Alright STOP. Collaborate and listen. Have you been to over fifty 80's themed birthday parties? Whatever, they are so 2004.
And the 90's are the new 80's, so this themed birthday idea will make for the most radical, bodacious party ever.
I swear. By the moon and the stars in the sky.
1. Invitations:
Let's be traditionally 90's from the get go. No texting invites. No Facebook invites. They have to be mailed, and they have to be awesome. Something that will take pride place on your friend's fridge. Like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles invitation.
No doubt you can still pick these up in packs from Big W, and they're a bunch I remember clearly from the 90's.
In my family, I was Raphael. I think because I wasn't a party dude, I didn't do machines (that's a fact, Jack), and I was cool, but crude
"Give me a break".
I don't know if you noticed but I just recited the theme song there. I'm not crazy.
I'm pretty sure every kid I knew had themselves allocated a Ninja Turtle. Who were you?
2. This is how we do it:
So it's gotta be dress up. And it can be anything 90's related.
From your favourite character in Blossom or Step by Step, Where's Wally, a New Kid on the Block, a huge Goosebumps book, or a guy with a yo-yo in full hyper colour.
The list is endless. And far funner than fluro.
Personally, I would choose one of my favourite characters from one of my favourite movies. Edward Scissorhands.
It's easy too, because all you need are some grey slacks, a white collared shirt, black suspenders, and of course your scissor hands.
To make these, I'd probably just get some form of glove, cut up a couple of long pieces of polystyrene or foam, and cover them in aluminium foil, then attach to the gloves with a strong glue.
This way, you can pop them on and off when you need to do important things like use a slap band, or the Macarena.
As for the hair, I am a pro at the backcomb, so I would just tease the heck out of it. Then I'd use a very light purple face paint and some powder to get that kind of tone for the face. Voila.
It can, however, be a negative costume because people will be on to me, then I'll always lose scissors, paper, rock.
3. You got the Right stuff. Baby: (what you need)
When people walk into your party, you want for them to feel as if they've just stepped into a time warp. How about blowing up some Magic Eye images and pinning them around the room.
Set up your VCR and have only the best of 90's TV. Like Saved by the Bell, The Wonder Years, 90210,
Growing Pains, and Family Matters.
You might even like to set up a special corner dedicated to your one true love, with all things
Kevin Arnold.
Purchase a few
slap bands, and give them to guests as they arrive.
Have a full table set up with all your favourite 90's treats. Push Pops and Wizz Fizz oughta get everyone at the right level of crazy.
If you are really terrible, you could hire someone for the night to sing the
Neverending Song from 'Lambchop's Sing-Along', who isn't allowed to stop until the party does.
Set up a gaming corner with my ultimate favourite - the Sega Mega Drive. Guests can play Sonic for the entire evening if they wish.
Or, set up 2 connected Gameboy's so friends and family can verse each other in Mortal Combat.
Out in the yard, set up a designated marbles area. At the end of the night, the person with the most marbles walks away with their very own copy of the Joey Lawrence CD single "
Nothing My Love Can't Fix". Woah.
And lastly, can you remember the BEST kids TV show in the 90's? I know there were a few: Roger Ramjet, Bananaman, Rugrats, Mighty Mouse,
Vidiot.
But there was one every kid loved, and every kid wanted to be a part of. And that show was 'A*MAZING'.
Hide a few keys with numbers around the house before the party. Each number should have a dedicated prize for the lucky finder.
4. Turn the beat around:
The beats are most important. You want that boombox to be pumping out the best of 90's jams all night long.
That's right - boombox. So you're going to want to head to your local Good Sammy store where you'll find a variety of the best cassettes from the 90's for super cheap.
Some favourites of mine are: The Aladdin and Clueless soundtracks, Ace of Base, Boyz II Men, Mariah in her Dreamlover days, TLC, Bryan Adams, Salt-N-Pepa, Sophie B Hawkins, and B*Witched.
A big thing in the 90's was songs that came complete with dance moves. Such as the
Macarena,
5,6,7,8, and
Everybody Get Up by Five.
You'll want to play these songs later in the night after everyone has had a few drinks. You can do them all together and let all the memories come flooding back.
I'm sure everyone has a lot of memories from the 90's. Be it watching re-runs of
Full House, saying
"Not" at the end of every sentence, or that space ship that used to sit on Leach Highway, be sure to add your own memories and personal touches. It will be so much more meaningful.
There's nothing like an evening that feels like you are partying 18 years in the past. Not.
Just kidding. Of course there's nothing like it.
