The 1980s era is now iconic. Big hair, leggings, leg warmers, skinny ties and neon colors dominated fashion. The music was loud and happy. Video games burst on the scene, and video arcades were popular with teenagers. Celebrate this decade with an '80s-theme birthday or anniversary party.
Arrival Scene
Set the mood by asking guests to dress as movie characters or favorite band members from the '80s. Make a red-carpet arrival area where guests can be interviewed and pictures taken and made into party favors. Decorate with balloon bouquets in bright neon colors, especially turquoise and pink or bright animal prints. You can also rummage flea markets and your friends' houses for old posters of John Hughes movies and '80s bands---which, along with old LP covers, serve as great wall decorations. Or make your own by going online and blowing up the posters and album covers with an ELMO projector (blows up opaque images similar to an overhead projector).
Inside Decorations
Decorate the walls with circles, squares and triangles cut from neon poster board and arranged artistically along the walls. Cut Pac-Man figures from colored card stock and create a Pac-Man scene on the wall, along with favorite song lyrics. Cover one whole wall with plain butcher paper and ask guests to add their favorite '80s memories, slang phrases and band names in colored markers. Buy old cassette tapes from a flea market and hang high from the ceilings with curling ribbon by threading the ribbon through the holes in the tape casing.
Table Decorations
Gold lame, metallic fabrics and animal prints were big in the '80s. Purchase fabric from the bargain bins at your closest fabric store. Use these as tablecloths. Dig in your attic for "Star Wars" memorabilia or other '80s toys to use as centerpieces. A big tub or basket of '80s candy---such as Pop Rocks, Pixy Stix and Fun Dip---also makes a great centerpiece and party favors for guests. A giant Rubik's cube cake serves as a great table centerpiece, too, and is easy to make, with square layers and fondant squares. A cake with a jam box on top and song titles from the '80s is another idea for a more experienced cake decorator.
