When you think of the 80’s you probably conjure up images of big hair, leg warmers and men with mullets but there was so much more to the decade. Throwing an 80’s themed party is a great way to mark a celebration and create an epic event. In this post, we will give you the 411 in the form of 8 tips to make sure that your 80’s party is memorable for the next 30 years.
N.B It’s also worth reading this post to see how many 80’s slang words you can find. Send your answers on a postcard!
1. Give People Plenty Of Notice
An 80’s party is made like totally cool when your guests have plenty of notice to get their outfits ready. Make sure you tell them in the invitation that it will be a fancy dress event and perhaps signpost them to some good local places they could source their outfits from. What makes these parties so special is when people have put a lot of effort into preparing beforehand, it means that before the music starts the energy is high and everyone is excited to see what the fellow guests look like.
2. Your Guests In The 80’s
In the invitation also ask your guests to bring a picture of themselves from the 80’s. Some of them might not have been born in which case they could perhaps bring a picture of their parents. When planning the party create a space where guests can hang these pictures up when they arrive. Everyone will be amped to see smaller versions of each other but with bigger hair.
3. Dress To Impress
As the party host, you need to make sure you set an example with a totally rad costume. Think denim, leg warmers, perms, rah-rah skirts, fishnet tights, lace, off the shoulder tops, shoulder pads, neon, fingerless gloves, mini skirts, jumpsuits and lots and lots of gold!
4. Decorate The Venue Like A Teenagers Bedroom
Posters are cheap, fun, colourful and can perfectly represent the culture of the time. The popular bands and the clothes portray an era and will bring back bitch’n nostalgic memories of the past, raising the vibe of the party from the beginning.
5. Create An 80’s Game Table
The Rubix Cube, Battleships, Transformers, Mastermind, My Little Pony, Smurfs, Easy Bake Oven, yoyo, Nintendo and Atari were all considered boss back in the day. Bring fun and games to your event and ignite the inner child in your guests, creating an old skool party atmosphere.
6. Eat My Shorts
There is a time in every party where your guests want to take a chill pill, relax and have a bite to eat. What you serve your guests will be remembered. Terrible food can ruin a party but this is when you might run into a problem; the 80s isn’t remembered for its culinary delights but here are a few of our favourites… Vol Au vents, Wall’s Viennetta, truffle, chicken Kiev, Battenburg cake, garlic bread, pizza, chicken satay, kiwi fruit and pop tarts.
Hungry yet?
7. 80’s Party Favors
Make every single one of your guests feel like your BFF and help them to remember your party by giving them a gift to go home with. Why not consider mini Rubix cubes, yoyos, 80s style key chains and cassette tapes. Each of these small but thoughtful gifts are 80s inspired and so will trigger memories of the event long after the lights have come on and everyone has cleared the dance floor.
8. Music
A party without music is unlike a party at all. Music is integral, it brings us together, sets the atmosphere, pace and tone of the evening. For this reason, you want to make sure that you hire a DJ that is professional, experienced and has a wide range of 80s tunes.
Need a DJ for your upcoming 80s party? Request quotes from DJs in your area today.
