If you love everything retro, consider throwing a '50s theme party for your next birthday. Fifties parties capture a golden era in American history. The sounds, food and styles of the decade can make for a festive occasion where everyone can cut loose.
Invitations
Check your attic or head to a thrift shop and track down some old 45-rpm records. Measure the label in the middle of the record. Cut a piece of paper the size of the circle and write your invitation on it. Write something fun and corny such as, "Put on your blue suede shoes and join us at the hop!" Tell your guests to dress in '50s attire. Glue the circles over the record label and send the records to guests.
Decorations
Hang pink and blue crepe paper from the walls and ceilings. Get some 33-rpm albums and tack them to the wall through the center hole.
Hang some posters of '50s movie and music icons such as James Dean, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. Posters featuring the movie "Grease" also will look great. Get some cardboard cutouts of vintage cars from the '50s and hang those on the wall as well.
An old jukebox, if you can rent one or find a cardboard cutout of one, will be the jewel of your decorations.
Food
Think of items that could be ordered in a typical '50s American diner or that a mother would serve to guests in the home.
Serve Ritz crackers with Velveeta cheese and pigs in a blanket for appetizers. French fries and cheeseburgers are perfect for dinner; if you have any vegetarian friends you can sneak in some veggie burgers.
For beverages, serve Coca-Cola, root beer floats or milk shakes.
Make a cake in the shape of a record. Just bake a regular round layer cake and get the darkest chocolate frosting you can find. Leave a circle in the center for the record label, to be frosted in white. You can write the happy birthday message on the label.
Activities
Have old-fashioned toys for kids such as hula hoops, yo-yos and jacks. You also can turn the games into contests.
Have a sock hop to popular '50s music. Purchase rock 'n' roll or doo-wop music collections for the occasion.
Have a guessing game based on '50s slang. Write down some slang terms on index cards, then read them to the crowd and see who can guess what they meant.
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