80s THEMED BIRTHDAY PARTY

We all loved the 80s didn't we? A decade full of fashion faux pas, bright colours and great music from the likes of Madonna, Michael Jackson, Bon Jovi and U2. With all these ingredients, it makes for a fantastic party theme.

We recently hired to do an 80s themed party, yet on a small budget. But we love a challenge! The whole party went down a storm and we still get thank you's and nice comments now from the birthday girl and guests. So we wanted to share our idea's with you so you can create your own 80s party, one that your guests will love that doesn't cost a fortune:

- When planning your 80s party, think the brighter and bolder, the better! We used bright colours in pink, blue and 
  yellow, as well as black and white to really bring the theme to life! 
- Cover the walls with iconic posters from the 80s of famous films like ghost busters, dirty dancing or classic 
  albums from that era from Duren Duran, U2, Iron Maiden, Madonna, ect. 
- Think of typical 80s party food such as party rings, cheese and pineapple on sticks.
- With your decorations use iconic 80s symbols such as rubix cubes, Pac Man, cassette tapes, large mobile    
  phones
- Play music from this era. You will have a great selection to choose from
- Invite your guests to come dresses in fashion from the 80s. Think big hair, mullets, rara skirts, ect

SWEET TABLE AND FOOD
This went down a storm! All the sweets we had on the table were from the 80s and really brought back lots of happy memories from childhood for the guests. Sweet tables are also great for people getting to know each other when mingling at the table. There were several times where guests would get to know each other by swapping stories from what there favourite sweets were, ect.

There was also sweets on the table, many people hadn't had since childhood, which really put a smile on their faces. (Not to mention also the 80s music we placed on and off throughout the night) Some of the sweets we had were Refreshers, Drumstick Lollies, Dip Dabs, Flying Saucers, Basset Liquorice All Sort, ect. There are many more you could use, so don't be afraid to add them if they were your favourites.
We placed sweets in a mixture of vintage jars, all in different shaped and sizes. There was also biscuits, cupcakes and in the largest jar in the center of the table was everyone's favourite: the 10p mix!

You can also do the same theme with 80s themed party food. Fill your buffet table with Party Rings, Monster Much, Space Invaders, Cadbury's chocolate fingers, jelly and ice cream, mini sausages rolls, cubed cheese and pineapple on a stick, ect. Enjoy!

CAKE AND CUPCAKE STAND
The cupcake tower was very easy to create. After buying a simple cake from a local super market, we then jazzed it up with a cassette tape runner to place around the cake. Also, we attached iconic 80s symbols on top of the cake to make it look more fun, such as rubix cubes, records, and Pac Man style characters, placing them in a different heights to that they can all be seen from the back.

The cupcake wrappers were all made up from records, PAC man characters and typical 80s type designs. Once they were applied to the cupcakes, each with a different design, they looked fantastic and really complimented the cake.

The stand we bought for around £2.00 which was a bargain! All in all the cupcakes and cake stand looked fantastic and really complemented the sweet and buffet table.

OTHER DECORATIONS
On the tables we had stand up jukeboxes and boom boxes, as well inflatable microphones and electric guitars, which everyone had a lot of fun with... especially on the dance floor! Around the walls we stuck pictures designed by ourselves of rubix cubes, records, boom boxes and cassette tapes, which had the names of well known tracks from the 80s placed around the room. As guests went around looking at the songs on the cassettes they were would start to laugh and reminisce. which got everyone talking.

We also ordered some great decorations online from a party store called Party Packs. (http://www.partypacks.co.uk/) They have a great range of 80s style decorations which would compliment any 80s party theme, which also includes a very good dressing up range, tablewear, backdrops and decorations for the walls, tables and ceilings. 

MUSIC
There are so many classics from the 80s that come to mind such as:

- Frankie goes to Hollywood - Relax
- Bad/Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
- You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) - Dead or Alive
- Push It - Salt & Pepa
- Living on a Prayer - Bon Jovi
- Like a Virgin - Madonna
- Atmosphere - Joy Division
- Walk This Way - Run DMC & Aerosmith

The list is endless!!!

80s music is happy, and easy on the ears and doesn't really cause any offence so there is bound to be something from that era that everyone would like. Although some would love nothing more than playing 80s music all night, some of your guest may get a little bored and might want a bit of variety. Though it is your party you can play want to like, but from experience a great party is one where everyone has had a a great time, not just the person who's birthday it is.
Have you had an 80s party before? Have you been inspired by our post? We would love to hear your thoughts below.