My husband is turning 40 in March and I want to throw him a surprise birthday party with a 80's theme. Any input for the planning process? I actually have recently been helping a friend do this kind of party.. so here are some of my notes that I have that I sent her.. unfortunately not all of them have links to where I got the info.
Play movies from the 80s on TV, while also playing music from the 80s. have your guests come dressed from the 80s, or as their favorite 80s character.
Movies:
ET
Top Gun
Stand By Me
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
The Breakfast Club
Rain Man
Sixteen Candles
Pretty In Pink
For the invitations make sure you use some 80s speak.. "You're, like, totally invited" or "It'll be totally gnarly if you aren't there'." (got this idea from someone else)
Decorations:
Colors-Bright! Magenta, turquoise, lime green and anything fluorescent is great. Streamers, balloons and confetti in bright metallic is also good. Visit party supply stores and thrift stores to find games and toys that celebrate the 80s mood. Rubik's Cubes (you can find "new ones at discount stores), Connect Four, Cabbage Patch dolls, Garbage Pail kids bubblegum cards, Care Bears, Smurfs, you know the drill. Pull out the old Atari 2600 and fire it up! Everybody loves Pac Man! If you don't have your old Atari 2600, borrow your kid brothers Nintendo 64. There are some great arcade classics available at your local store. A working Simon (there are hand held varieties sold at discount stores) and Speak and Spell are always a blast too! Find your old, (or get them at a thrift store) scratched up vinyl albums and hang them from the ceiling with fishing line and tacks for added effect. Pick up some movie and band posters from the 80's.
Cake:
Bake three 8x8 square cakes and stack them on top of each other with layers of frosting in between. Decorate with colored frostings in red, blue, green, yellow and white so that is looks like a Rubik's cube! Use black licorice frosting to define the edges of each "cube."
Or, if you are really lucky, you can score an old Strawberry Shortcake or Smurf cake pan on eBay and decorate it appropriately.
Snacks:
Every successful soiree must have snacks...here's some that will add to the fun.
Combos
Twizzlers (make your mouth happy...)
String Cheese
Rice Cakes
Fig Newtons (but in other favors like raspberry and strawberry)
Microwave Popcorn
Jelly Belly Jelly beans! (Ronnie's favorite!)
Jell-O Pudding Pops
Hot Pockets
Refreshments:
Nonalcoholic:
Tang
Coca-Cola
Capri Sun
Pepsi
Drink boxes
Fresca
Mountain Dew
Jolt Cola
Tab
Alcoholic:
Wine Coolers
Wine in a box
Rolling Rock
Goodie Bags:
Fill with candies that any child of the 80s loves.
Pop Rocks
Big League Chew
Bubble Yum
Bottle Caps
Fruit roll-ups
Carmellos
Bottle Caps
Jolly Ranchers
Gummi Worms
Nerds
Reese's Pieces
Gummy Bears
Fun Dip
Perrier
Why not throw in a Rubik's cube? ->
Find delicious candy for your goodie bags.
Food: http://www.foodtimeline.org/fooddecades....
includes party menus
POPULAR AMERICAN FOODS INTRODUCED IN THE 1980s:
[1980] Jell-O pudding pops
[1981] Newman's Own Oil and Vinegar Salad Dressing
[1981] Yukon Gold Potatoes
[1981] Tofutti (soybean curd frozen dessert)
[1985] Classic Coke
[1985] Hamburger Helper Taco Bake Dinner & Tuna Helper Tetrazzini (General Mills)
[1986] Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn
[1986] Cheetos
[1987] Oscar Mayer Bun-Length hot dogs
[1987] Snapple
[1988] Boboli Pizza...prefab crusts/make your own pizza
[1988] Hershey Kisses with almonds
[1989] Fresh Express "salad in a bag"
[1989] Healthy Choice (frozen dinners)
Fashion Fads for your guests to wear: http://kellyanncollins.com/80s_fads.htm
Awesome 80s Party Music:
80s Pop Classics and One Hit Wonders
Prince - Raspberry Beret
A-Ha - Take On Me
Madonna - Like A Virgin
Billy Idol - Rebel Yell
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
The Police - Every Breath You Take
Eurythmics - Sex Crime 1984
Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf
Blondie - Rapture
Tiffany - I Think We're Alone Now
Thomas Dolby - Blinded Me With Science
Nena - 99 Red Balloons
The Go Go's - We Got the Beat
Bruce Springsteen - Dancing in the Dark
Hall and Oats - You Make My Dreams
80s Alternative
The Cure - Boys Don't Cry
Jesus and Mary Chain - Just Like Honey
English Beat - Mirror in the Bathroom
The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
The Clash - Train in Vain
Fine Young Cannibals - Suspicious Minds
Depeche Mode - Just Can't Get Enough
Yello - Oh Yeah
The The - Perfect
New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle
Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Two Tribes
The Ramones - Rock and Roll Radio
Yaz - Situation
80s Hip Hop Jams
Tribe Called Quest - Can I Kick It?
Beastie Boys - Fight for Your Right to Party
Salt n Pepa - Let's Talk About Sex
Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock - It Takes Two
Run DMC - It's Tricky
EPMD - Strictly Business
Slick Rick - Children's Story
Public Enemy - 911 is Joke
Tone Loc - Funky Cold Medina
Biz Markie - Just a Friend
Eric B and Rakim - Paid in Full
Entertainment:
80's trivia would be an awesome game, you could google it and find lots of info.. Costume contest. This is a given. You could have a variety of categories from best look-a-like to worst and so on.
80's Trivia games. There are tons of them on the web. Make up your own lists and give away prizes like Cabbage Patch dolls, t-shirts with nifty sayings of the decade or little Rubik's cubes.
How about a lip-synch contest?
Ask guests to bring a photo of them from the 80's and tape them up. Have a contest to see who can guess the most right answers.
Play 80's movies on a television, or on multiple sets. If you have the time and inclination you could make a compilation of your favorite scenes from 80's flicks.
Pin up poster boards and ask guests to contribute their best, worst and funniest experiences of the 80's. (e.g. What was your wost hair day? Who was your favorite Pop group and why?)
have prizes... like stupid things from the 80s..
T-shirts: http://www.cafepress.com/buy/1980s?CMP=K...
oversized sunglasses, 80s movies, etc. 80's Trivia is a great game to play at a party. Break out the original nintendo, which only costs about $25.00 if you wanted to buy one.
Ask everyone to come dressed from that era. Big hair, ripped jeans, band T's (which are back in style)....
Download 80's top 40 with Casey Kasem. Find the year he graduated and get that year. Put out pictures of him and others invited from that period.
Have 80's fact cards at tables and around the room for conversations starters. Let everyone answer a sheet of trivia questions about him from highschool and give away a prize.
Food - Doritos, nachos, pizza, puppy chow, Tang (which was probably gone by 1983), retro soda (Tab), popcorn on the stove, etc...
This is a fun one. We did this a few years ago and everyone had a blast. Movies to play, Breakfast Club, Rambo, Rocky, 16 candles, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Dirty Dancing (That is only for chics my husband always reminds me), .... I have a 80s party every year for my friends- they are so much fun!!!!!!!!!
Everyone must dress up! have a special prize for best dressed like a great classic 80s movie- put on invites "Best dressed gets a special prize" makes them try harder to dress really great!
play 80s trivia- send me your direct email address and I can forward you the ones I have all ready if you'd like. or buy one of the games from the stores like 80s Trivial Pursuit or something.
have a dance off competition!
get mixed CDs of 80s music to play all night- they have them at Best Buy or check Ebay also
you can check ebay too for old magazines form the 80s- you can have those out for people to look through, laugh at and reminice about the good old days!
pop in a 80s movie to have playing on the TV
put up old pics of your hubby from the 80s- will be hilarious to look at! you can put pics of him throughout his whole life too, just make a big picture board or make a slide show- get really funny ones form his parents too!
get neon colored party supplies- streamers, balloons, plates/napkins/cups, tablecloths.
see if you can find old 80s posters from movies or big hair bands to hang up all over the place- http://www.allposters.com/gallery.asp?CI...
have old 80s stuff laying around- rubiks cube, magic 8 ball, Cabbage Patch kids, GI Joes- stuff like that
you can serve regular foods and drinks
you can burn CDs of 80s songs to give out as party favors to guests. make a cover for it with his funniest picture saying "Mike's 40th Birthday Bash" or something! went to an 80s party last summer that was Punk vs. Preppy - great costumes!
Watch VH1's "I luv the 80's" for ideas
Aerobics videos got big in the 80s - play one and see if people can follow along - the Jane Fonda ones are very funny
rent a karaoke machine and get 80s music
have everyone bring pictures of themselves from the 80s and put up to see who has changed (or not) the most The first obvious point, is to ensure everyone dresses in 80's garb. As for applying an 80's feel to the area where it's being held, maybe think about investing in some 80's posters. (a-team, miami vice, ALF, dukes of hazzard, caddychack, beverly hills cop, etc...)
there should be numerous websites that'll sell 'em cheap.
aside from that, make sure the music is bumping old school jams and that the t.v. is only playing old 80's shows. |
