80’s Flashback Birthday Party
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Happy Birthday to me!
Yesterday was my birthday. I turned 37. What?! I realized the other day that I have spent more years on my own than I have living with my parents. That realization made me feel suddenly very old. That, and the fact that I am going to be 40 in just a few short years. That’s middle-aged! I don’t know where the years are going; I still think of myself as a 20-something year old. The thought of turning 40 scares me.
The thought of turning 30 scared me, too. It was just a couple years ago, or so it seems. I was having a lot of anxiety about being in my 30’s so Jeff decided we should have a birthday party to help ease the transition. What an awesome husband, to throw me a party! I didn’t want to interject, I really didn’t. But when he told me his plans for the party, I knew I had to help the poor guy out. His idea of a party was to invite some friends over, throw a few boxes of pizza on top of bare tables and call it a night. That was no fun way to turn 30, so I told him we should have an 80’s themed party, since I was born in 1981! He wasn’t too keen on a theme and he didn’t think anyone else would be either. Oh ye of little faith, I told him. Of course people would love an 80’s party! How could anyone not love the 80’s??
I quickly got to work with some fun party ideas. This was right before the time that Pinterest became a big thing, so these ideas were all my own; proof that I do have creativity running through my veins! The first thing I knew that we needed for a really good party was a picture back drop. I could’ve gotten some from a party store, but it was much more fun (and budget friendly!) to make my own. I bought a couple of black, plastic tablecloths at The Dollar Tree. Then, I bought some neon paints. What’s an 80’s party without bright, neon colors? I laid out the tablecloths, dipped a paintbrush in the paint, and shook the brush out on the tablecloth, creating a splattered effect. Totally easy and totally 80’s!
All of the guests-at least, all of the fun guests-came in their 80’s attire. We had Axel Rose (my dad) and Slash (Jeff) in attendance. My mother-in-law surprised me with her fun costume; she looked like a Cabbage Patch. I ended up making my own outfit. I bought an awesome rocker wig and my grandma’s earrings were the PERFECT touch!! It was fun seeing everyone get into the 80’s spirit!
Oh yeah, it was my twin brother’s birthday, too. How could I forget to mention him? He was living in Florida at the time, but flew out just so we could celebrate this momentous occasion together. He’s not one for dress up, but he wore a Voltron shirt, so that kind of counts, right?
Every good party in the 80’s had pizza, am I right? Jeff still got to keep his one idea. It was easy and always a crowd favorite. I added a little more to the food table…chips, fruit, veggies. I also found these awesome 80’s posters that I used for decoration above the food. The 80’s have some of the best classic movies!
I was especially proud of my 80’s garland that I made and hung. I had this idea to take old tapes, spray paint them neon colors, and take the tape out to use kind of like streamers. I got really lucky when, just a few weeks before the party, I went to a church rummage sale and found a whole box of tapes that someone was getting rid of! I was able to put my vision to life and I love how it turned out!
I’m a little bummed that I didn’t get a good picture of the table centerpieces. Who knew [back then] that I would one day be blogging about this and need the pictures? I basically took a foam block, spray painted it neon, and glued a wire to a neon-painted tape, sticking the wire into the block so that the tape popped up on top. I also took neon pipe cleaners and curled them around a pencil, then stuck them into the block alongside the tape. This is the best picture I could find (you can see it above on the food table as well).
A friend of mine is a cake designer and she made us this awesome cake and cupcakes. It was the perfect touch!
Jeff found a fun 80’s trivia game that we played that night. I know we played a couple of 80’s games, but my mind is kind of fuzzy on what the others were. As you can see, it turned out to be a fun and memorable evening! I can’t think of a more fun way for me to have entered my 30’s. With my 40’s fast approaching, I’m going to have to think of some other awesome party to throw myself. I mean, for Jeff to throw for me.
Speaking of Jeff, his birthday is this week, too. Our birthdays are only 4 days apart! I will share with you what I did for his 40th birthday a couple of years ago; another fun birthday theme idea!
What are your favorite birthday themes? I wanna hear!
Do you like these ideas? Pin it to your Pinterest board!
