80s Themed Party Ideas

I don’t think it’s possible to define the eighties in a single word. You just, like, had to be there, and it was like, the most totally awesome and fantabulous decade ever. Read on and discover some great 80s themed party ideas.

80s Themed Party Fashion Ideas

Remember leg warmers, ra-ra and bubble skirts, crop tops, neon socks and t-shirts, fingerless gloves, lots of lace and polka dots, shoulder pads, big sunnies, big earings, pony tails on one side, perms, mullets, skinny ties and denim jackets…

80s Themed Party Music Ideas

remember Madonna, Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Wham, Bananarama, Thompson Twins, Culture Club, Tears for Fears, Rick Astley, Duran Duran and Debbie Gibson… remember Guns N’ Roses and Bon Jovi…

80s Themed Party Pop Culture Ideas

remember Fame, Flashdance, breakdancing and the moonwalk… remember Don Johnson and Miami Vice… remember Pac-Man, Atari and The Rubik’s Cube…

remember ET, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, Top Gun, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club… remember The Young Ones… remember those girls in the Robert Palmer video…

remember…remember…remember.

INVITATIONS

An eighties party is all about fun. It celebrates a decade of vibrant outrageousness which in retrospect is sometimes just plain hilarious. So it’s important not to be too serious in your preparations, starting with your invitations. You want to capture the exuberance of the eighties such that your guests will start reminiscing from the second they open the envelope – remember this, remember that… I could go as this, or I could go as that… and they are excited. Here are some ideas for your invitations:

Bright colours are essential – bright pink, purple, yellow, green, blue and orange.
Add a little bit of black.
Paint splatters, geometric shapes, black and white checkers and polka dots were totally cool in the eighties and look great on an eighties invitation.
Incorporate eighties fashion images.
Sprinkle with eighties icons such as Pac-Man, the Rubik’s Cube and cassette tapes.

Totally 80s Ticket Invitation Template

$4.80

Your ticket to a radical 80s fashion and music event. Come dressed in your most bodacious outfit from the 1980s. This invitation looks best when printed on metallic white card or similar, and a ticket tear off effect can be created with a paper cutter and perforation wheel. Purchase of this product includes A PDF…

Cassette Tape Ticket Invitation Template

$4.80

Your mix tape 80s party invitation template ready for you to download, edit and print as many as you need for your awesome eighties event. This invitation looks best when printed on metallic white card or similar, and a ticket tear off effect can be created with a paper cutter and perforation wheel. Purchase of…

VENUE

As long as you have enough room for the number of guests you have invited, and you have a contingency for bad weather if your venue is outdoors, it doesn’t really matter where you hold your eighties party. A casual set up is a great ideas as it allows your guests to mingle and laugh and dance and reminisce. If you have room at home or in your backyard with a few chairs scattered around and tables for the food…perfect!

DECORATIONS

Decorate your party area with neon coloured balloons and streamers. Throw in a few black ones as well.

Create posters on white cardboard with paint splatters and neon lettering such as SO TOTALLY 80’S, RELAX, CHOOSE LIFE, RAD and SAVE FERRIS. Hang these around your venue together with images of eighties music, movie and TV stars.

Create a photo board with your old eighties photos. You might like to ask your guests to bring along their eighties photos too to contribute to the board.

Create big Rubik’s Cubes out of boxes as well as brightly coloured cardboard guitars and scatter them around your party venue.

Create a designated dance floor close to the music and set up disco lights in this area. For fun, include a large flattened cardboard box, a boom box if you can find one, or make one out of cardboard, and set up a “Breakdancing Area”.

Set up one area of your party with a fluorescent black light* globe for a glow in the dark effect.

* Black lights globes are available from most good lighting retailers and can be screwed in place of a regular bulb. They are available as either fluorescent or incandescent, however fluorescent black lights are considerably more effective than incandescent black lights.

Make glo bracelets and necklaces and hand them out to your guests upon arrival.

Use black and white checkered or neon paint splattered cloths to cover tables.

(Party stores will often carry eighties decorative and neon products such as wall hangings, balloons, table cloths, plates, cups, cutlery, napkins, and novelty items.)

DRESS CODE

Eighties costume is all about big, bright, over the top excessive. In saying that, if you wanted to be more specific than the general eighties theme, you could choose an element of the eighties, or even an eighties movie or TV show as the costume theme of your party:

Eighties Pop
Eighties Dance
Fame – Remember, Remember, Remember…
Miami Vice (Casino Style)
Eighties Metal and Rock
Choose an Eighties Movie (eg. The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles)

The really great thing about an eighties party is that it’s not really that difficult to put together a costume, especially if you keep the theme general. And because the eighties were so outrageous, it’s heaps of fun too. Your guests will love it.

FOOD

Since an eighties party is all about fun, keep it casual and consider either finger food, or a buffet with a casual seating arrangement.

But do you remember the food from the eighties?… Neither do we. And probably, neither will your guests, so it doesn’t really matter what you serve. Nevertheless, here are a few items which you might like to include in your menu:

Brightly Coloured Candy
Hubba Bubba Bubble Gum
Doritos Corn Chips
Dips (especially Guacamole) and Pâtés
Chicken Wings
Toasted Sandwiches
Nachos
Anything with Avocado or Smoked Salmon
Pasta Salad
Quiche
Profiteroles
Tiramisù
Frozen Yogurt
Coke, Pepsi (especially diet)
Slush Puppies
Wine Coolers
West Coast Coolers
Midori

And…

how about a Rubik’s Cube cake!

ENTERTAINMENT

Place a basket of cheap eighties style sunglasses at the entry for your guests to take as they arrive. With each pair of sunglasses handed out include a note:
“These sunglasses are provided for your personal protection from totally eighties insanity. Should you become aware of ridiculous lyrics being played, ie. “I Wear My Sunglasses at Night” by Corey Hart, put them on immediately”.
Play “I Wear My Sunglasses at Night” a couple of times during the party.

Play plenty of eighties music. Set up your own sound system with eighties music, or hire a jukebox or DJ. Set up a dance floor close to the music.

Break up the music with Karaoke competitions.

Hold an eighties dance and/or lip syncing contest. You might want to let your guests know in advance so they can practice a routine for the party.

Play an eighties trivia game. Ask for volunteer contestants, or create teams and have ready about twenty questions relating to the eighties. Awards prizes to the winning contestant or team. (For the trivia game to be successful, it’s important that the questions and answers can be heard by all of the participating guests at the party. If you have a large party, you may need to set up microphones for the game host and the contestants. Alternatively, you could create a trivia questionnaire which is handed to each guest upon arrival. The game host can provide the answers later in the party and the guest with the most correct answers wins).

Or… play a game of eighties celebrity heads.

In one area of your party, set up a Rubik’s Cube challenge where guests can attempt to solve the Rubik’s Cube puzzle. Award prizes to successful competitors.

Source an old Atari game console and set this up for your guests to play.

And finally award prizes to the best dressed guests.

Karaoke Invitation Tempate

$4.80

Invite your friends to a singalong karaoke party at a karaoke venue, or at home. Have a ball belting out your favourite tunes with drinks and snacks. This invitation looks best when printed on metallic white card or similar. Purchase of this product includes A PDF file for editing and printing, 2up on A4 Template…