How to Throw a 1990's Themed Party

People love nostalgia, even if it's nostalgia about a period of time that just recently passed. The 1990s are a reference point that everyone coming to your party will have a personal connection to in some way. This makes planning the festivities a bit challenging, because there's so much to choose from. If you plan well and simplify, however, you too can have a 1990s party for all of your grungiest friends.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

1. Encourage guests to dress like their favorite 1990s celebrity. Because the fashion in the 1990s was so eclectic, this is a great way to get everyone to dress up. It gives your guests much more latitude and creativity, and you may be surprised who some of your friends will come dressed as. Have a door prize ready to award to the guest (or couple) who clearly put the most effort into the costume. It will make the party that much more fun.

2. Keep the music eclectic. Popular music in the 1990s was all over the map. While focusing on the grunge-music movement out of Seattle might strike a chord with some of your guests, others might feel more of a connection with the West Coast rap of the mid-nineties, or the pop music of the early nineties. Keep the D.J. list on a steady rotation from rock to dance to rap. Keep the music list full of popular songs that were played a lot. Even if the song playing isn't one that everyone loved, hearing a song that was played a lot during a certain period of everyone's life will evoke a nostalgic feeling.

3. Play 1990s trivia games. A great way to get into the nostalgia of the 1990s is to test everyone's knowledge of that decade's trivia. It's recent enough that people will remember the big stuff, but long enough ago that the small pieces of trivia will start to escape everyone. You don't need to buy a board game, either. You can simply spend an afternoon surfing the Internet, typing in keywords that remind you of events in the 1990s, and writing down questions about tidbits that seem interesting. Make several different categories and put everyone in teams. This kind of trivia game can keep people up until all hours of the morning.

4. Decorate with 1990s events in mind. When decorating for a party that reminisces on a period of time so recent as the 1990s, it is best to decorate with events in mind, rather than style. Print out pictures of the Clintons and put them on the wall. A poster of the band Pearl Jam (or even a flannel shirt displayed on the wall) will evoke memories and chuckles. Try not to gear the decor too much toward politics. Your guests may come from many different political backgrounds, and nothing starts an argument quicker than politics. Keep the decor topical, but neutral. This will ensure that everyone has a great time remembering the good times they had in the 1990s.