How to Have the Best 2000s Party Theme
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It’s crazy to think we already have 2000s party themes. I am one of those millennials who thinks the 90s were 20 years ago and the 2000s were 10 years ago.
Despite my lack of aging awareness, a 2000s party theme sounds so fun.
I’ve created an incredible list of 2000s nostalgia to get your creativity flowing for your best 2000s theme party. You will find food to serve, songs to play, decor from the day, throwback outfits, and more.
BRB, we’ve got a 2000s party theme to plan!
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2000s Party Theme Invitations
Make sure to check out Etsy for your 2000s party theme invitations. There are so many great options.
Here are my favorites, just click on the image and you’ll be brought to the Etsy page to purchase them:
2000s Party Theme Decor
Since this is a decade party, decorations are a must. There are many avenues to explore here since we have a decade of various cultures, but I’ll stick to the main ones that I remember.
2000s Party Room Decor
First off, a beaded door curtain is the perfect way to welcome your guests to the party. Growing up, I had a plastic pink beaded one that I loved.
I know plastic blow up furniture was also popular in the late 90s but the trend continued into the early 00s.
If you are skilled in graphic design, you can replicate some AOL Instant Messenger (we all called it AIM, of course) or MSN Messenger chats (or away messages!) and print them as posters.
Similarly, you can create a MySpace Top 8 of some of the party guests to really feel the pressure we had back in the day to rate our friends publicly. If you want to play it safer, print out the infamous photo of MySpace Tom.
Making a wall of CDs would also be really fun & a super cheap way to decorate a big space. Simply get a pack of blank CDs and tape them to the wall.
Cheap Tabletop Decor Ideas
An easy 2000s party theme decor idea is to use DVD cases and CD cases of popular media throughout the decade. Place some of each on all the surfaces in the room for conversation starters. I’ve included popular media in a section below if you need some ideas.
Another great tabletop decor idea is to pull out any old cell phones you may have. If you don’t have any saved up, you can find all kinds of Y2K phones on eBay. To get your mind going: Motorola Razr, Nokia, LG enV, BlackBerry.
If you were into video games, some of the big ones of the 2000s were The Sims, Halo, Mario Kart Wii, and even Neopets, to name just a few. Search for some posters, figurines, or even pull out your own games from storage!
2000s Party Color/Pattern Trends
Some popular color trends in the 2000s were pink & brown (or black) and turquoise & brown (or black).
Animal prints were also popular in this decade, especially cheetah print and zebra print.
There are so many ways you can decorate for a 2000s theme party. My biggest tip is to think back to your own memories – what sticks out? Try to bring that back to the party decor!
2000s Party Theme Food
As a millennial, I was in 5th-12th grade during the 2000s. That said, what was served at school sticks out to me as popular 2000s party theme food.
School Cafeteria Square Pizza
Starting off strong with a favorite party food, but with a 2000s twist, is the square pizza that the school served for lunch. Brownie Bites has a wonderful recipe to replicate this nostalgic square pizza.
Cheeseburger Sliders
A popular food trend in the 2000s were cheeseburger sliders. For some reason, mini burgers were all the rage that decade. What’s Gaby Cooking has the perfect cheeseburger slider recipe to serve your party guests.
Bacon Everything
Bacon really had it’s moment in the 2000s so we don’t want to leave that out!
For those who would like to offer a fine dining experience, serve these bacon wrapped scallops by What a Girl Eats.
If your party guest aren’t into seafood, you could still make some fancy bacon potato roses by Good Grief Cook.
If you want to keep the food simple but still please the crowd, check out these delicious cream cheese bacon and ranch pinwheels by Loving Living Lancaster.
Speaking of bacon, low carb and high fat diets were popular during the 2000s. I’m talking about the South Beach Diet and the Atkins Diet.
Low Carb Diet
You can’t go wrong serving cheese at a party and these oven baked cheese crisps by Ditching Carbs is a must for your 2000s party.
These caprese zucchini cups by Like Hot Keto are also a great 2000s party theme food. Not to mention, they look gorgeous!
2000s Party Theme Desserts & Snacks
Gourmet Cupcakes
The 2000s saw a huge rise in popularity for the cupcake. Not just any old cupcake baked at home from a cake mix, but rather gourmet cupcakes.
For a unique cupcake flavor, try these fruity rose lychee raspberry cupcakes from Sift and Simmer.
For fans of chocolate, but make it gourmet, these homemade chocolate cupcakes with caramel candy frosting by Two Kids and a Coupon are perfect.
This next one is for all the espresso fans (like me!): espresso cupcakes with mocha coffee frosting by Baking Me Hungry.
Ice Cream with Wooden Spoons
Bringing it back to school, if you were a student during the 2000s you can probably still taste the spoon in the ice cream cups served at lunch.
To bring back the nostalgia, serve ice cream in small dessert cups to your party guests with a wooden spoon.
If you really want to bring it back old school, find a chocolate ribbon fudge ice cream or an orange & vanilla ice cream to serve.
Giant Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
Lastly, we cannot forget about the giant chocolate chip cookies that were available at lunch. I distinctly remember getting a giant cookie and a bag of Doritos for lunch in middle school and calling it good. Things have certainly changed!
Popular Snacks of the 2000s
2000s Party Songs
Here are some popular songs from the decade, broken down by genre. Some of these songs I can’t believe I even listened to innocently! If I threw a 2000s party, I’d have to severely limit the playlist 🙂
What would you add to these lists? Let me know in the comments. There were so many to choose!
Popular 2000s Hip Hop & Rap Songs
- DJ Felli Fel – Get Buck in Here
- 112 – Peaches & Cream
- Chingy – Right Thurr
- Lil Wayne – A Milli
- Unk – Walk it Out
- Kayne – Gold Digger
- Missy Elliot – Work It
- Eminem – Lose Yourself
- 50 Cent – Candy Shop
- J-Kwon – Tipsy
- Petey Pablo – Freak a Leak
- Lil Jon & E-40 – Snap Yo Fingers
- Ludacris – Rollout
- Jay-Z – Big Pimpin
- T.I. – Whatever You Like
- Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz – Get Low
- Akon – Smack That
- Keri Hilson – Knock You Down
- Ciara – Goodies
- Alicia Keys – My Boo
Popular 2000s Pop Songs
- Fountains of Wayne – Stacy’s Mom
- The Fray – How to Save a Life
- M.I.A. – Paper Planes
- Black Eyed Peas – Where is the Love
- Avril Lavigne – Complicated
- Pink – So What
- Coldplay – Clocks
- Maroon 5 – This Love
- Kelis – Milkshake
- Fall Out Boy – Sugar, We’re Goin Down
- Britney Spears – Piece of Me
- Rihanna – Umbrella
- Lady Gaga – Bad Romance
- Beyonce – Crazy in Love
- Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc.
- Paramore – Misery Business
- Lifehouse – Hanging By a Moment
- Jason Derulo – Whatcha Say
- Christina Aguilera – Beautiful
- Daniel Powter – Bad Day
Popular 2000s Rock Songs
- 3 Doors Down – Kryptonite
- Fuel – Hemorrhage
- Staind – So Far Away
- Papa Roach – Last Resort
- Muse – Supermassive Black Hole
- Puddle of Mudd – Blurry
- Shinedown – Heroes
- Three Days Grace – Animal I Have Become
- Finger Eleven – Paralyzer
- Nickelback – Someday
- Breaking Benjamin – The Diary of Jane
- Linkin Park – In the End
- Foo Fighters – The Pretender
- My Chemical Romance – Welcome to the Black Parade
- Flyleaf – All Around Me
- Limp Bizkit – Rollin
- Taking Back Sunday – MakeDamnSure
- Creed – My Sacrifice
- Seether – Fake It
- Korn – Coming Undone
Popular 2000s Indie Songs
- Franz Ferdinand – Take Me Out
- Feist – 1234
- Death Cab for Cutie – We Looked Like Giants
- The Strokes – You Only Live Once
- Interpol – Obstacle 1
- The Postal Service – Such Great Heights
- Modest Mouse – Float On
- Arctic Monkeys – 505
- The Decemberists – The Mariner’s Revenge Song
- Wilco – Heavy Metal Drummer
- The Killers – Mr. Brightside
- The Avalanches – Frontier Psychiatrist
- The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
- Arcade Fire – No Cars Go
- MGMT – Kids
- The Shins – New Slang
- Regina Spektor – Samson
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Gold Lion
- Plain White T’s – Hey There Delilah
- Daft Punk – Around the World
Popular 2000s Country Songs
- Carrie Underwood – Jesus Take the Wheel
- Kenny Chesney – Summertime
- Toby Keith – Beer for My Horses
- Billy Currington – Must Be Doing Somethin’ Right
- Jason Aldean – Why?
- Dierks Bentley – What Was I Thinkin’
- Joe Nichols – Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off
- Toby Keith – I Love This Bar
- Tim McGraw – Real Good Man
- Trace Adkins – Honky Tonk Badonkadonk
- Brooks & Dunn – Play Something Country
- Gretchen Wilson – Redneck Woman
- Zac Brown Band – Chicken Fried
- Sara Evans – Suds in the Bucket
- Brad Paisley – Celebrity
- Rascall Flats – These Days
- Tracy Byrd – Ten Rounds with Jose Cuervo
- Faith Hill – Cry
- Diamond Trio – Beautiful Mess
2000s Party Outfit Ideas
It’s time to rummage through your closets, hit up the thrift store, or find some look-alikes on Amazon! These 2000s party outfits are sure to be a hit!
Popular Clothing Brands From the 2000s
- Ed Hardy
- Dooney and Bourke
- Guess
- Juicy Couture
- Baby Phat
- True Religion
- Adidas
- Abercrombie & Fitch
- American Eagle
- Hollister
- 7 Jeans
- Victoria’s Secret Pink
- Von Dutch
- Coach
Popular Clothing Trends of the 2000s
- Oversize sunglasses
- Rimless gradient sunglasses (especially if they had some rhinestones)
- Diamonds/crystals/rhinestones/glitter in general
- Layered tank tops
- Layered popped polos
- Puka shell necklaces
- Band tees over a long sleeve shirt
- Dresses over flare jeans
- Platform flip flops
- Low rise jeans
- Mini skirts
- Graphic baby tees
- Tube tops
- Flip flops
- Gaucho pants
- Bandanas/bandana shirts
- Gladiator sandals
- Studded belts
- Fringe belts
- Bottle cap belts (make your own by gluing bottle caps onto a cheap wide belt!)
- Statement necklaces
Popular Phones We Either Had or Wanted Back in the Day
If you held onto your phone from the 2000s, now is the time to bring it out of storage. Alternatively, you can find many 2000s phones on eBay. Here’s what to look for:
- Nokia “brick” phones
- Motorola RAZR
- BlackBerry 7230
- Sony Ericson w810i
- Sidekick 3
- LG Chocolate
- any flip phone!
2000s Hair and Makeup Trends
- “Scene” trend – side “swoop” bangs, heavy black eyeliner, and bright pink or turquoise eyeshadow
- Bump-Its
- Clip-in hair extensions
- Concealer lips
- Tightline black eyeliner
- Fashion hair color
- Spiky hair (guys combed the top of their hair up straight)
- Frosted hair tips
- Chunky highlights (get some single weft clip ins & layer them into your hair)
- “Bieber” hair
Popular 2000s Movies and TV Shows
If you’re having a movie night (or binging a TV series) you’ll for sure want to watch one of these Y2K classics. Or, you may want to place some DVDs out for decoration around the room or on the table.
If you have any of these popular 2000s tv shows and movies I’d say go for it! Easy and cheap party decor.
- Mean Girls
- House Bunny
- The Notebook
- Bring it On
- Coyote Ugly
- Cast Away
- Seventeen Again
- The Patriot
- Miss Congeniality
- Dude Where’s My Car
- Scary Movie
- The Hot Chick
- Sweet Home Alabama
- Mr. Deeds
- White Chicks
- Step Up
- The Pursuit of Happiness
- She’s The Man
- Slumdog Millionaire
- Still Standing
- What I Like About You
- 8 Simple Rules
- Monk
- Bones
- How I Met Your Mother
- That’s So Raven
- Lizzie McGuire
- Degrassi The Next Generation
- Clarissa Explains it All
- Full House
- Step-by-Step
- MTV Cribs, Pimp My Ride, etc.
- Tons of DCOMs
2000s Party Games
In the 2000s party theme decor section of this post, I mentioned printing a MySpace Top 8 poster. You could make this interactive and print out photos of the guests & have people rank themselves throughout the night.
Or if you want it to be less brutal than the 2000s, you could use it as a way to keep a scoreboard of how other party games are going.
Save This List for the Best 2000s Party Theme
What did I miss? Leave a comment below to let us know how your 2000s party theme went!
If you have a 2000s party theme coming up, make sure to save this post to your party board on Pinterest. Alternatively, use any of the social sharing icons at the top of the page to save it to your favorite social media site.
