Ever notice? Practically every gathering or party that stands out in your memory had a theme. A theme gives a get-together a mental image and visual hook to build on.
Possible themes are practically limitless. Will your gathering be limited to family? Then you might want to include the family name in the theme. Example:
Smith Family Sizzlin' Summer Shindig
However, you may wish to use a theme that doesn't limit your event to family members. Here are some ideas to get you started.
40s Forever - A big time from the big band era. The men can wear baggy pants (don't forget zoot suits), and the women can model mid-calf dresses. Graphics of instruments, particularly horns, give you a visual for invitations when you ask 'em to "swing by."
Decorating Ideas:
Adorn wine bottles with long strands of faux pearls.
Walls look great with a transportation theme...think trains and biplanes.
Banana Split - Ask each guest to "dress up" a banana and bring it along with them to the party! They can make the fruit into cartoon characters, airplanes, favorite family members -- anything goes! Enjoy banana-filled recipes and banana splits for dessert! Don't forget to offer prizes for the best-dressed bananas.
Decorating Ideas:
Just like the Think pink ideas, think yellow.
Monkey decorations are a great companion to bananas.
Palm trees and other luau-style decorations coordinate well.
Big Al's Speakeasy - This throwback to the era of bathtub gin and Thompson machine guns for adult gatherings can have guests dancing the Charleston. Be sure to include the speakeasy password in your invitation for admittance.
Decorating Ideas:
Strand of pearls can be used to accent serving dishes, light fixtures and doorknobs.
Try tying them in bunches with red satin ribbon for an added touch.
Sequins and feathers make great decorations for personalized tumblers for your guests.
Fishnet stockings can adorn walls and doors.
Lots of black, white and bold red are great colors for a flapper theme.
Use big metal tubs to serve beverages; just fill with ice and cans or bottles of whatever you’re serving or mixing.
Cheap and Tacky - Always good for lots of laughs! Have your guests dig up old clothes, hats and accessories to wear to the party. These can be found in the backs of closets, at thrift stores or in a pile of garage-sale leftovers. Your guests can be the entertainment as they describe where the item came from and when it was originally fashionable - you can even ask them to create a story about who once wore the item. Party treats can be cheap and tacky, too!
Decorating Ideas:
An old hubcap, scrubbed and sanitized or lined with plastic wrap, makes a great hors d'oeuvres tray.
Don't try too hard with this theme, anything thrift, leftover from a garage sale, or found hidden in the attic is a perfect decoration.
Come As You Are Party - A new twist on the old tradition of surprise parties. This time around, have the guest of honor plan the party and then on the day of the gathering, surprise each guest and "steal them away" from whatever their doing and take them to the party! A breakfast surprise party might feature everyone in pajamas!
Fall Harvest - To avoid everyone's busy summer schedules, opt for a fall get-together. Visit a local apple orchard and spend the day with a hayride and have a pumpkin-carving contest. Serve hot cider and warm cookies to your guests. You can decorate with pumpkins, gourds and a friendly looking scarecrow! Younger kids will love playing in fallen leaves; they can even choose some to press between book pages for keepsakes! The crisp weather may even lead to an improvised football game among attendees.
Decorating Ideas:
Create a classic centerpiece using brown paper lunch bags (use sand for weight). Fill each bag with straw and tie yellow, orange and brown balloons to each bag.
Cut the top off of pumpkins and leave the seeds inside to create one-day vases for sunflowers, marigolds and daisies. Keeping the seeds inside the pumpkin will hold the flower stems in place.
Cut burlap sacks into rectangles and use instead of placemats.
Fantastic Fanatic - A great party theme for groups with lots of teens! Choose a popular singer or celebrity and make them the theme of your gathering! Make sure invitations feature their face and don't forget to watch their movie or listen to their CD during the party. Activities can include writing fan mail or even making a "fanatic" video about why the celebrity is everyone's favorite!
Decorating Ideas:
Create your own disco ball by covering a beach ball with aluminum foil and suspending it from the ceiling.
Make microphones for guests to use by attaching foil balls to the top of a paper towel tube covered in black construction paper.
Create magazine and poster collages of your "guest of honor" to adorn walls.
Hang CD covers and records around the room in honor of the star.
Camera cutouts from the Hollywood theme would work well here too.
Haunted Mansions - Rent an old mansion for an evening gathering that's sure to scare up excitement. Include a vial of smelling salts in each invitation to revive attendees who faint from fright.
Decorating Ideas:
Fill bowls with cold, cooked spaghetti and peeled grapes for a slimy-textured surprise for guests.
Pulled-cotton cobwebs look great hanging from the ceiling and in corners.
A large cauldron filled with dry ice will create a great touch to your spooky atmosphere.
Color a paper skeleton with highlighting markers and illuminate with a black light for an eerie party guest.
Hawg Wild - Have a "biker" party based around Harley Davidson motorcycles. Have everyone dress in leather jackets and send temporary tattoos with the invitations.
Hippie '60s - Require tie-dye attire and welcome everyone back to the '60s. Era music playing in the background will set the mood for the party as peace signs are flashed and the decade is recalled. Anyone old enough to remember the decade of the moon landing and Woodstock will surely pass on the memories to the younger generation. Ask guests to bring a piece of '60s memorabilia; take turns sharing what was saved through the years! See if you can find old newspaper headlines and advertisements to offer as conversation pieces.
Decorating Ideas:
Old records (in or out of the album cover) can be great wall hangings.
A tie-dyed bed sheet makes a great tablecloth.
Miniature Volkswagen bugs are great table top decorations.
Find photos of famous news stories from the era; superimpose your face and the faces of your guests into the photos.
Las Vegas - If "dealing" with an older crowd, set up tables and play some card games complete with the glamour of casino chips and a dealer. Nothing will get the party going faster than some friendly competition! Don't forget to cover the clocks and turn up the music. Decorate with lots of colors and lights; wild-dress code optional!
Decorating Ideas:
Use dice and old decks of cards as weights to hold down balloon bunches.
Collect hotel and club or casino matchbooks, brochures and freebies to use as table conversation pieces.
Mardi Gras Mayhem - Feature New Orleans jazz and Cajun cookin'. Send a necklace of Mardi Gras beads with each invitation.
Decorating Ideas:
Anything with beads, glitter and feathers makes a perfect decoration.
Use lots of gold, purple and green balloons, crêpe paper and streamers.
Your guests can decorate their own masks with glitter, sequins, feathers and more.
Cheap crowns and jester hats make great table-top decorations.
Mix-and-Match Holidays - Put a new twist on traditional holiday fun! Try having a Christmas theme in July, Halloween in April, Thanksgiving in March or Easter in September. You can also celebrate half-birthdays or non-birthdays so everyone becomes the guest of honor!
Murder Mystery - Invite guests to figure out "Who done it." Include a clue in the invitation.
Decorating Ideas:
Decorations for this theme depend entirely on the theme of your mystery plot. If your mystery takes place in a haunted barn, check out our Western and Haunted House decorations. If it takes place on a deserted island, look at our Treasure Hunt theme decorations or decade ideas to match the time period of your mystery.
Any theme decorations can be made mysterious with dimmed lights, muted colors and eerie low music.
Mystery Menu - Invite your family and friends for a special dinner party. When they arrive present them with a coded menu. Prior to the party, code every utensil and food item with a special name. For example if you're having a summer party you might code the dinner salad as "Sandy Beach," a fork as "Sun Umbrella," and the main course as "SPF 15." Each guest then chooses the menu items he or she wants for each course without knowing what they'll end up with. Eating ice cream with a fork or soup without a spoon is great for a meal time adventure!
Oscar/Hollywood - Have your party on Oscar night. Invite everyone to dress to impress and lay out red paper at your door entrance. Prepare hors d'oeuvres and watch the grand night unfold. Turn your guests into judges and the results into a game; offer prizes for who can correctly predict the winners. Give your guests the role of "film critic."
Decorating Ideas:
Feathered boas and martini glasses can be used together in a frilly centerpiece.
A chandelier can be made with a tiara, faux jewel rings and fishing line.
Use paper bag luminaries to line the walkways leading to your entrance.
Create camera cutouts with tin foil flash bulbs to hang on the walls in order to create a paparazzi feel.
South of the Border - Don't wait for Cinco de Mayo to create a sunny mood with Mexican food and music. Use a Mexican motif and sprinkle your invitation with festive Spanish phrases.
Decorating Ideas:
Lots of maracas, sombreros and piñatas can be purchased for decent prices at local party supply stores.
Colored paper lanterns and paper fans add great lighting and atmosphere.
Use a basket or bright bowl with chilies, red and green peppers for accents to your food or dining tables.
Brightly colored woven ponchos can make great doorway hangings, either in arches above the door, or serving as a curtained doorway.
Survivor Party - Fashion your gathering after the outdoor adventure television program! Invite your guests to come prepared for challenges both physical and mental. Decorations can create an exotic jungle-feel, and you can prepare Jell-O in molds of rats and bugs. Gummy worms and licorice snakes can also be served. Even though you won't want to vote anyone out of your party, you can narrow guests to one "survivor" through trivia games, relay races, alliances and more!
Decorating Ideas:
If your party is outdoors, use tiki torches and luminaries to create an island atmosphere.
Drape fish netting and fish cutouts across walls or in doorways.
Seashells can be assembled into a great and simple centerpiece.
Grass skirts can be hung above doorways to give entrances an added touch.
Don't forget to use lots of plastic insects and some snakes too.
The Eternal Elvis! - Pay homage to the King with his music...and malt shop burger baskets from the '50s. The invitation can be written incorporating the titles of Elvis songs. Example: "Don't Be Cruel." Slip on your "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Shake, Rattle and Roll" on over to..
Decorating Ideas:
Hang records from the ceiling with fishing line.
A cardboard cutout might be available from a local party supplier.
Think Pink - Call out the lighter (and brighter) side of your guests with a Pink Flamingo theme. Decorate with plastic flamingos, pink napkins and place settings and pink holiday lights! Ask guests to come wearing as much of the color as they can. You can even offer prizes for the "pinkest pair," or the "brightest sight." Any traditional party game can be played, just add pink for extra pizzazz... think Flamingo Bingo, a Think Pink Scavenger Hunt or Trivia Game!
Decorating Ideas:
Wrap pictures on your wall in pink wrapping paper.
Replace a few light bulbs with pink bulbs for a rosy-hued room.
Pink bed sheets can be draped over furniture or used as draperies above doorways.
Pink jellybeans, conversation hearts or pink-wrapped chocolates are great on top of tables, or in a pink bowl.
Pink construction paper, glitter and glue can be combined to create cone crowns for guests. Just make a cone out of the paper, decorate and wear.
Scatter pink confetti and glitter along outside walkways leading to the party entrance to give guests a taste of what is to come.
Time Capsule - This theme is great for high school graduations or family gatherings. Have each guest bring something meaningful or significant to them to add to the time capsule - an old family photo, a baby picture of the graduate, or an art project from kindergarten - the list is endless. Take turns talking about what each guest has chosen before placing it into the capsule (an old duffle bag, a trunk or box) Include a card with the date and guest list before sealing your time capsule for 5... 10... 20 years!
Decorating Ideas:
Use old yearbook and family photos to replace current framed pictures.
Utilize the newspaper clipping idea from the '60s theme to add your family into famous news events.
Find old magazines to place on tables to get the conversations going.
Treasure Hunt - Send treasure chest invitations! A scavenger hunt for everyone is a great way to get the whole family involved especially if the hunt involves clues about family memories, past generations, heritage and future predictions! A treasure chest can hold something everyone can enjoy, such as food or small prizes.
Decorating Ideas:
Use netting instead of a tablecloth.
Red bandanas make great placemats.
Check out other decorating ideas for survivor parties to give your place an island-feel.
Ultimate Sports Venue - Great when coordinating your gathering with the viewing of a big sporting event, such as a college football game. Ask everyone to wear their school colors. Prepare the invitation in the form of football tickets.
Western - Decorate with red-and-white checkered tablecloths and send barn-shaped invitations! Seek adventure on a fall hayrack ride, pull up hay bales around a campfire and later enjoy an old-fashioned barn dance. There are lots of games that can be played by guests of all ages, like Pin the Tail on the Donkey and Barnyard Animal Charades. A barbeque-style meal complete with burgers and baked beans will only add to the down-home country atmosphere. The feeling of days gone by will attract stories of years past.
Decorating Ideas:
If you can't have a real bonfire, build a pretend one using a circle of medium-sized rocks, yellow and orange tissue paper and an accent of gold tinsel.
Plain brown shopping bags can be cut to make vests for guests to decorate and wear.
Inflatable or tissue cacti decorations can add a Southwestern slant to your motif.
You can make a mobile using string or fishing line and cutouts or clippings of cowboy hats, sheriff's stars, horses, tumbleweeds and cowboy boots.
