Full Guide on Throwing the Most Rad 80s Party
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My husband is a child of the 80s and since he is turning 40 this year, I need to start planning the best 80s party.
I’ve put together the ultimate 80s party guide – everything you need is here in this post. You will find 80s party decor, including sub-themes, 80s party food, 80s party songs, 80s party games, and 80s party fashion!
So grab your Aquanet, we’ve got a 80s party to plan!
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80s Party Theme Food
80s Mall Food Court Inspired Recipes
If you were relatively young in the 80s, you likely found yourself at the mall. Therefore, I think we should start off this 80s party food list with some mall-inspired recipes.
The Country Cook has an amazing copycat Orange Julius smoothie that will be perfect to serve your party guests. You can serve them in little paper cups too just like the taste test cups.
Real quick, while on the subject of cups, remember that bottled water was pretty rare/luxurious in the 80s. If you really want to bring it back to the 80s, make sure to serve water in cups!
Panda Express opened in the early 80s and this Panda Express orange chicken copycat recipe by Cuisine and Travel is sure to be a favorite among the party guests.
Moving a bit later into the 80s, another great mall dish to serve at a party is Sarku Japan chicken teriyaki. This highly rated copycat recipe by Alena’s Home Cooking is perfect.
We absolutely cannot forget a mall pretzel. This soft pretzel recipe by Modern Honey is the perfect pretzel to bring you right back to the 80s.
Popular 80s Dinner Party Recipes
Much of the 80s consisted of homemade meals for many households. If you are having a dinner party, any of these meals would be a fantastic option.
First up, we have the classic meat, starch, and veggie plate. Many households served some sort of meat, potatoes or pasta, and a side salad or veggies. Dinner rolls and cornbread were also common, too.
Another common dish in the 80s was pork chops, served with applesauce as a bonus. This oven baked pork chop recipe by Carmy is an easy dinner party dish – it tells you how to make your “side of starch,” too!
Chicken alfredo was a popular dish as well and it would be easy to whip up a large dish of pasta for an 80s party. The Slow Roasted Italian has an amazing chicken alfredo fettuccine recipe you need to check out!
Now, we cannot forget a classic meatloaf when we think of the 80s! The Cookin’ Chicks have the best meatloaf recipe, just the way mom made it.
I’m not sure what decade started sloppy joes, but they were definitely popular in the 80s. This old fashioned sloppy joes recipe by Quiche My Grits is sure to hit the spot at an 80s party.
If your guests love seafood, this blackened red snapper recipe by Ask Chef Dennis is perfect. Blacked fish was a popular meal in the 80s, in case you didn’t know.
Lastly, we have a very popular dish, beef stroganoff. To make the most delicious beef stroganoff for your 80s dinner party, make sure to follow The Forked Spoon’s easy beef stroganoff recipe.
80s Party Theme Desserts & Snacks
Sticking to the mall theme real quick, imagine serving your party guests these amazing cinnamon rolls, another recipe by The Cookin’ Chicks.
Do you remember the baked Alaska dessert trend? You can make a baked Alaska at home with this easy to follow recipe by Spend With Pennies.
Popular Snacks of the 80s
80s Party Songs
Here are some popular songs from the decade, broken down by genre.
What would you add to these lists? Let me know in the comments. There were so many to choose!
Popular 80s Hair Metal Songs
- Guns N’ Roses – Sweet Child O’ Mine
- KISS – Rock And Roll All Nite
- Twisted Sister – We’re Not Gonna Take It
- Warrant – Cherry Pie
- Def Leppard – Pour Some Sugar on Me
- Quiet Riot – Cum on Feel the Noize
- Scorpions – Rock You Like a Hurricane
- Ratt – Round and Round
- Van Halen – Panama
- Guns N’ Roses – Welcome to The Jungle
- Motley Crue – Girls, Girls, Girls
- Poison – Unskinny Pop
- Twisted Sister – I Wanna Rock
- Quiet Riot – Bang Your Head
- Skid Row – 18 and Life
- Van Halen – Jump
- Aerosmith – Rag Doll
- Motley Crue – Smokin’ in The Boys Room
- Slaughter – Up All Night
- Winger – Easy Come Easy Go
Popular 80s Dance/Pop Songs
- Cindy Lauper – Girls Just Want to Have Fun
- Soft Cell – Tainted Love
- Queen – Radio Ga Ga
- Michael Sembello – Maniac
- Bruce Springsteen – Dancing in The Dark
- Duran Duran – Hungry Like The Wolf
- Diana Ross – I’m Coming Out
- Fleetwood Mac – Everywhere
- Rick Springfield – Jessie’s Girl
- The Outfield – Your Love
- The Knack – My Sharona
- David Bowie – Let’s Dance
- Electric Light Orchestra – Mr. Blue Sky
- Prince – Kiss
- DEVO – Whip It
- Men Without Hats – The Safety Dance
- Billy Idol -Mony Mony
- Pat Benatar – Love is a Battlefield
- Michael Jackson – Beat It
- Madonna – Material Girl
Popular 80s Ballad Songs
- The Police – Every Breath You Take
- George Michael – Careless Whisper
- Berlin – Take My Breath Away
- Bonnie Tyler – Total Eclipse of the Heart
- Kate Bush – Running up That Hill
- Whitney Houston – Greatest Love of All
- REO Speedwagon – Can’t Fight This Feeling
- Eric Carmen – Hungry Eyes
- Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes – I’ve Had the Time of My Life
- Prince – Purple Rain
- Guns N’ Roses – November Rain
- Foreigner – I Want to Know What Love Is
- Stevie Wonder – I Just Called to Say I Love You
- Michael Bolton – How Am I Supposed to Live Without You
- Lionel Richie – All Night Long
- Tina Turner – What’s Love Got to Do With It
- Bryan Adams – Heaven
- Alannah Myles – Black Velvet
- Cindy Lauper – Time After Time
- Bangles – Eternal Flame
Popular 80s Hip Hop & Punk Songs
- Run D.M.C. – Tricky
- Salt-N-Pepa – Push It
- Public Enemy – Bring the Noise
- The Sugarhill Gang – Rapper’s Delight
- Beastie Boys – Brass Monkey
- Tone-Loc – Wild Thing
- Young MC – Bust a Move
- Run D.M.C. – My Adidas
- Newcleus – Jam on It
- LL Cool J – Rock the Bells
- Dead Kennedys – I Fought the Law
- Violent Femmes – Promise
- The Clash – Should I Stay or Should I Go
- The Ramones – Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio
- Black Flag – Rise Above
- The Cramps – Goo Goo Muck
- Social Distortion – Mommy’s Little Monster
- Fugazi – Waiting Room
- Rich Kids on LSD – Senseless Violence
- Suicidal Tendencies – Institutionalized
Popular 80s Country Songs
- Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – Fishin’ in The Dark
- Dolly Parton – Islands in The Stream
- Randy Travis – Forever and Ever, Amen
- George Strait – All My Ex’s Live in Texas
- Waylon Jennings – Good Ol’ Boys
- Alabama – Love in the First Degree
- Hank Williams Jr. – Texas Women
- Dolly Parton – 9 to 5
- Eddie Rabbit – The Best Year of My Life
- B.J. Thomas – Whatever Happened to Old Fashioned Love
- Sheena Easton – Almost Over You
- The Judds – Why Not Me
- T.G. Sheppard – Slow Burn
- James Taylor – Everyday
- Kenny Rogers – Morning Desire
- Billy Vera – At This Moment
- Reba McEntire – What Am I Gonna Do About You
- Tanya Tucker – Strong Enough to Bend
- Shenandoa – Two Dozen Roses
80s Party Outfit Ideas
The fashion was fun in the 80s. Encourage your guests to wear their best 80s attire, grab a camera, some props, and create a glamour photo shoot for your party!
It’s time to rummage through your closets, hit up the thrift store, or find some look-alikes on Amazon! These 80s party outfits are sure to be a hit!
Popular Clothing Brands From the 80s
- Reebok
- Converse/Chucks
- Adidas
- Polo Ralph Lauren
- Izod
- Levi
- Wrangler
- Gianni Versace
- Jordache
- Member’s Only
Popular Clothing Trends & Accessories of the 80s
- Belts (both thin and wide belts were popular)
- Shoulder pads
- Leotards for activewear
- Bright headbands for activewear
- Big statement necklaces
- Leg warmers
- Tube socks
- Short shorts for the men
- Fishnet tights
- Men’s sport jacket
- Tracksuits
- Acid washed denim
- Leather jackets
- Cut off denim jackets
- Denim on denim
- Safety pins and patches on jackets
- High waisted loose pants/jeans
- Bright pastel colors
- Crushed velvet
- Corsets
- Kitten heels
- Laced or fingerless gloves
- Muscle tanks for men
- Western clothing
- Power Suits
- Tortoise shell plastic sunglasses
- Pack of cigarettes in a pocket (get fake ones please!)
80s Hair and Makeup Trends
- Frosted lipstick, typically light pink
- Blue eyeliner
- Heavy mascara
- Pink or red blush
- Big curly hair
- Crimped hair
- Scrunchies
- Using half a can of Aquanet on your hair (just kidding, but seriously, set that big hair with hairspray)
- Punk/gothic makeup
- Red or black nail polish
80s Party Decor
Since this is a decade party, decorations are a must. If you have anything in your storage closet from the 80s, now is the time to bring it out! Here I’ve included some niche 80 party theme decor ideas.
80s Arcade Party Theme
80s Neon Party Theme
80s Bowling Alley Party Theme
80s Rollerblading Party Theme
80s Hair Metal Party Theme
80s Party Games
With the popularity of Stranger Things, we’ve seen just how big Dungeons and Dragons was in the 80s. If you have this popular game already, it is time to bring it out! If not, you may want to buy this fun game for the party!
Popular board games in the 80s included Clue, Trouble, Monopoly (although you’d have to look hard for the older style with the original character pieces), Battleship, Stratego, and Mouse Trap.
If you were a child in the 80s, you likely remember some of these fun recess games:
- Tetherball
- Four Square
- Red Rover
- Wall Ball
- Tag
- Chinese Jump Rope
- Red Light Green Light
- Kick the Can
If your party guests are more of the active kind, playing some of these games would be a fun way to feel like a kid again!
Save This List for the Best 80s Party Theme
What did I miss? Leave a comment below to let us know how your 80s party theme went!
If you have a 80s 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.
