I Love a Themed Party!

I love Halloween and dressing up in costume. I’ve really gone all-out on some of these. Spending literally hours and days making costumes. I think it’s in my nature to want to win and somehow, I think I can win Halloween. The year before the pandemic, 3 of my friends and I dressed up as Skeksis from the dark Crystal. I can’t tell you how much work went into those costumes, and they were super uncomfortable to wear because they were huge and hot. We now fondly refer to that as the year we won Halloween, because the venue didn’t have a group costume prize, but they actually created one just for us because they loved our costumes so much! Winning!

So, what do you do when your party is nowhere near Halloween? You dress up anyway! This is one of the reasons that I love a themed party. It’s an excuse to dress up! I don’t make it a requirement for my guests to dress up. I let the invitation say something like “If you’re inspired…” I don’t want people to opt out of my party just because costumes aren’t their thing, and I get a sprinkle of people that don’t dress in costumes, but there are a lot of people who are costume lovers, and I’m friends with them. And if I’m not, I would like to make friends with them. The last 3 years I’ve had birthday parties that are themed after the very few DVDs that I still own (I’ll share those at the bottom of this page), so that I can play the movie on my projector in the background. Voila – part of the party space is already decorated with a movie. I leave the sound off, so we can listen to music instead, but I attach a “Y cord” with headsets to the headset output on the projector. Then, if a couple of people wanted to hear it, they could. If leaving subtitles on is an option, I also do that.

A theme also guides my choice in music. I always make a playlist for my party. You could make it on your phone, or use Spotify, or another music service, but a great playlist will really add to the atmosphere of your party and it allows you to leave your phone on continuous play so you can pay attention to your guests. I probably invest far too much time in this activity, but it’s fun for me. I really enjoy curating a list of songs that go along with my them. I’ll choose a lot of songs from the movies that inspire my theme, but not all of them. It is a party, after all. We are trying to be up tempo and happy. If the movie music is depressing, skip those songs, and chose the happy, dancy ones.  Then, I’ll also find songs that:

·       have the same feeling as the movie

·       are from bands that they mention in the movie

·       songs from bands/musicians that have contributed to the movie soundtrack

·       songs about my theme

On my related pages, at the bottom, I’ll share some portions of my playlists so you can get some ideas if you’re thinking of using one of these themes.

Obviously, the movie inspires the décor as well, but I feel that this is an obvious one. I try not to spend tooooo much money on buying new things. I like to make my own décor when I can, to save some money, but that’s not always an option. This was my inspiration for Socials by Cindy Inc. décor rentals. If I’d had the option of a simple rental experience for a reasonable rate, I would have rented long ago. Another reason for renting, rather than buying your own this is, where do you store all this stuff? All the décor that makes an event really come together takes a lot of space. Obviously, I am biased, but renting is good option. For those of you that are not in the Hamilton, Ontario area, I’ll share some of my ideas here for some budget work arounds on my blog and socials. So, come back often for more.

I also choose food that suits the theme of the party, and a signature drink. I usually make my parties BYO (bring your own) drinks because they’re at my house. If you’re having a party at a rental venue, this is obviously not an option, but I always offer 1 signature drink as a way of saying thanks for coming. Also, if people are going to be with you for 3 hours or more, you should have a food option available that’s more than just chips. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. You could order pizzas. But sometimes I feel inspired to make food choices based around my party theme. For a rustic feel, maybe chili. Fancy might be sushi or tea sandwiches. You get the idea. You can get as elaborate as you want.

A photo opportunity is imperative. People don’t get all costumed up so that no one can take a picture of them. They want pictures! I like to have a backdrop prepared, in an obvious spot, to allow people to take pictures, and if you’re thinking of it, hang a sign with your unique hashtag so that people can share their photos with each other on socials.

Finally, I like to incorporate a game or activity into every party. Some people are happy to stand around and talk, or dance, but a lot of people can feel awkward at parties or at least take some time to warm up. If you always have the same people at your gatherings, they’ll get to know each other, but new people sometimes need a little encouragement to make friends. In these cases, giving people an excuse to talk to, or interact with each other, is a big help. Casual trivia is one of my favourites. Read “Big Lebowski Party” below for more on this one.

I love to have an idea and make it really come to life. I start planning at least 4 to 6 weeks in advance, so that I can be inspired by new ideas over time. Sometimes these things gain their own momentum too! I usually send my invitation out 3 to 4 weeks in advance if costumes are involved, to give my guests time to put something together. Then, I send a reminder out about a week before the party.

So, try a theme party with your next get together. You don’t have to have costumes, of course, if that’s not your thing. You will be surprised though, at how easily the party comes together when you have a theme to help guide your choices.

Happy party planning! party planning!