Boo-ya! It’s time to rip those jeans and pump up the jam. Follow our yadda yadda yadda and your 90s house party will be massive.
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Invitations
The availability of home computers gave everyone the opportunity to become graphic designers; whether they had talent or not.
Design trends moved to simple graphics and loud fonts, usually with drop shadow. Probably due to the increase in home DIY, traditional design rules were broken and became more chaotic.
If you don’t want to spend time trying to create something yourself, these designs will do the trick. Personalise with your own details.
Party attire
90s fashion toned down following the flashy 80s. There was plenty of androgynous streetwear, usually with either a hip-hop or grungy edge.
Hoodies and windbreakers
sneakers or combat boots.
If you’re game enough, crop tops were considered amazeballs
particularly if they were mesh.
If you’re not sure your streetwear is looking 90s enough, just grab an oversized flannel plaid shirt and tie it around your waist.
If you want to look a little smarter, keep the plaid but suit it up.
Or be an old school rapper.
Tattoos hit the mainstream in the 90s. Book your appointment now so you’re nicely inked for the party. As if…
…instead, have some temporary tatts at the ready. Something fun for your guests to do as they get into the mood. So your bathroom doesn’t get clogged with people, set up a station with a mist sprayer and paper towels (and small trash can) in a corner or hallway.
Team up with a classic tattoo choker.
Guys can easily switch their current hairstyle into a 90s look by creating a middle part. Use mousse or gel to hold it in place.
For gals, without a doubt, THE haircut of the 90s was ‘The Rachel’. But if you don’t want to go for the chop, go for a half-up, half-down style using a scrunchie.
Or laden your head with butterflies.
If you don’t want to worry about your hair, grab yourself a snapback cap instead.
Don’t forget hoop earrings
or raise da mood in da house with legendary smiley faces.
For some reason, lips were brown in the 90s, who knows why.
Decorations
As dull as it was, beige became a popular trend for living rooms, as did damask, or celestial art. Hit the charity thrift stores and find whatever you can.
Add beige art to a white or light wooden frame. See easy frame suggestions in Jiving 70s.
Put a few dried palm fronds in a large neutral vase or basket.
Decorate party rooms with damask balloons.
Add a few damask luminaries around the place. Probably better to use LED candles so there’s no risk of fire if one gets knocked over.
Garnish rooms with stars, suns or moons.
Add celestial soaps to your bathroom.
Bedrooms were often filled with posters so add wall collages.
Hang some of these to keep guests smiling.
and give them a couple of these to bounce around with on the dance floor.
if you’ve added hip hop classics to your playlist, hang some bling.
Although beige décor was popular, this was contrasted with bright, futuristic lighting as LED lights became available to the public. Go to town and run strip lights along ceiling molding and baseboards of your party rooms.
You may not wish to paint your door purple, but hang this replica from the iconic TV show of the decade.
Food
After the extravagant eating of the 80s, food became less intricate with a more casual approach to serving.
Government reports were coming out encouraging healthy eating with less fat and salt content so buffer up your table with simple nibbles such as bowls of cherries, grapes, nuts or olives.
Choose grilled snacks over fried where possible.
People became a little obsessed with Mediterranean food with sundried tomatoes on everything, and foccacia bread everywhere.
New trade agreements between the US and Mexico led to a boom of Mexican food stores. Salsa sauce sales even outsold ketchup in some years.
Buffer up your tasty delights with popular snacks of the time such as Oreo Minis, Fruit Gushers, and Flamin’ Hot Cheeto’s. Lay’s had released low calorie chips which aren’t available anymore, so just go with the low-salted variety.
If you like to bake, prepare cupcakes a few days before in damask wraps and freeze them until the day.
Drinks
Food may have got simpler but cocktails had a bit of a renaissance in case you want to make a round or two for your guests. Cosmopolitans were obviously huge thanks to another iconic TV show but there were others.
Cocktails or spirit mixers could go down well in in themed party cups and your guests may more easily remember which is theirs.
Or if you want to keep it simple, fill your cooler with beer such as Victory Prima Pils, Pete’s Wicked Ale, or Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and wine from the Napa Valley which boomed in the 90s thanks to the investors of neighbouring Silicon Valley.
Top up with Little Hug Fruit Barrels, Snapple, AriZona drinks and Clearly Canadian sparkling water for those not drinking alcohol.
Tableware
To keep people refreshed grab any plain colored sheet or tablecloth and cover it in CDs. You can also dot them around the place in your party rooms to be drinks coasters.
Complement with colorful 90s confetti.
Use iridescent plates and napkins.
Icebreakers
Give glow stick bracelets to your guests as they hit the dance floor which they can wear and wave about while raving.
from DirectGlow
Keep some in your iridescent fanny pack so they’re on hand to give to guests at any moment.
Some downright silly games were released in the 90s that are bound to get people in a party mood. If you have the space, put Hungry Hippos, Gooey Louie, or Bop It around the place.
If you have people coming that actually remember what the 90s was like, get a group Taboo game going.
Music
Encourage your guests on to the dance floor with these 90s hits.
Creating your own playlists will really help get people going.
Send them off with a smile
Make sure everyone has their glow stick bracelet (see above) as they leave. Have extras on hand. They should still be glowing the next morning to remind your friends of the thumpin’ time they had.
Make your own packaging and fill with corn chips so your guests have something to munch as they head home.
Make sure you use strong, non-toxic glue.
