This week’s party tip is about choosing a theme for your party and selecting a décor direction to match! It can be overwhelming to think about theme parties, unless you are hosting a party around a holiday or birthday. We’ve talked about general types of invitations, assembling your party crew, and now it’s time to plan your party details.Outside of holiday parties, most people generally host dinner parties and birthday celebrations, but don’t host theme parties. Why not?! I love theme parties: dressing up, planning coordinating food and drinks, and writing an invitation to set the mood for the whole event. I think even though they are fun and exciting, theme parties can be daunting to plan. What if I don’t want to make themed food? That’s ok. I’m going to give you a few tips to get around those details and still execute a successful theme party.

Start with Pinterest. I have a board on Pinterest called “Party Ideas”…anytime I see something unique or fun, I pin it to that board. Whether it’s a bookworm party invitation, or a cute cupcake, keep pinning. After a while, you’ll have a nice database of potential party ideas built up for when you decide you want to host an event but don’t know what kind of theme use.   

Choose something you’ve never done before! Never hosted a Masquerade Ball? A black and white party? How about a staring contest party? (Yes, that’s a real thing!) Try it! While hosting your “Third Annual ____” can be fun, it can also get stale and create a party rut. A few years ago I hosted a Staring Contest Party and everyone was so curious what the party would be like, a ton of friends showed up! Honestly, we barely did any staring because everyone was so excited to meet new people, but it was a great way to get people to come to the event! Is there something you used to love doing during your childhood? I recently hosted a “Fort Party” and it was a huge hit! 

I’ve chosen a theme…now what?

More research. The more photos you see of potential ideas for your event, the better. You never know which one will spark an idea that will be the foundation of your entire décor plan. After you have selected your theme, you can decide how much detail you want to go into. Look for any inspirational photos surrounding the theme you have chosen. I recently decided to host a Masquerade Ball, so I started looking at images of Carnival in Venice, Italy, Mardi Gras masks, floral arrangements that use feathers, and Phantom of the Opera images. All of those searches gave me different results and a wide variety of inspiration to pull ideas from.

Plan one large visual impact. If you’re hosting a Superhero party, you don’t have to have superhero cupcakes, superhero napkins, superhero cups, superhero plates…if you overdo it, your party can start to look cheap or cheesy very quickly. Instead, I like to plan one large visual focus. One of my favorite examples of this is at my Halloween parties; I have a few Halloween-themed decorations scattered throughout my house, but I focus most of my energy on creating one focal wall – in this case: the bat wall.  

Substitute color for theme. Instead of branding every element of your party with the theme, substitute a color that is associated with the theme. Continuing the example of a superhero party: instead of having superhero plates, cups, napkins, cupcakes, etc., just choose one element to brand with the Superman logo, then use solid red or blue for the rest of the party elements. During my last Halloween party, I vetoed using any decorations that were orange or green; the only colors allowed were black and white. No jack-o-lantern napkins allowed! I actually saved money by using solid black elements and my party theme was cohesive but not cheesy.

Don’t forget, ask your friends for input! In most cases, the more ideas you have to use for inspiration, the better! Have fun!