Party Talk

Back In the Day...

It’s August now and I’m in the mood to party.  Not only is the weather perfect but there is a little anniversary coming up.  I’m of course referring to the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock.  Sadly, I did not actually get to attend the concert in 1969 although I had the option too.  My parents said if I went then no car for me. It was a simple choice at the time. This anniversary has made me think of the sixties and how much more there was than just Woodstock.
 
Remember the clothing trends way back then?  (If you forget just remember it is called “retro” now.)  The sixties ushered in the mini-skirt and the bikini into popular culture.  Of course these seem ordinary now but back then it was revolutionary.  I don’t think I have to remind you all of the tie dye fashion statements, and they were certainly fashion statements.  That being said, I would love to see bell-bottom jeans and psychedelic shirts come back in style.

Then there was the music of the era, Woodstock duh, which changed the world.  Remember the British invasion that the Americans embraced?  How could you forget The Beetles, The Who and The Rolling Stones among others, who radically changed rock music in America and the world.  Not to forget the Supremes or Jimi Hendrix and the countless others.  The music that was created in the decade is absolutely mind-boggling.  If you threw a party and used the “good” music from the sixties your playlist would be thirty days long (at least), which would make for a fun party.

All of this reminiscing makes me long for the sixties and the excitement of the times.  Alas we cannot go back but we can celebrate arguably the most important decade in American history.  So party on people, party on.

- The Party Girl

Woodstock Theme Party

The 40th Anniversary of Woodstock is August 15, 16, and 17, so celebrate with a Woodstock theme party! Start the festivities with a fun and unique invitation idea. Buy (or make) your guests tie-dyed T-shirts. Roll up the T-shirts and tie them with a neon peace necklace. Hand-deliver them to your guests with the invitation (check out our selection of 60's invitations if you need ideas). Make sure to let everyone know they need to come in their bell bottoms and tie dye!

When your guests arrive, greet them with a peace sign and offer them a flower for their hair.

You can use 60s theme graphics like peace signs and big flowers to decorate the wall.  These are easy to make on the computer or cut out of construction paper!  For a larger event, hire a lighting company to project these images on the walls in a variety of colors. Check out this website that offers free Hippie theme graphics.

Here are some of our favorite 60's decorations -

• Tie Dye Paper Goods
• Groovy Guitar Inflatable
• Groovy 12" Balloons
• Neon Peace Sign Beads
• Daisy Bead Curtain
  

Tie Dye Cupcakes are a fun and easy dessert to serve at a Woodstock theme party. You can also use nostalgic 60s candy on the table like atomic fireballs, Bit-o-honey, Bottle caps and more. You can find this great candy online or at many local party stores.  You can put a bag of candy at each place with a label thanking your guests for attending, or scatter it around the table like confetti.

Don't forget to keep everyone busy! You can have everyone Tie-Dye T-Shirts, or even hold a karaoke contest with the music from Woodstock. I can do a pretty good air guitar to the Star-Spangled Banner :)

At the end of the night, your guests will go home thinking your party was groovy!

If you are looking for more ideas, check out the full 60's Theme Party!

Woodstock Party Playlist

 

This August marks the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock Music & Art Festival. Over 400,000 people gathered on a 600-acre dairy farm in Bethel, NY, to celebrate peace, love and music. Live performances from Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Janis Joplin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Grateful Dead and many more catapulted Woodstock into the history books as one of the greatest music festivals of all time.

Many people are marking the occasion by throwing a 60’s theme party. Since it wouldn’t be a Woodstock theme party without music, I have complied this party playlist of my favorite songs that were performed at the original 1969 Woodstock -

Bad Moon Rising
Creedence Clearwater Revival

Proud Mary
Creedence Clearwater Revival

Born on the Bayou
Creedence Clearwater Revival

Sea of Madness
Crosby, Stills & Nash

Blackbird
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Mama Tried
Grateful Dead

Dark Star
The Grateful Dead

Piece of My Heart
Janis Joplin

Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)
Janis Joplin

Somebody to Love
Jefferson Airplane

Foxy Lady
Jimi Hendrix

The Star-Spangled Banner
Jimi Hendrix

Purple Haze
Jimi Hendrix

We Shall Overcome
Joan Baez

With a Little Help from My Friends
Joe Cocker

Soul Sacrifice
Santana

Everyday People
Sly & The Family Stone

Dance to the Music
Sly & The Family Stone

Why Oh Why
Sweetwater

Motherless Child
Sweetwater

My Generation
The Who

Tommy Can You Hear Me?
The Who

See Me, Feel Me
The Who

If your are looking for more Woodstock party planning ideas check these links out -

• 60's Theme Party
• Tie Dye Cupcakes - Woodstock and 60's Theme Party Recipe
• Woodstock Party Activities and Favors: Tie-Dye T-Shirts

Personalized Banners

We are so excited to now offer weather proof vinyl banners featuring the art from our personalized candy bar wrappers!

They are available in 3 sizes:

18” x 36” - $24.99
24” x 48” - $34.99
36” x 72” - $53.99

Here’s an example of Shirley holding the 18” x 36” banner and the matching candy bar wrapper:

The banners have grommets in all 4 corners so you can hang your sign anywhere!  They are weather proof, so feel free to hang them outside. 

If you would like to order a banner without ordering a candy bar, please choose the order now button from the bar of your choice and choose the banner only option in the Order Details section.

See all of our Candy Bar Wrapper and Banner Designs!

60's Hippie Theme Party

Carly's Bat Mitzvah was groovy, baby!

This hippie/60s theme Bat Mitzvah was great fun. We started with a palette of BRIGHT colors and used them throughout the party.

Guests entered into a cocktail area with giant cutouts of Hippie symbols hanging from the walls and a lifesize cutout of the Bat Mitzvah girl in a tie dye t-shirt.

A 3D VW bus with the Bat Mitzvah girl waving was a lot of fun at the seating card table. This was a custom piece we did for this party, but we do offer a Hippie Bus Photo Op that is similar. Seating cards were bright flowers pens attached to seating cards.

Inside the ballroom, guests found a room lit with a custom event logo on the ceiling and bright colored patterns moving along the walls.  Every guest had a personalized tie dye t-shirt on their chair. It was a great favor, but also added a lot of color to the room.

We used multi-colored shag linens on the adult tables with centerpieces that were retro hats with giant daisies coming out.  Bright napkins were wrapped in a peace symbol necklace!  The kids had solid linens with tie dye balloons (a fun, more reasonably priced option).

A Warhol-esque DJ sign hung over the stage. The guests had a great time dancing the night away to 60s hits!

Party411 can plan your Woodstock theme party!  Let us know if you would like more information on any of the products seen in the photos or if you have questions!

August is ...

National Catfish Month - Host a dinner party!

August 6th is National Fresh Breath Day - Something to celebrate if yours is fresh; something not to celebrate if your friends look the other way instead of speaking directly to you.

August 12th is Cecil B. DeMille's Birthday - With movies like King of Kings, Cleopatra, The Ten Commandments and others, he deserves a round of applause. Have a film festival in his honor.

August 15-17 is the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock - Have we mentioned this? Throw a great Woodstock Theme Party.

August 26th is Women's Equality Day  - The day when the 19th Amendment was certified "prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex with regard to voting." A holiday since 1974.

See more Stuff to Celebrate for August, or take a sneak peek at September!