
So, in Part One of our series, we covered 54 of our 101 80's Party Ideas. Now, we continue on with the rest of our radical tips! Let's get going!
55. Blue Lagoon Cocktail
Served in a tall glass and garnished with orange or cherry, this bright blue drink is often affiliated with the 1980 movie Blue Lagoon starring Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins, which increased the cocktail's popularity in the 80's.
- 1 shot Vodka
- 1 shot blue curacao liqueur
- 2/3 shot fresh lime juice
- Stir.
- Top up with lemon-lime soda
56. What about Party Breakfast?
Do something different. Host a Brekky party with a Breakfast Club theme. Serve a delicious breakfast bar and watch the movie as you eat!
57. Where's the Crackles?
Every Aussie who grew up in the 80's will still swoon at the mere mention of a chocolate crackle. When I was young, no kids' birthday party existed without them. They're choc-filled, crunchy sweet and kids love them. And they're simple to make.
You can find a historic recipe for these goodies at Australian Food Timeline.
58. Get Board with Games
For a low-key celebration, host an 80's themed games night, with popular board games from the era.
59. Play it Again
Keep the fun (and friendly competition) flowing at your 80's party by setting up the old Atari or Nintendo with classic video games.
60. Unbreakable Record
Parties for Pennies once again provide us with a great DIY décor idea. Use black plastic plates to resemble vinyl music records, as shown above.
61. Mixed Tape
Make your 80's party invitations quick and easy with this editable and printable cassette tape template.
62. Top Props
If it is within your budget, consider hiring some awesome party props such as the ones available at Feel Good Events. They look amazing!
63. Feature Walls
An easy idea to incorporate 80's Memphis style into your party, is to cut geometric shapes from neon colored cardboard or black and white, and create feature walls or focus points as shown here by @dreamesh.
64. Dress to Impress
Plain party supplies in block colours are often much more affordable than the patterned variety. Dress up plain paper cups, plates and cutlery with colourful stickers, tape or labels to add interest but save yourself some dosh.
65. Fluffy Duck
This delicious cocktail was hugely popular with the British population of the 80's. Served in a tall glass and garnished with orange, this creamy drink is shaken with ice.
- 1 1/2 shot dry gin
- 1 1/2 shot Advocaat liqueur
- 1 shot 40% triple sec liqueur
- 1 shot fresh orange juice
- Top up with soda water
66. Book the Band
If you can afford it, book an 80's cover band or artist for some epic party entertainment!
67. Bathroom Break
Holding your party in a venue? Or using separate toilets for male and female?
A fun way to show your guests which bathroom to use, is to put a poster of a female 80's pop star on the girls' bathroom door and a male star on the boys'.
68. Memphis Design
Like the Memphis style for your party supplies? There are many varieties available, such as the ones found at Favor Lane.
69. Disco DIY
Learn how to make this DIY disco ball for your party, with the tutorial from Greta's Day.
70. Times Cubed
Run a Rubik's Cube solving race at your event! Below are some ideas:
- a timed race with individuals solving their own cubes - shortest time wins
- a live racing contest between individuals
- a live relay team race e.g. 30 seconds each player
- casual contest - e.g. the first to solve during the party wins
- multiple team contest e.g. team with most cubes solved during party wins
71. Grasshopper
A very old drink, the Grasshopper gained popularity in the 70's and continued through the 80's. Perfect for serving after dinner, this minty cocktail is yummy garnished with mint or chocolate shavings. It is shaken with ice into a chilled glass.
- 1 shot green creme de menthe
- 1 shot white creme de cacao liqueur
- 1 shot single cream
- 1 shot fresh orange juice
- Top up with soda water
72. Happy Snaps
If you can get a hold of one, an old Polaroid camera is a fun inclusion at an 80's party. Leave it around for guests to take their own photos, or set it up at your DIY photo booth.
73. Say Cheese!
It is easy to set up a DIY photo booth with an 80's theme and it will save you a bucket load of cash. Here are some suggestions to get you started:
- create a backdrop from tablecloths, curtains or sheets
- add décor props and styling if desired
- add extra lighting nearby of needed
- set out cute costume items, wigs and props on a nearby table
- include instant print camera
- alternatively, provide a camera/phone tripod
74. Lights, Camera, Action!
Why not celebrate with a casual 80's movie night? Host a movie marathon, playing your old favourites and serve up classic 80's snacks.
You could even send your invited guests a poll to vote for their favourite movies to watch, and play the flicks with the most votes on the night.
75. Fortune and Glory
If you're anything like me, you LOVE the Indiana Jones movies. Consider hosting an Indian Jones themed party!
You could host it as a mystery night, escape room or include fun treasure hunts.
The Digi Dame Party Shoppe offers printable party décor that is perfect for this party theme.
76. Let it Glow
Anything glow-in-the-dark was big in the 80's, so a glow in the dark party theme is perfect. Turn off the bright white lights and opt for coloured party bulbs instead!
Glow in the dark party décor is readily available to buy at many retailers. Here are some more ideas:
- Provide your guests with neon body paint and let them get creative
- hang glow sticks from the ceiling
- provide glow bracelets, masks and necklaces for guests to wear
- decorate with neon lights and signage
- decorate with neon glow gaffer tape
- use light-up balloons
77. Do me a Favor?
Need ideas for 80's party favors? You've come to the right place. I hope you'll like these suggestions:
- funky sunglasses, as shown above
- shutter shade glasses
- plastic jewellery, such as jelly or coil bracelets
- 80's snacks and lollies
- pin badges/buttons
- disco novelty cups
- Rubik's cubes
- fingerless gloves
- headbands and wristbands
- yo-yo's
- hair ties
- 80's music compilations
- slinkys
- themed t-shirts
- novelty keyrings
- glow sticks
- scratch n sniff stickers
78. Download. Edit. Print.
Printable party décor is a quick, easy and affordable option. Here at The Digi Dame Party Shoppe, we've got your 80's party covered with our 80's party printables pack of decorations and matching cassette tape invitation, as well as loads of other products and designs.
Click here to visit all of the 80's related items in our shop.
79. That's a Wrap
Painlessly add a pop of colour and interest to your decorations with wrapping paper. As shown above, you can create levelled platforms on tables by wrapping up boxes to display party food, drinks and other supplies. It is quick, easy and it looks great.
80. Re-Use and Recycle
You can achieve great 80's themed party décor without spending a fortune. If you're concerned about being able to use items only once, opt for plain items in block colours, that you can use again for other parties.
81. Dot to Dot
For a simple but highly effective party backdrop, sew together strings of card stock circles in neon or bright colours, in keeping with your party colour scheme.
82. Upside Down Pineapple Cake
A staple dessert at gatherings in the 1980's (especially in Britain), this cake is surprisingly easy to make and very sweet. A must-have at any authentic 80's party!
The Brits do this one best, so I've included a recipe from BBC Food for you.
83. Get Dressed
If you can source the dolls, have a few laughs with a Cabbage Patch Kid dressing race! Get individual guests to race each other at fully dressing a doll each, or have a relay between teams with each team member adding one clothing item.
84. Raise the Bunting
Right here, you can find my pack of 1980's bunting decorations that are perfect for your totally rad party. These retro printables can be used to hang as bunting, table decorations or wall decals and much more! This pack includes 3 separate printable bunting pages - puzzle cubes, cassette tapes and boomboxes.
85. Screaming Orgasm
One of the most popular cocktails from the 80's, this drink is creamy and high in calories - a dessert in drink form and garnished with chocolate shavings.
- 1 1/4 shot vodka
- 1 1/4 shot coffee liqueur
- 1 1/4 shot Amaretto liqueur
- 1 1/4 shot Irish cream liqueur
- 1 1/4 shot single cream
- 1 1/4 shot low-fat milk
86. Boom Boom Box
Here is a printable boombox favor box by The Digi Dame Party Shoppe. It's perfect for a 1980's party, gift-giving, or just for fun!
87. DIY Trivia
Create your own 80's version of Celebrity Head by writing the names of 80's celebrities, icons and characters onto plain cards.
88. Sweet Caffeine
Tiramisu became very popular in the 1980's, making it a fantastic dessert to serve at your 80's themed party.
89. Invite the Boom
Here is a quick, easy and fun way to invite your party guests - with a cassette tape player! This invitation is editable and printable. It includes an optional tape deck door to attach to the front of the design, which your guests can open to read the tape beneath. Your guests will love it!
90. Fair Suck of the Sav!
Baby saveloys, cocktail frankfurts, hot dogs; whatever you call them, these sausages were big at 80's parties in Australia, served with tomato sauce.
91. Gamer Time
Hosting an 80's gamer party? Your invitations are covered with this editable and printable gaming party invitation template.
92. Sex on the Beach
Another massively popular cocktail of the 80's, the red colour is symbolic of sex atop the yellow of the beach. It is sweet and easy to drink. Serve in an ice-filled glass.
- 2/3 shot peach liqueur
- 1 shot fresh orange juice
- 1 shot fresh pineapple juice
- 1 1/2 shot vodka
- 1 shot cranberry juice
- 1/2 shot berry liqueur
93. Masters of the Universe
Be inspired by the He-Man and She-Ra party ideas shown by Kara's Party Ideas.
94. Hit Me with your Best Shot
In the 80's pre-mixed drinks were just becoming a thing. Some popular alcoholic drinks of the 80's included
95. Etch-A-Pictionary
Keep the games flowing at your party with an 80's themed Pictionary game using vintage Etch-A-Sketch toys.
96. Let Them Eat Cake
Gathered from Pinterest, pictured above are some inspirational design ideas for 1980's style cakes.
Ranging from simple colour splatters to multi-tiered MTV designs, there are plenty of creations to choose from. If you are making or ordering a cake for someone special, consider the things that they loved most about the 80's and incorporate those details into their personalised cake.
97. Picture Perfect
Throwing an 80's party for someone special? Pin old 80's photographs of them onto a corkboard and create a fun mural for your guests to enjoy (and most likely laugh at!).
98. Let's Get Physical
Aerobics was an epic err... movement in the 80's (please pardon the pun). Olivia Newton-John's Let's Get Physical comes to mind.
A fun 80's party idea is to hold an aerobics themed party and ask your guests to come dressed in their best leotards and legwarmers!
99. Catching Cooties
Found on Pinterest, the picture above shows the fun idea of folding colourful card stock into the shape of cootie catchers (or origami fortune tellers) to hold sweets or party favors. Cute!
100. Made for the Arcade
Hosting a gaming party and need favor boxes? You're covered with this editable and printable arcade machine favor box.
The black text can be personalised before you print. Get yours here.
101. Record Label
Add some more colour and fun to a backdrop or feature wall at your 80's party with this record bunting, that I am giving away as a free download!
Download your FREE 80's Records Party Bunting
So, are you ready for some more 80's party ideas and FREE printables? I've got you covered. Click on the links below to see more of my 80's party ideas blog posts and get your free party printables!
5 Ideas for the Best 80's Party and FREE Party Printables
10 Best Nostalgic Party Themes for Adults
I hope these ideas and my free party printables help you to celebrate the best 80's party in town!
Happy Partying!