The 90's was a golden era - there were Tamagotchis, CD's, Tazos to collect, Spice Girls & Gameboys... it was also the last mobile phone-less generation. Scrunchies, boob tubes & overalls reigned supreme, along with crimped hair and punk rock. Life was so different - where did we find the extra time to rewind cassette tapes & VHS?
I was born in 1990... 30 years ago... sounds scary when you put it like that. So to celebrate this milestone, I had no other choice but to take it back to where it all began & party once more like it was 1999.
Here's how to plan a nostalgic 90's themed birthday party... there ain't no party like a S Club party!
Pick your colour scheme
The 90's was all about bold colours, geometric shapes, layered patterns and 90s icons! Pink, aqua, purple and yellow were popular - I decided to go with these as I knew I could easily source table cloths, plates, cups and other decor in these colours.
Design your invitations
Ask a graphic designer (like me) to design your invitations OR you can design them yourself on a design platform such as Canva! They have some great templates to get you started.
Stick with your above colour scheme and design an invitation that fits into your theme.
Buy your party supplies
Some Big W's have an amazing party section where all the decor is already separated into colours, this saves so much time & the prices are really reasonable!
Other great places you can look is Kmart, The Base Warehouse and your local $2 shops.
I found some really cool 90s serviettes from Discount Party Supplies that I used to base my entire theme on.
Organise your costume
I did lots of pinning on Pinterest of 90's fashion. There were many different fashion trends in the 90s - there was the Spice Girl aesthetic - platform boots & mini skirts, there was also a grunge aesthetic & chokers, hooped earrings & denim was definitely in.
I bought a white shirt from Kmart and wore a demin dress I bought 10 years ago. My platform shoes were from Nasty Gal.
Kmart were also selling Tamagotchis and bum bags!
Ebay is a great place for accessories (but don't leave it too late as delivery times can be up to a month) I bought a pack of 100 butterfly clips and a choker from there.
If you don't have any clothes at home you can wear, you can get some great costumes online from sites such as CostumeBox.
Create a photobooth
Adding a photobooth to your 90s party will add alot of fun & encourage guests to take photos.
You will need:
A neutral backdrop or wall
Props ( I printed some corflute frames on Vistaprint of a Tamagotchi & a Gameboy)
A tripod / camera holder
I included a balloon arch to mine to add some colour
Decorations
It's time to pull out all those toys you've had stored away! I'm talking Cabbage Patch Dolls, your Tazo collection, Pokemon cards, old CD's, Barbies, Smelly Bellys, Gameboy's & the orginal Playstation!
There are so many 90s decorations you can buy online! But I like to add a personalised touch to my parties.
Vistaprint were having a 50% off sale so I designed a banner (to match the serviettes) & some corflute photo collages featuring photos of me during the 90s.
Kmart have huge foil balloons too that I used for another backdrop.
90s food ideas
I created a grazing table using sweets from the 90s!
I made chocolate crackles & fairy bread, I made cheese & bacon ball kebabs, I bought jam rolls, lamingtons, wizz fizz, tiny teddies, wagon wheels, shapes, edible jewellery, nerds, fizzers, lollipops, colourful pocorn.... ahhhh the memories!
Woolworths, Coles, Kmart & the Reject shops are great places to find your 90s sweets!
For nibbles I had cheese & jats and a whole lot of party pies & sausage rolls!
Make a cake
Grab your Women's Weekly Cake book and pick a cake from there - my 90s birthdays were filled with amazing cakes from that book.
I have no patience for cake making, so instead I made a dummy cake out of foam, paper & lollies... looked like the real thing... Woolworths mud cake saved the day - another 90s treat!
Pick your playlist
Spotify is a great place to start - they have so many great 90's playlists! You can even create your own!
You can get really nostalgic & play a mix CD of your favourite songs on a CD player!
Some of my favourite 90's artists are the Backstreet Boys, Aqua, Vengaboys, Lou Bega, Boyzone, N*SYNC.
Play some games
Some nostalgic games to play:
Pass the parcel
Grab a pinata and fill it with old school treats
Name that 90's song
Charades
Pop culture trivia
Board games such as Twsiter
Pull out your old Gameboy & Playstation and let your guests have a play, I had Crash Bandicoot all ready to go on my T.V.
Don't forget lolly bags!
Send your guests home with some party favours filled with nostalgic lollies & toys such as:
Nerds
Mentos
Fizzers
Wizz Fizz
Rockets
Sherbet lollipops
Hubba Bubba
Push Pops
Minties
Slinkies
Sticky hands
Slime
Butterfly clips
Bouncy balls
I printed personalised tags at my local Officeworks and ordered the stickers through Vistaprint.
Big W sell so many lolly bags.
Need help with design for your 90s party?
Email me for a quote: shelley@creativeshell.com.au