80s -25yr- Awsome - Gnarly - Oh My God

80's THEMED PARTY  For my sister's 25th birthday this year, I held an 80's themed party (since she was born in 1980).   

INVITATIONS: Printed at home on neon colored printable cards.  I used pictures saved from the net of rubix cubes and pac man on the front and then splatter painted.  They read: It's TOTALLY AWESOME...join us for a GNARLY 80's party! OHMIGAWD! Tammy is totally ancient! She will be 25 years old...We are having a rad party to cheer her up and will TOTALLY FREAK OUT if you don't come over to celebrate!  Details: This party is totally 80's themed.  Think Madonna, Wham! big hair, the brat pack and jelly bracelets.  Costumes are not required, but you are totally square if you don't wear one.  There will be prizes and 80's themed games.  If you plan on getting sauced, then BYOB.  I put the usual details, time, date, place, RSVP.  

FOOD:  First, I set the theme by using an old sheet that I dyed black and splatter painted with neon acrylic paint that I got for 50 cents a tube at the local craft store.  Next, I grabbed up some glass blocks to elevate some of the plates and make more room underneath for other items.  I ran a neon rope light in and out of the plates for a cool effect.  It looked like something off of Miami Vice!  For the 80's grubbage, we had a variety of candies.  I made finger sandwiches cut into triangles. 

I found some Faygo and Tab cola and put them on ice in a brightly colored utility tub that I found at Walmart.  I made a rubix cube cake by stacking 3 8" square cakes and then icing in blue, yellow, green, red, and white on each side and then using black licorice strings to divide it up into 9 squares on each side.  I also made cupcakes and iced them to look like Pac-Man with M&M eyes.  Other goodies included Jello Pudding cups, chips, Sloppy Joes, and hot dogs. 

MUSIC:  All 80's of course!  There are some great pre-made CD's out there, and many top 40 lists that will help refresh your memory if you wish to make your own. I piped it into every room of the house and it really was a hit! 

GAMES:  I downloaded old TV and movie themes from the net and the first person to yell out the correct show got a prize (see prizes).  I used shows like Magnum PI, Hart to Hart, The Facts of Life, The A-Team, NightRider, Smurfs, and all the other popular cartoons, but there were way too many to list.  We had a Pac-Man contest with the highest 3 scores getting prizes.  We also had prizes/certificates for best look alike (people dressed up like a popular icon from the 80's), best use of hairspray, best makeup, and most authentic costume.  I also had a door prize drawing for some of the leftover items not claimed as prizes.  FAVORS: All of the guests got the  following items in a glittery treat bag: jelly bracelet, mini rubix cube keychain (Oriental Trading), Reese Pieces, Pop Rocks, Jelly Bellys, and Bubbalicious.   

PRIZES: I offered CD's that I burnt at home with the hits from the 80's with themes like: Best Big Hair Band Hits, One Hit Wonders, 80's Dance Jams, and 80's Forgotten Songs.  I also had a variety of toys (some found on Ebay and others at yard sales) like Care Bears, Cabbage Patch dolls, Garbage Pail Kids Cards, My Little Ponies, Smurfts, and Scooby Doo.  I had a few vintage buttons of Michael Jackson and Boy George, and also some AquaNet hairspray and Wet N' Wild Glitter Nail Polish. 

DECORATIONS:  Outside, I put an "Electric Avenue" sign & 80's party on the end of the street.  On our mailbox, I put a posterboard with "Our House" and some balloons.  We used sidewalk chalk to decorate the patio with geometric shapes and multi colored Christmas lights lit the way to the door.  I set up a disco ball in the livingroom and changed most of the bulbs to colored bulbs in red, green, and blue.  I used neon streamers and metallic balloons to add a festive air.  I made door curtains out of long streamers. 

I had pictures of my family and sister from the 80's plastered all over the house.  In the bathroom, I wrote "for a good time, call 867-5309" like in the song.  I got pictures of popular 80's icons from the net and printed them from my computer.  Some of them included: Madonna, Michael Jackson, Boy George, Ronald Reagan, Wham!, Star Wars, Smurfs, and Miami Vice. I cut cardboard into geometric shapes and painted them brightly and then printed 80's phrases like "gag me with a spoon", "totally rad"  "don't be a square", and "whoa! dude" and glued them on to the shapes (These were hung all about the house). 

We splatter painted old sheets and used them to cover chairs, tables, etc... we then set the props like toys and popular 80's candies all around the house.  Many of the decor items prompted us to tell funny stories or memories of our childhood growing up in the 80's. And I think that almost everyone confessed to cheating on the rubix cube by pulling off the stickers or taking it apart :)   This party was fairly inexpensive since almost all of the items were either hand made or found at thrift stores or yard sales.  

I was even given a few things by the yard sale holders when I told them what I was planning! I think they were happy to part with their 80's treasures knowing that they would be put to good use.  It was fun and a blast to go back in time to the 80's and memory lane!