Invitations

 You don't want to underestimate them.  They are important as they give the first impression as to what kind of party you're going to throw.   Compare it to seeing a preview to a movie:  If it's poorly done, people might assume your party is going to be. 

We had some fun creating these templates for you to use, complete with step-by-step instructions: 

Click here for Free 80's Theme Party Invitation Templates

80's Party Decor

Click here for the best selection of 80's Posters

                   Votive and tall tapered candles everywhere- very popular in the 80's

               Paint splattered tablecloth with neon paint- either for purchase or tutorial    
               coming soon

               Tons of 80's posters           

               Animal print/brightly colored/ or black and white tabletop items  

               Animal print or neon balloons

               Blacklights

               Blacklight posters

               Blacklight sensitive balloons

Play an 80's movie in the background with sound turned way down or off.  Top 100 list below.

            Pacman shot glasses by ClubNAMCO- limited edition (Oh, and you
               know I bought some of these). 

  Food

Now what kind of food to serve is obviously another very important part of planning your 80's theme party.   I don't feel that a hostess/host should be concerned so much with serving foods just popular in the eighties, as you may very well limit your guests' eating enjoyment.  Also, keep in mind, most foods and recipes were around in the 80's in one form or another.  I suggest leaving remembrances of the 80's to your decor, atmosphere, music, gear, games, party favors, gifts, etc..,

 You want only the best foods served at your party. This is why we've taken some time to compile links to excellent party food and drink recipes. These are recipes from either world renowned chefs, or they have been given thumbs up by many people. 

Click here for links to 80's Party Food Recipes

Rubik's cube cake-  Very cool cake and no doubt would make quite the impression. We have read however it's not the easiest thing to make so hats off to you if you can pull it off.  

Personally, because I try to pick my battles carefully would stick to something needing a little less skill, for instance:

Pacman or Ms. Pacman cake-  This is more my speed, is really cute, and you can totally sample some beforehand without anyone knowing ;)

Instant Hit 80's Candies and Toys

Now hopefully you'll be as excited as I was to find the next online resource.  Personally, I had no idea they still made a lot of these candies and toys that were so popular in the 80's,  The following I would imagine to cause quite the buzz as it would no doubt bring back a lot of great memories for your guests.    

80's Candies

    Candy cigarettes (yeah, can you imagine now-a-days...), Banana splits, Bridge mix,
    Canada mints, Candy buttons, Charm necklaces and bracelets, Candy lipsticks,
    Candy rings, Charleston chews, Chunky bar,  Circus peanuts, Freshen-up gum, Fruit
    striped gum, Bubble gum cigars, Jelly rings, Licorice pipes, Nik-l-nips wax bottles,
    Pastel party mints, Pecan log rolls, Pez refills and dispensers, Pixy stix, Pop rocks,
    Razzles, Ring pops, Rock candy, Sky bar, Swedish fish, Whistle pops, Wax lips, Wax
    fangs, and Mustaches, and even the U-No bar, oh yes.  

You can find them here:  Old Time Candy Company   What's also great about them is they sell in volume. 

80's Toys

If you grew up in the 80's like me, or older, you would remember the good toys made to last.  I was floored when I saw this site actually carries them!  Check these out: 

    Rubber band powered airplanes, metal kazoos, slide whistles, the original slinky (YES, the one that actually works!), parachute jumpers, and more.  I'm thinking these would make some really great and memorable prizes and/or gifts for an 80's theme party. 

Old Time Candy Company  also has "Remember When" booklets that talk about "News of the day, Hollywood highlights, Year specific magazine advertisements,  price index of cars, houses, milk, gas and more for specific years.  Sure to bring back some memories and might make for some great conversation starters. 

PARTY COSTUME JEWELRY

Go back to Rad Jewelry

Fun 80's Party Activities

80's Dance Contest- Have a contest to see who can show off the best 80's breakdance move, thriller dance, wave, worm, running man, robot, Harlem shake, roger rabbit, etc.. 

Teach an 80's move- Or teach an 80's dance move to courageous participants.

Surprise the winner and best sport by rewarding them with a totally cool prize. 

80's Fashion Party

coming soon in pink font

People who are into clothes and fashion are going to totally love the following ideas.  The guests will not only be able to design something really cool for themselves, but learn a skill they will be able to use over and over.   

                       Paint splattered t-shirt- with neon paint-  Free fully illustrated guide from Dz9nr
               (coming soon)              

               Totally Wild Cut-up T- " "

               Fringed and Beaded T- " "

               Reconstruct plain jeans into the raddest 80's style  jeans- " "

80's Party Games
(with great reviews)

Note- These reminiscent games are great for people who are old enough to remember the 80's and who lived in the United States at that time.  

           Name the song or artist- Break up into even teams and give each team a
          buzzer.  Start by playing an 80's tune.  The first team to either guess the
         song title or artist correctly wins a point.  If the team knows both the artist
          and title they get 2 points.  First team to 30 wins.

       The teams should collaborate quietly before yelling an answer unless they're positive they know the answer.  If a team, or an individual person on a team (your call), yells out a wrong answer, they (either the team or individual) has to
           somehow pay for their faux pas by doing something.... like lose a point, have to take a drink (yes, a drinking game for adults only of course), have to do an 80's dance move, answer a truth or dare question, push-ups, or whatever
       you think would be a fun punishment for problem child. 

       Name the theme song for TV shows popular in the 80's.  The same can be played using theme songs for TV shows that were popular in the 80's.  If you purchase a TV show theme song CD, make sure you look for a compilation of the original tracks of the songs used on the program and not get an orchestra's cheesy remake. 

Who Can It Be Now: The Lyrics Game that Takes You Back to the 80s One Line at a Time- Editorial review: Does "Oh, Daddy dear, you know you're still number one" ring any bells? Or how about that lip-curling classic, "In the midnight hour, she cried 'more, more, more'"? If you guessed Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and Billy Idol's, "Rebel Yell,"
     you're a candidate for the championships in this popular bar game turned book. 5 stars.

  Don't Dream It's Over: the '80s Music Party Game-

How much do you remember about the music of the Me Decade? "Don't Dream It's Over:   The '80s Music Party Game" tests your knowledge of the songs, albums, lyrics, and lifestyles of hundreds of your favorite New Wave bands, New Jack swingers, and Old School rappers. The 1000+ questions cover everything from ABC to ZZ Top, hair metal to eyeliner goth, and high top fade hip hop to spiky-haired techno pop. With nine different ways to play and questions ranked according to difficulty, anybody can participate.  5 stars.    

The 80's Game 3,000 trivia questions on memorable 80's pop culture including movies, music, TV, sports and events; answering questions about the decade of parachute pants, brat pack movies, music videos, valley girls and one-hit wonders. 4 1/2 stars.

 

 

I Love the 80's Game- From the makers of the hit VH1 series. 
This game has teammates singing, drawing, acting and answering trivia
about the, like, rad 80s. Can you draw "parachute pants"? Will your teammate guess that you're acting like "B.A" from The A-Team'? Do you remember all four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Answer from 1,500 trivia questions and challenges while moving one of four, 80s-themed die-cast metal playing pieces: Hairspray can, boombox, arcade game or high-top sneaker. The first team to collect all 10 "Year Tokens" wins. 4 1/2 stars

 

 

Table Topics Conversation Cards - Decades - '80s (NEW for 2009!)

Totally new product just released in March so there are no reviews as of yet. But I'm thinking it could be a great conversation starter between  people at your party if left on the coffee table or such.  I will keep checking back for updates on this game.  Or, if you        purchase, please let me know how it goes for you!   

 

Outdoor Games

When I grew up we were always outside playing
             games.  I feel so bad for the kids now-a-days because too often they don't know any better and don't get to experience these magical games.  An unbeatable party in my opinion would be to include a game like:  Capture the Flag, Kick the Can, Chinese jump rope, Duck Duck Goose, Red light Green light, Dodge Ball, Jump Rope Games, Clapping Rhymes/Games, etc... 
                 Here's a link to a site with instructions on how to play outdoor games: 

Games Kids Play

          

   Costume Contest

              A costume contest-  Include several categories like: biggest hair, most
                 colorful, raddest, baddest, scariest, please don't ever wear again, etc..
                 whatever comes to mind....maybe...

 

Breakdancing

Want to brush up your skills?  Check out these great how to videos on You Tube and such:   

 

Check out Young Vin Diesel showing us how it's done.    

            Here's another good how to video: Six Step.   

    For entertainment you may want to check out this amazing breakdance video, matrix style.   

The moonwalk- A great How to video and Michael Jackson's "moonwalk collection".

          Body Wave- Excellent How to video

            The Robot (aka poppin)-  Video of great robot dancers.

            The Windmill- by goofball ACE.  (may not be suitable for the kidlets)- how to video

 

Want to touch up on your skills for the party?

Great video tutorial-  Top 20 Breakdance Move.

 Teaches some insane breakdance and hip hop moves like:  The Moonwalk, Side Glide, Heel Toe, Snake, Arm Wave,  Chicken Head, Six Step, Arm Wave, Body Wave, Worm, James Brown, Cabbage Patch, Windmill, C-walking, Harlem Shake, Roger Rabbit, the Running Man.  The guy, ACE, is hilarious in this. 

 

Dirty Dancing

(AKA Freaking, crunking, grinding)

      The 80's is the decade when dirty dancing first became popular with the movie Dirty Dancing . A fun activity could be a dirty dance contest (for adults) .  This can be tastefully done for the conservative.  May not be as much fun, but none-the-less you may be able to face others the next day easier.  The contestants can choose their partner and
      their favorite 80's song they want to dance to.  Everyone then votes on the winners. A couple of good videos on You Tube for dirty dancing are:  how to dirty dance and video with good dancers.

 

   80's Party Music

The following CD's are compilations of popular 80's songs.  They are NOT remakes sang by other artists or performed by orchestras like lots of rendition CD's (ick!). The following CD's also have great to excellent reviews from other buyers.      

 

  

 Pure 80's

The 20 songs on CD are:

1. Video Killed the Radio Star - Buggles 
3.  Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - Eurythmics
3. Everybody Have Fun Tonight - Wang Chung
4. One Thing Leads to Another - The Fixx             
5. Hungry Like the Wolf - Duran Duran 
6. Karma Chameleon - Culture Club        
7. Something About You - Level 42          
8. Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Tears for Fears                
9. Tainted Love - Soft Cell            
10. Obsession - Animotion            
11. Higher Love - Steve Winwood            
12. Addicted to Love - Robert  Palmer
13. Relax - Frankie Goes to Hollywood   
14. Come on Eileen - Dexys Midnight Runners   
15. Rock This Town - Stray Cats Listen
16. Centerfold - J. Geils Band     
17. Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield             
18. Our House - Madness           
19. Hold Me Now - Thompson Twins      
20. Tempted - Squeeze       

        

  

 More Pure 80's

The 18 Songs on CD are:

1. Would I Lie to You? - Eurythmics        
2. Walk Like an Egyptian - Bangles
3. Walking on Sunshine - Katrina & the Waves               
4. Maneater - Hall & Oates        
5. Power of Love - Huey Lewis & the News        
6. Jeopardy - Greg Kihn Band    
7. I've Done Everything for You - Rick Springfield    
8. I Know There's Something Going On - Frida
9. Love Is a Battlefield - Pat Benatar        
10. Heaven Is a Place on Earth - Belinda Carlisle      
11. Rio - Duran Duran    
12. In a Big Country - Big Country             
13. Look of Love, Pt. 1 - ABC              
14. Rock Me Amadeus - Falco  
15. Safety Dance - Men Without Hats     
16. Shout - Tears for Fears          
17. Do You Really Want to Hurt Me - Culture Club    
18. Hands to Heaven - Breathe Listen

 

80's Music Videos

coming soon

 

80's Hair Styles

coming soon

 

Inspiring 80's Fashion for Women

coming soon

 

Inspiring 80's Fashion for Men

Coming soon

80's Movies

For a list of best 80's movies according to the worldwide box office, click here

 

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 to call us at (417) 851-7623; or email us here. 

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