THE THEME PARTY AT HOME

The beauty of the informal bash for friends is that you can do … anything. Eat and drink anything. Play any kind of game. Watch movies. To jumpstart your creative thinking we asked METRO readers about the best parties they’ve been to
lately.

theme ideas: “Every year for my birthday, we have a bike scavenger party. Teams of four have one hour to find 10 items somewhere in Northeast Minneapolis, where we live. Last year teams had to come back with an expired garage sale sign, a photo of them wearing a pro-Northeast t-shirt, a finished Sodoku puzzle and a rubber duck that we had hidden in various parks throughout the neighborhood. My boyfriend wins every year, and I’m pretty sure he cheats, but everyone has a blast anyway. I always hear that people look forward to it every year.” —Danielle Hartel

“A couple years after college I went to a Rubik’s Cube party. Everyone came to the party wearing a mismatching outfit of shoes, pants, shirt and a hat that were each a solid color of one of the six sides of a Rubik’s Cube. The goal was to swap clothing in an attempt to go home wearing an outfit of one color. Things went pretty swimmingly, as with any party that revolves around booze and getting to see your friends in their underwear. Well, except for the one poor guy who got stuck trying to put together an orange outfit. I’m pretty sure he ended up completely naked except for moon boots and a blaze-orange hunter’s hat.” —METRO columnist Scott Schneweis

“This past year I hosted an ’80s theme wedding shower/bachelorette party. We decorated with neon streamers, posters of ’80s rock legends, blow-up guitars, had ’80s candy like Razzles, Pop Rocks and Ring Pops. Then everyone dressed up in their best ’80s gear. We sang ’80s karaoke at my friend’s place, then went bowling and to a few bars in our ’80s outfits. It was a blast!” —Jennifer Jacob

 “My friends and I have Nintendo Wii parties and play Boom Blox. It is the next new thing!” —Kurt Beckman

“I’ve been to a Grammy’s party where everyone wore their old tuxes, prom dresses or horrible bridesmaid dresses. It was a lot of fun.” —Kedra Iden

“My friend Monica, a graphic artist, threw herself a chocolate party for her golden birthday. Everything was chocolate: brown invites, chocolate-scented candles, all chocolate food, etc.—just fabulous.” —Elsie Kjar

“ I went to this great girls-only going-away party in which the guest of honor was moving to Chicago. So we came up with a “send Katie to the big city in style theme”. Each of us guests were asked to bring our favorite beauty product/item (lipstick, bronzer, etc.) as a going-away gift. The host purchased a monogrammed makeup bag that all of the beauty items would be placed in. It was so much fun because after each gift was unwrapped, the gift-giver had to share a beauty tip or piece of advice, and then their item was placed into the makeup bag. So at the end of the night the guest of honor had a whole new bag of makeup and all of the guests left with some new product ideas and beauty tips.” —Nicole Walesch

“I go to a Harvest Iron Chef party every year and it’s always a good time. It’s a way of celebrating the changing of the season with delicious food. Everyone brings a dish they prepared with a harvest vegetable, and voting ensues. The guests always put their best food forward and, best of all, there are prizes to be won!” —Kate N.G. Sommers

I threw an outdoor movie party once. Start with a good old-fashioned barbecue, then at dusk show a favorite movie against the house. A white sheet works great as a screen, and if you don’t have a projector, you can rent one at West Photo or National Camera Exchange for about $100. —Chuck Terhark

what the pros know: The great thing about theme parties—the ultimate DIY party experience—is that they can work around any budget. You can make them as involved or relaxed as you want. Event planner Nicole Walesch has a few tips on creating a party that’s big on fun yet small on cost.

“Start the party a little later and do a dessert theme,” says Walesch. “Display bite-size desserts on fun platters. Also, you can do a mixed berry, with a dollop of whip cream, a mint leaf for a garnish and shortbread cookies in martini glasses. They look very pretty, taste great and are relatively cost effective.”

Walesch also recommends tying a current theme into your next party. “During the Olympics this summer, instead of a backyard potluck barbecue, one of my clients had an Olympics-themed barbecue, where guests were asked to bring a dish from the designated country on their invitation to share. The invitations were designed at home using clip art from the Internet, and we made food descriptor cards that had a
photo of the continent that each food dish was from.”