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Thursday, March 28, 2024

No matter how old we get, there is something behind dressing up for a party that never gets old. Halloween is not the only excuse to put on a costume for a party. Throwing a themed event is a simple way to get your guests into a certain mood without putting too much thought or effort into the rest of the party. Costumes immediately help guests start talking because chatter about where certain costumes or clothing materials were purchased begin as well as compliments and competition on who has dressed to the theme the best.

Use a holiday

Holidays are built in themes. If you want to have a party for an occasion such as the Fourth of July or Cinco de Mayo tell your guests to dress accordingly. Ditch the usual jeans and a top and tell your guests the attire is according to the holiday. The ugly sweater themed party is always a favorite for a Christmas themed party. You can have your guests take awkward friend photos in lieu of the awkward family mantle photos. Awarding a prize is an easy incentive to ensure your guests get into the theme. America is a theme that works for a majority of holidays from Memorial Day to Veterans Day to the Fourth of July. This includes reds, whites and blues as well as cowboy boots and jorts. Even birthdays can have themes. Choose your favorite topic and ask your guests to come dressed in that attire. If you like sports, ask everyone to wear a jersey. If your favorite color is red tell everyone to incorporate red into their outfit somewhere.

Use a letter

To get more creative and not have all your guests matching too much, an easy theme for a party is choosing a letter and telling your guests to come as something that starts with that letter. This idea makes people put some thought into what or who they will show up as. This can become a fun guessing game among guests in figuring out what people chose to be. I have been to a letter P themed party. Guests arrived dressed as Paris Hilton, pirates, princesses, police, purple, pink, paramedics, Powder Puff Girls and professional. This attire allows creativity and different costumes from different guests.

Use a funny line

Putting two concepts that have nothing in common is a route to consider for a party theme. For example, loggers and joggers, the two have nothing in common, but it is hilarious to see guests in lumberjack wear or running gear. To be more cohesive, choose a line that has an overall them, but allows individuality to show. Ideas like “buy you a drink” where guests dress up as their favorite drink or brand or “what’s on your Ipod” where guests can choose to go as their favorite artist or song title are fun titles to your party. You can have everyone bring the recipe for their cocktail of choice to share or play the song they are dressed up as.

Where to find outfits

The best places to shop for costumes include thrift shops, Walmart and Goodwill. This way you will be able to get as decked out as possible for little damage to your wallet. Accessories add last touches that make a costume and party stores like Party City, the dollar store or Walmart carry them year round for reasonable prices. You will also be able to find matching decorations for the venue and purchase snacks and foods to accompany the theme.

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