On a lonely Sunday evening during my Sophomore year of high school, I found myself longing for the birthday parties of yore. Those adorable little themed parties at arts and crafts venues, gymnastics gyms, swimming pools, and even ice skating rinks provided me with fun activities and the promise of cake. But what I liked most about those parties was the “theme” aspect, (Who doesn’t love a good superhero or luau party?)
I soon realized that there was no reason I couldn’t enjoy those parties now! Is it really so wrong for a 16 year old to want a theme party? My desire to throw a theme party came at exactly the right time…when The Great Gatsby (the version with Leonardo Dicaprio aka: my husband) came out on DVD. I immediately started planning my Great Gatsby party. Since this was my first theme party, the planning was a little disorganized. But allow me to spare you the trial and error and instead, offer you this simple guide on throwing a killer theme party:
1. INVITATIONS
The invitations set the tone of the party. I believe a classy e-vite does the trick. If you’re throwing a Paris theme party, as I did earlier this year, throw in some French – let them know this theme is fo’ real. Open the invite with a Bonjour! Tell them to break out their baguettes and prepare for a night that is sure to be tre magnifique! Have fun with it!
2. DÉCOR
A theme party is not a theme party without décor to set the scene! My suggestion is a mix of Party City wares and DIYs. Preparing for the party is half the fun! For example try stringing short pieces of poster paper on yarn, one letter per poster, to spell out a word. Then simply adorn with tissue paper flowers for added pizzazz. Hanging pictures from magazines also work! This sounds like it would look piecey but it’s a cheap and easy way to help set the scene. But when in doubt, mason jars! M&M’s in mason jars, mason jars as vases, mason jars as drinking glasses – they work for everything and are the universal symbol of being artsy and cute.
3. MENU
I think we can all agree that the best part of any party is when the food is served! So to please your ravenous guests, serve a plentiful meal that coincides with your theme! If you’re hosting a toga party for example, skewered meat should do the trick. If you’re on a budget make it an hors devours only night and serve some olives on toothpicks, or simply chips with tzatziki dip!
4. AMBIANCE
I know what you’re thinking and yes ambiance is different from décor! The ambiance is what transports your guests back to the time and place on which you based your theme. Ambiance means making a playlist (tip: use Youtube’s playlists, this way you don’t have to go through the work of making a playlist, and Youtube has a playlist for pretty much anything). Ambiance means greeting your guests at the door with champagne glasses (they can be plastic), Martini glasses filled with fruit, a kabob of any kind, or perhaps a lei. Also, make sure the music is playing when your guests arrive.
5. COSTUME
Since you are the hostess, it is expected that you’ll have the best costume (no pressure). It’s easy to get caught up in the party planning and let your costume fall to the wayside. Don’t let this happen to you! Getting dressed up is half the reason for throwing a theme party in the first place.
Helpful Hint: Have a theme party revolve around a movie. For my Great Gatsby Party, we ate hors devours, danced the night away, and ended the evening watching the movie. This move is a good way to break the party up and ensure that your guests don’t get bored.
Theme Party Ideas:
- Any decade
- Oscar Party: People get really into it when you give them a ballot.
- Dress up like your favorite artist/painting: Paint a mini canvas with your guests!
- Medieval: Serve large turkey legs, watch some Game of Thrones
- Kindergarten Party: Serve cookies and apple juice and watch a kids movie!
- Preppy Party: Have your guests dress like they’re headed to their country club’s Yachting social. Play some badminton.
- Aliens/futuristic theme: This would make for some interesting costumes, plus you could serve bright green jell-o.
- Directors Party: Guests dress up as characters from one director’s movies. For example the theme could be a Scorsese soirée where guests can dress up as characters from any of Martin Scorsese’s films.