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Sarah-Marie Smith

How to Plan a 90s Party || Food, Games and Decor Ideas

My husband Jason is a big kid. I think all men are, in a way, but Jason is the kind of guy who just kept his fascination from his younger days. You know how toddlers look at the world with curiosity and wonder, and always find something great wherever they go? That’s Jason. He loves toys and video games, and probably most importantly, he is very very nostalgic. The 90s are his “thing.” He loves the music and TV from that era, the colors and overall craziness, and since it represents his childhood, he just loves it. So, naturally, for his 30th birthday this past week I threw him a 90s birthday party.

I ordered this invitation on Etsy from http://www.etsy.com/people/greenbeansie


Whew! A TON of planning went into it. There aren’t a ton of 90s parties going on yet because, well, it wasn’t that long ago, but I found ideas on Pinterest, I Googled every 90s thing I could think of, and I ransacked all the stores I could think of. In case you think you ever want to do this, I’m going to make it easier for you and include my planning list here for you.

Here’s what my Decor to do list looked like:

  1. Replace light bulbs with neon light bulbs

  2. Hang 90s Posters  (Jason, as a Graphic Designer, had made a ton of them)

  3. Hang Magic Eye Posters

  4. Hang Streamers

  5. Blow up Balloons

  6. Confetti

  7. Hang El Wire (neon blinking wire lights from Ebay)

  8. Lava lamps

  9. Put out 90s stuff from Jason’s closet (he has a collection)

  10. Display beanbag

  11. Utilize colored pillow from office

  12. PlaySeinfeld on Living Room TV on mute

  13. Play 90s songs from SM’s iPhone playlist (Make sure you include the Macarena for a dance off!)

  14. Play Clarissa Explains it All shows on Jason’s desktop computer

  15. Play 90s Commercials on Jason’s laptop in kitchen (I made a playlist on Youtube)

  16. Decorate kitchen with neon table cloth, utensils, plates, cups, power rangers plates, napkins, etc

  17. Display Beanie babies, Trolls, Old cell phones, Friendship Bracelets

  18. Display 90s trivia book

  19. Create little signs for each item

  20. Put out paper fortune teller supplies (paper, colored pencils, directions)

  21. Play slideshow from Jason’s childhood on my laptop

  22. Arrange game stations (Twister, Operation, Nintendo, Mortal Combat, Fortune Tellers, Clothespin Game, Costume Contest)

Total Cost: $80 ( I shopped at Dollar Tree, Dollar General and Kroger for food and decor)

I was especially proud of my Party Favors (which I put in clear plastic blue bags from Dollar General):

  1. Slap Bracelets

  2. Ring pops

  3. Hair scrunchies

  4. Cassette tapes

  5. Stick-on Earrings

  6. Gushers

  7. Poprocks

  8. Airheads

  9. Jolly ranchers

  10. Bubble Gum

  11. Pixie Sticks

Total Cost: $30

Here’s what my Menu looked like:

  1. Stuffed Crust Pizza from Pizza Hut (5 of them)

  2. Three foot long sub (hoagie!) from Subway

  3. Cupcakes with 90s toppers (I ordered mine from Etsy. They were fondant Nintendo Game Controllers and Cassette Tapes)

  4. Crackers with spray cheese

  5. Kool Aid Jammers and Capri Sun

  6. Guts Jello shots

  7. Candy sushi (Swedish fish, fruit by the foot, small marshmallows, rice crispy treats, nerds or sprinkles, white frosting with green food coloring)

  8. Kraft Mac and Cheese

  9. Snapple, Hawaiian Punch, Orange Soda and Mondo

  10. Rice Cakes

  11. Bagel Bites

  12. Lunchables

  13. Dunkaroos (I never could find these 🙁 )

  14. Hot pockets

Total Cost: $200 (I went a little nuts)

My costume I got from Goodwill for $15. I went as Alex Mack in overalls, a D.A.R.E. plain white t-shirt, a backwards denim hat, bright orange shoes, and completed the look with a Power Rangers pin and pink flower pin. It was great!! Total time to prepare the house on the day of the party was 8 hours, and time to put it all away was 2.5 hours. I went a little over the top though, and actually took down all of my normal decor and put it away in another room. It was like a freakin’ 90s museum in here! We had an awesome time though and everything was perfect! Jason had about 25 guests come, and since I have a little house, the place was packed! Our costume contest winner was Nina, who went as Lisa Turtle from Saved By The Bell. It was awesome!

Special thanks to my best friends Erin and Felicia for helping me set everything up and cook on the day of the party! It would have been sooooo much harder without them! I’m so blessed to have friends that will help me clean and decorate all day long.

So, it was a success! I highly recommend you try it. I knew it would work out though, because my paper fortune teller said so…

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