate fondue I love the regular fruit (strawberries, banana, pears, bladder cherries) and cubes of pound cake as well.
To each his/her own fork, and no-double-dipping signs.

I recently had a fondue gathering for my girlfriends. I wanted a no fuss event, so I purchased Trader Joe's fondue. It is in the cheese section in a vacuum sealed pouch and is very tasty. I served my fondue with apples, raw baby carrots, celery chunks, bread, two type of sausages (browned and sliced into coins), cooked tortellini, roasted rosemary fingerling potatoes, and cooked gnocchi. We also served up a big green salad. I had the fondue stay hot in the pot but everyone had an individual bowl to fill with the cheese so that they could double dip! Have Fun!

You can rent fondue pots from party supply rental places, which works better than trying to cobble something up (cobbled-up fondue setups can lead to FIRE! which is less fun than it sounds like it might be at a party). Saves you having to store fondue pots between parties, and is very very cheap.

For larger parties, I like to give people wooden kebab skewers rather than try to get a bunch of fondue forks. They can be put in the green bin when you are done.

There's a restaurant in Berkeley, Fondue Fred's, that has a bunch of interesting fondues on the menu. If you have the time, go there for a little research mission. The blue cheese is very nice. I like to start with a pre-made fondue (Trader Joe's as mentioned, or even Lucky has it) and add other cheeses and spices for flavour.

For dessert fondues, marshmallows for dipping are fun, pound cake gets a lot of crumbs in the sauce, and fresh fruit is terrific. I've had both white and dark chocolate dips and both are great, in different ways. Caramel sounds dreamy.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I'll most likely go with skewers. Not sure what I'm going to do for the pots yet. Do you think a crockpot or two would work?

The caramel is mostly an excuse to make it again. It's for apples and possibly ricotta fritters if I'm feeling gutsy.

the first time i did a party my friend brought all her extra forks which was great.

a crockpot would be perfect! start it on high then turn down when it's all melted perfectly.

the key is a little vino (i had prosecco so used that) and flour or cornstarch. if you skimp on those things then you get a glop which is what i did at the last party!

Though Emmenthaler, Gruyere, and Appenzeller are the most traditional fondue cheeses, you could be wild and crazy and try some other mountain cheeses like Beaufort (oh, man, it's the best), Comte, or Hoch Ybrig. I'm not a huge Emmenthaler fan, so I would totally replace it with Beaufort in a heartbeat.

As for fondue pots, I would think that crock pots would work, but if you want fondue pots I'd check thrift stores-- they are usually found in abundance, as I'm guessing fondue pots are among some of the first things people donate in their own kitchen cures. :)

The last fondue party I went to (thrown by the owners of the cheese store where I work, aka the best fondue party ever) I had some fondue that was made with a little truffle oil-- so amazing.

We usually do meat fondues for main course and love how easy it is to prepare. We use sauces from our fridge door and then dress them up with whatever herbs or spices we have on hand. BBQ, sweet chilli, yoghurt and herbs, soy, flavored mayo are all hits. Or search the internet for more choices of dips.

For the cooking - we just have small plates of meat cut up around the table (Swedish meatballs, chicken, beef, pork - whatever's in the freezer) and we use a pot of oil or broth for depending on how healthy we feel. You heat up the liquid first on the stove and then bring it to the table to your fondue stand and we use sterno to keep it warm. I also advise getting a proper set for your use - you want a proper base for the fire on the table or you will be sorry.

For the forks - we love fondue so we have at least three sets now and just put out the color coded forks around at each place setting - if we have enough, we try and give people 2 forks each. That keeps them happy as they can eat some and be cooking some at the same time.

Do not use the fondue mix from Trader Joe's--it's terrible compared to the real thing! I agree that Beaufort would be a great substitute for Emmantaller. Also, Vacherin Fribourgeois is a great kick in any fondue; it's a raw cow's milk cheese from Switzerland, with a stronger flavor than any of the others mentioned.

I second a previous poster that you might try a thrift store to get a cheap fondue pot - that's where I got my first one, which was barely used when I bought it. If possible, I would recommend a fondue pot (maybe see if you can borrow from a friend?) over the crockpot route, if only because a crockpot is likely to be much deeper and wider & so requiring more effort to get to the good stuff to dip.

Other random advice - if you want some really nice cheese, you can ask the experts at Say Cheese in Cole Valley. Even with a crockpot, I would recommend melting your cheese/chocolate in a saucepan first - and be sure to add the cheese slowly, letting each handful melt before the next. For chocolate fondue, throw the chocolate in the freezer for a bit first to make it easier to chop (otherwise ends up all melty...a very delicious mess, but a mess nonetheless).

For dipping into cheese I like to blanch veggies like broccoli & cauliflower - oh, and asparagus this time of year! Plus bread, breadsticks, and apple slices. For chocolate, fruit is great, of course, and pretzel sticks.

If you end up really loving fondue, do yourself a favor and buy a second pot, which is much easier to deal with than having to clean out the cheese prior to the chocolate.

I think for fondue everyone is definitely supposed to get their own fork - I used to have a fondue set that came with forks that had a different color on each one so you don't forget which one is yours. You could just color some bamboo skewers with a sharpie to get the same effect. As for double dipping, that is a definite no-no, as is touching the fork (or skewer) to your mouth or teeth.

Also, if you drop a piece of food in the pot you are either supposed to kiss the person next to you or buy the next round of drinks/pot of fondue, depending on who you ask.

My best fondue tip for dessert: freeze chopped up squares of pound cake, delicious, and don't crumble once they hit the hot chocolate. Yum!

I've used mini crockpots (found at drugstores), but I always make/melt fondue on the the stove first. Have mini gherkins along with the bread and veg; the flavors really work together nicely.

I found a fantastic yellow danish modern fondue set on ebay for $5 including forks. There's often tons on there! Haven't used it yet though.... so you'd melt the cheese on the stove first and then add it to the fondue pan or can you really melt it the fondue set?