If you ask me, there’s nothing more fun than a theme party, especially if costumes are involved.
I enjoy finding decorations, cooking themed food, pouring creative cocktails, making playlists and sending friends home with little trinkets. Plus, the theme is an immediate ice-breaker for guests, who may be meeting each other for the first time or who just want to whisper about how quirky my household is (which is fine) as they study the decor.
My theme parties over the years have included the moon landing, Woodstock, Halloween monsters, a come-as-your-high-school-self birthday, a Scholastic book fair for adults and a Christmas cookie party.
Lisa Geiser, owner of Eclectic Elegance Events in Denver, agrees that theme parties do not have to be expensive or super fancy.
“I tell people don’t worry about trends,” Geisler said. “Just get creative and just do you, not caring what people think.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Let’s jump into some tips on how to organize your theme party.
Step 1: Pick your theme
This is the most important thing, so let’s get it right.
Search inside yourself and decide what you like. This is your party, after all, and you should tailor it to your interests. Do that, and the authenticity will shine through. Your guests will love it.
Geisler recommends watching movies or searching the internet for videos and pictures from international holiday celebrations to find ideas.
“Google is your best friend to kind of see what people are doing,” Geisler said.
I love vintage stuff and childhood nostalgia. A quick and easy theme is to pick your birth year and start from there. What movies and TV shows were popular? What music were people listening to? What were they eating?
I once hosted a 1969-themed birthday and asked people to roll with it. My parents came as their younger selves — my mom wore a long blonde wig and shoved a pillow under her shirt to appear pregnant and my dad wore a white T-shirt and Madras plaid shorts like a pair he was photographed wearing while holding me as an infant. He handed out pink bubblegum cigars to the guests.
My husband bought a Cookie Monster costume because that is the year the lovable Cookie arrived on Sesame Street. I dressed as Janis Joplin.
(In the spring, I hosted a Scholastic Book Fair for adults for my best friend’s birthday since we both associate those days at school with joy. As my friend explains, it’s fun to think of things you enjoyed as a child and then spend your “grownup money” on them. We thrifted books for our guests to shop, let them decorate tote bags, gave away bookmarks and cute pens and pencils, decorated with old vintage paperbacks and held a spelling bee. People are still talking about the party six months later.)
For Halloween, I love the classic monsters such as Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolfman. It’s easy to build a party from there.
At Christmas, I go with vintage holiday decor. That could be paired with a jazz-themed party or a 1950s cocktail night.
Step 2: Set your budget
The economy is tough, and no one should go broke over a party. Make your only regret a little bit of a hangover, not a zero balance in your checking account.
Decide what the top three to five priorities will be at your party. Killer cocktails? Beautiful floral arrangements? A fancy cake? Goodie bags?
Planning is key here. If you pick your theme early, then you have time to shop at thrift stores, flea markets and sale racks at Target, Walmart and Michael’s. Save money on decorations, costumes or snacks and shift that spending to the things you value most at a party, whether that’s an expensive bottle of bourbon or a new outfit.
Step 3: Send the invitations
The holiday calendars fill up fast. So avoid those “regrets” responses by locking in the date early.
Steal a tactic from wedding planners and send save-the-date invitations.
Step 4: Plan the menu
I’m Southern, and the biggest party foul for me would be running out of food. My guests simply cannot go hungry, and it’s even better if I can pack to-go boxes for them when they leave
I’ve learned that RSVPs can be unreliable, so I think of dishes that can stretch on a budget. For example, for a brunch I might make a grits casserole but I will have more on hand that I can whip up on the fly. Chips and salsa never fail. Pans of Duncan Hines brownies always please the crowd and are quick and inexpensive. And for a cute, sweet cheat, buy a box of Little Debbie Swiss cake rolls, cut them into pieces and artfully arrange the rounds on a holiday platter.
Step 5: Decorate early
I start decorating the weekend before the party. I prefer to save my energy for the actual party. Plus, if the decorations are cool, it’s fun to have a festive house for longer than a weekend.
Put up decorations first in the least-used parts of the house. The kitchen and dining area would be last because you know you’re going to make a mess in that room almost every day. But the garland on the mantle or lights on the front porch can go up early.
Step 6: Leave time for yourself
Make sure you give yourself time to look cute when guests arrive. It’s stressful to just be getting out of the shower 30 minutes before the first people arrive.
Step 7: Don’t be afraid to ask for help
If someone texts the day of the party and asks if you need anything, don’t be afraid to ask for that extra bag of ice or bottle of wine.