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PARTY THEMES - IDEAS FOR COSTUMES, GAMES, DECORATIONS, AND MENUS:
- Hawaiian Luau
1. Everyone should dress in Hawaiian attire - Hawaiian shirts and dresses, hula skirts for the more ambitious. Have a big basket full of leis available for guests at the front entrance.
2. Decorate your yard with lots of bamboo torches, coconuts, and palm tree party lights.
3. Have pitchers full of Tropical rum drinks. Mai Tai, Pina Colada, Planter's Punch, and Blue Hawaii are good choices. Have some non-alcoholic punch (maybe Hawaiian Punch - heh heh) for the youngsters and the teetotallers in your group.
4. Have a hula dancing competition! Girls and guys can join in to see who is the best dancer.
5. How low can you go? Have a Limbo competition. For those who don't know what that is the rules are basically this: get a long wood pole (a bamboo pole would be great, but any long pole will do) then have two people hold it - one on each end. Play lively music and have everyone line up in a line. Start by holding the pole quite high above the ground. The object of the contest is for everyone to go under the Limbo pole without touching it or falling down. Each person goes under the pole and the pole is lowered a little after all the players have gone under it. Continue in rounds, lowering the pole after the whole group has gone. People are eliminated if they touch or fall. Eventually the pole will be quite low and close to the ground. A few good players will still be bending and trying to get under it. Winner is the last player standing.
- Victorian Tea Party
1. Everyone should wear a hat - as fancy as possible. Have some hats available at the entrance for those who come without one. White dresses for all the girls - if guys are attending they must come appropriately dressed in jacket and tie.
2. Serve fancy little cakes, bite-size sandwiches and tea.
3. Here's the fun part - try playing some original Victorian parlor games like they did in the Victorian era. For some ideas here is a page full of these games.
- Halloween Costume Party
1. Costumes are required! Have on hand some goofy hats, wigs, and some makeup. Any party guest arriving without costume will be promptly "made-up" by the other guests.
2. Load up the decorations - lots of spider webbing stuff (really inexpensive and you can stretch it all over your house for a great look!). Also put out black and orange candles, and white sheets over the furniture.
3. Carve lots of pumpkins and put them all over the place. If you are artistic or just gung ho for a little fun - try carving your guests face in each pumpkin - then have a contest to see who guesses whose face is on each pumpkin. Most correct guesses wins.
4. Mummy Wrap Ghost Game - a variation on the classic Bridal Dress bridal shower game. Form teams and give each team some rolls of white toilet paper. Have each team choose a person to be the mummy - then each team uses the toilet paper to wrap up the mummy in as scary a way as possible. Everyone (or just the host) votes for the scariest mummy. You could also have other categories: funniest-looking mummy, etc.
5. Ghost Walk - for each guest string a different colored (or type of) string all around the house or yard like a cobweb. String each cobweb a different route so no guest knows what way he will be going. Put one guests name at the beginning of each string (use "Ghost Jane", "Ghost Richard", "Ghost Sarah" etc. corresponding to each guests real name). Then everyone follows their string until they reach the end of it where they will find a prize or party favor. This would be an especially fun game for a kids party - adults will find it fun too. For extra fun - play this in the dark, maybe with just flashlights.
- Sixties Love-In
1. All guests should be attired in hippie gear - tie-died shirts, peace sign necklaces, bandanas, braided hair, hiphugger jeans. Depending on the age of your crowd - some may still have some of their original clothes from the sixties (I know some of my crowd does!).
2. Decorate with smiley faces, peace signs, sunflowers. Of course, play sixties music.
3. Serve the food hippie-style - on mats on the floor. Have lots of foods that can be eaten with your hands - nothing formal for this party, remember this is a love-in.
4. Have a basket full of a variety of beads and string. Everyone can sit in a large circle and string beads to make necklaces. This is especially good for a party of young girls. Each girl then can bring home the necklace she makes.
5. For games have everyone sit in a circle - love-in style. How about the classic Telephone game. Host starts by whispering a phrase or small story to the person on their left. Then going clockwise around the circle each player whispers to the player on his/her left trying to tell the story exactly as told. When the story reaches the last player in the circle (to the right of the host) they tell the story as they have heard it out loud to the group. Laughs come next! For an adults only crowd - you might try a slightly risque or off-color story that will really get the laughs going!
- St. Patrick's Day Party
1. The Wearing of the Green - All guests should be wearing green - they can be dressed anywhere from "dressed in green from head to toe" to just a touch of green somewhere on themselves. Have some HUGE shamrocks cut from green paper to pin on any guest who arrives without wearing the obligatory green.
2. Have a basket of green-colored Mardi Gras beaded necklaces and lots of green party hats for guests to wear.
3. Decorate with green carnations, potted ferns, shamrocks, or other greenery. Cut out lots and lots of shamrocks of various sizes out of green paper and pin them up all over the place. Tie together green balloons in bunches of four, then hang on strings from the ceiling for a 3-D four leaf clover effect.
4. For invitations, use white paper and write with green ink (or vice versa). Decorate the front with cut-out shamrocks, or if you are an artist you could draw a cute little leprechaun on the front of the card. Here is an Edwardian era poem that can be used for a St. Patty's Day invitation:
Come a-wearing of the green
Every lad and gay colleen,
With song and game we'll celebrate
The birthday of fair Erin's saint.
5. Serve beer and/or soft drinks tinted green with food coloring. Have little bowls of green mints and "Lucky Charms" cereal, plus green chips (usually vegetable chips have green ones in the bag), ranch dip (tinted green with food coloring), and guacamole. Of course, serve corned beef and cabbage. Irish coffee is a nice after-dinner drink.
6. Potato Race - everyone must carry a small potato balanced on a spoon as fast as they can to the finish line. First to cross the line without dropping the potato wins a prize.
7. The Shamrock Walk - make a path out of large paper shamrocks around the house and yard in a maze. Everyone must step from shamrock to shamrock without touching the ground and follow the path to the end - where a pot full of gold foil-covered chocolate coins or other prizes awaits each guest who completes the course. Good game for a kid's party.
- "A Night At The Oscars" Fancy Dress Costume Party
1. All guests should be dressed up as an Oscar winning actor or actress - or just their favorite movie star, past or present. Award a small "Oscar" or two to the guest /guests with the best costume.
2. Have a red carpet (real or created from red paper or fabric) leading from your front door into the party area. (For a humorous touch, you could also have another small red carpet leading into the guest bathroom and up to the toilet seat!) Have some confetti on hand for guests to throw on new arrivals as they walk the red carpet.
3. Decorate with cut-out stars created from foil or silver and gold paper.
4. Create invitations with cut-out ads of the current Oscar nominees for Best Picture glued to the front.
5. Move your TV set or sets to spots where all the guests have a view of the Academy Awards show. Turn it on and have your party ready to start in time to see the pre-show with the arrival of the stars.
6. Guess the Winners Game - Have ballots printed up for each guest containing all the Oscar categories and nominees. Each guest checks off a box for their choice of winner for each category. The person who gets the most correct winners at the end of the show wins a prize.
7. For a little fun - have squirt guns filled with water for each guest. Cover your TV set with clear plastic (so that you can still see the show). Then when a particularly long or boring speech is given guests can squirt the set with water.
8. Have lots of popcorn on hand!
- Easter "Egg 'n Hat" Party
1. Easter Hat Parade - all guests should arrive wearing a self-constructed Easter Bonnet - the more lavish and outrageous the better. Have a contest with prize for the best hat, the funniest hat, etc. Take a Polaroid snapshot of each guest in the hat - put them up for all to see. You can even save the photos and use them to decorate for next year's party.
2. Decorate with lots of plastic Easter Eggs, jelly beans, bowls of carrots, vases full of tulips (or a mix of fresh flowers from your garden), and Easter baskets filled with artificial grass, chocolate Easter eggs, marshmallow chicks, and little stuffed bunny rabbits.
3. Send out colorful invitations shaped like Easter Eggs.
4. Easter Egg Hunt - Hide eggs all around your house and yard and let the guests (especially the kids, but hey, grown-ups might enjoy a Hunt too) find them. You can use plastic eggs, the little chocolate foil-covered eggs, your own real hard-boiled eggs that have been dyed bright colors - or a combination of any or all.
5. Bunny Hunt - Create little paper rabbits out of white construction paper. Write a number on each rabbit - 1, 3, or 5. Then hide them all over your house or yard, with just the tips of their ears sticking out. Have a timed hunt - then have each player add up the points for the rabbits they have found (1, 3, or 5 depending on what is written). Player with the most points at the end wins a prize.
6. Bunny Hop - Put on some music and have all hop like bunnies in a Conga-style line. Fun for kids (and drunk adults).
7. Bunny Wrap - Divide the guests into teams and hand out each team some rolls of white toilet paper, cotton balls, assorted hats and ties, plus a few carrots. Each team chooses one person to become an Easter Bunny - then wraps them up with toilet paper, etc. to make the best (or funniest) bunny possible. Have prizes for the best bunnies. This is a fun variation of the classic Bridal Dress shower game.
8. Bunny Races - All line up at a designated starting line, then hop like bunnies to the finish line where prizes await the winners. Fun for kids. A variation is a Sack Bunny Race - same thing, except the hopping is done with each racer's feet inside a sack or pillowcase.
9. Egg Toss - Divide everyone into pairs. Each pair starts face-to-face and close to each other - then toss an egg back and forth while one of the pair takes one step back between every throw so that they are getting farther and farther apart. Any pair who drops or breaks their egg is OUT. Last pair standing wins a prize. Use raw eggs for the most fun!
- Kentucky Derby Party
1. Fancy Hats - All ladies (and even the gents if you like) should wear fancily decorated hats - decorated with flowers, roses, horse figures, whatever they like - invite all to be as inventive as possible. Have a contest for the best hat - offer Win, Place, and Show ribbons to the winners.
2. For invitations - glue a picture of last year's winner of the Kentucky Derby on the front. Another option - find pictures of famous jockeys riding in the Derby, or past winning jockeys.
3. Start your party a few hours before the start of the race to give guests time to enjoy cocktails and appetizers, as well as pick their choices for the winning horse. Make sure to have printouts for each guest giving them information on each entered horse and expert's opinions on which horse's are likely to win.
4. Decorate with horse memorabilia, racing icons, horseshoes, jockey photos, and loads of roses. Tack up a chart with the morning line odds, plus cut out pictures of the entered horses.
5. Make sure to place TV set (or sets) in a central spot so everyone can see the race - turn the set on early so guests can watch the pre-show.
6. Pick the Winner Contest - Have all guests pick their choices for the Kentucky Derby's win, place, and show winners. After the race results are in, award points to each entrant. 12 Points for Win, 7 Points for Place, 3 Points for Show. Award prizes to the guest with the most points.
7. Serve Mint Juleps - a must. You'll want to use Kentucky Bourbon for this party!
Here's a Mint Julep recipe from Mr. Boston Official Bartender's Guide:
- -------------------------
- - 4 sprigs Mint
- - 1 tsp. Powdered Sugar
- - 2 tsp. Water
- - 2 1/2 oz. Bourbon
- -------------------------
In a silver julep cup, silver mug, or collins glass, muddle mint leaves, powdered sugar, and water. Fill glass or mug with shaved or crushed ice and add bourbon. Top with more ice and garnish with a mint sprig and straws.
- Cinco de Mayo "Mexican Fiesta" Party
1. Decorate with big sombreros, Mexican pottery filled with bunches of paper flowers and mini Mexican flags, plus loads of red, green, and white balloons. Hang up strings of chili pepper and cactus lights, plus light rows or displays of Mexican votive candles.
2. Play Mariachi or fiesta music in the background - a live Mariachi band would be great, but a CD of music will do!
3. Fill a Pinata with Mexican candy, then hang it from a tree branch or other suitable place. Blindfold each player, turn them around three times, then let them take several swings at the Pinata to try and break it open. Each player has a go until someone finally breaks open the Pinata - then the children (or even the adults) can run and grab up handfuls of the candy as it falls out.
4. Place a giant sombrero in the center of the yard or room, then have all gather around it for a Mexican Hat Dance (this would probably be funner after everyone has had their share of Margaritas!).
5. Have a Cinco de Mayo scavenger hunt! Before the party, write up a list of Mexican items that party guests must find around the neighborhood. Print a copy of the list for each team. During the party, divide into small teams - first team back with all the items on the list wins a prize. Ideas: jar of salsa, Mexican flag, printed enchilada recipe, Mexican coin, cactus, postcard stamped in Mexico, a fresh hot chile pepper.
6. Have a Taco Bar with taco shells and all the trimmings - meat, salsa, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheeses, guacamole, etc. Everyone can fill their own tacos with what they like.
7. Serve a variety of other Mexican dishes - enchiladas, nachos, refried beans and rice, salsa, guacamole, fajitas, - the works!
8. Be SURE to have lots of pitchers of freshly made Margaritas and choice of Mexican beers on hand.
- Oktoberfest "Bratwurst and Brew" Beer Garden Party
1. Set your house up as a German Beer Hall or create your yard into an outdoor Beer Garden. Use alpine decorations, have tables with red-checked tableclothes, and place baskets around full of apples and fall gourds, topped with mini German flags and lots of German beer steins on tabletop.
2. Play traditional Octoberfest music in the background (you can find cds that sell this music online) or have a live Oompah band.
3. Make it a costume party. Everyone should come dressed in appropriate German attire - alpine hats with feathers, lederhosen, etc.
4. Send out invitations decorated with maps of Germany on the front.
5. Of course, the menu should include lots of German foods - bratwurst, sauerkraut, spaetzel, potato pancakes, sauerbraten, german potato salad, apple cake, strudel, german chocolate cake, cider, and - of course, have LOADS of german beers on hand. For a large party, get a keg of German beer - fun will be had by all!
6. Play drinking games - for some ideas, click here.
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