Far Out Retro 70’s Party Planning Tips

It’s hard to believe the 70’s started 50 years ago! It really does seem like a lot of 70’s inspired things are coming back into fashion, especially the apparel colors and styles. That means it’s the perfect time to throw a retro 70’s throwback party. This would make a cool birthday party theme for adults, teenagers, and even kids. Below find the grooviest 70’s party planning tips.

Have everyone come in costume

It shouldn’t be too hard to find 70’s inspired styles or to DIY a makeshift costume out of thrifted items. Encourage your guests to come dressed in their favorite 1970’s fashion or as a pop culture icon from that era. 

Some 70’s fashion ideas: 

• Bell bottoms
• Tie-dye shirts
• Frayed jeans
• Ponchos
• Military-style clothes
• Embroidered blouses
• Headbands
• Feather jewelry

The decor is everything

The amount you spend on decor has less to do with it than how you decorate. Don’t choose the “70’s themed” stuff you find at party stores. You know, like a peace sign covered vinyl table covering or those cheap cardboard record streamers.  Instead, look for actual 1970’s decorations and accessories. You can usually find great stuff at thrift stores, antique shops, or in your mother’s basement. 

Look for tablecloths that have bold 70’s prints (flowers were popular). For your party food, set your sights on bright 70’s serving dishes and trays. Finally, use a vintage punch bowl to serve boozy or non-alcoholic cocktails made with a punch recipe from the 1970’s. Perfect for 70’s party planning!

Make 70’s party food

No party in the 70’s was complete without the holy grail of fancy party food: Jello… Something. Look online or visit the library to find some retro recipes to serve to your guests. You can find tasty stuff like a hedgehog cake and deviled eggs or go for crazy retro party foods like ham and banana with hollandaise. Totally up to you. 

Another party food suggestion is to entertain your guests with a fondue. Chocolate is tasty for dessert, but cheese is the truly 70’s option. Dip bread, veggies, apples, pears, meatballs, roasted potatoes, or cooked and cut up meats for a delicious snack or meal.

Set the mood

Make a perfect throwback 70’s playlist or find one on your favorite streaming service. Or, if you have one, go all out and play popular 1970’s records instead. Disco topped the charts with bands like the Bee Gees, the Village People, and Abba. David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, and Queen were also big in that decade, though, so you have a lot of options for tunes.

Since disco was popular it only makes sense that disco balls are a 1970’s thing too. If you can find one, hang it in the dance area. Then you and your friends can disco all night long! Let’s keep these 70’s party planning tips going….

Plan some activities

A lot of these activities would be fun for an adult’s or kid’s retro 70’s party. For grown ups, activities are a fun way to be a kid again and also work as a great ice breaker if your guests don’t know each other well. With kids, you can keep them busy and have something cute to take home at the end of the party.

Make your own pet rock

Pet rocks took the 70’s by storm… For some reason. Well, let’s not let that fad die just yet. Have your party guests make their very own pet rock. Find enough rocks for all your guests (clean them, if necessary) and pick up some supplies to decorate them with from the dollar store. Googly eyes are a must, but provide a lot of little craft supplies like sequins, feathers, construction paper, etc and see what creative creatures your guests come up with. Don’t forget to give your pet rock a name!

Have a disco dancing contest

If you’re dealing with kids they probably don’t know what disco is, so you’ll have to give them a quick lesson first. For adults, though, have them come prepared with their best 70’s inspired dance moves. Then have everyone compete to see who’s the dancing queen (or king)! 

1970’s Karaoke 

How well do you know the words to ‘Stayin’ Alive’? Casual karaoke, or as a contest, is a fun way to show off your amazing singing skills… Or at least give your friends a laugh. A vintage karaoke machine makes this more fun but if you don’t have one handy you can use an app on your phone or even look for karaoke videos on YouTube. 

Retro trivia game

How well do you know pop culture from the 1970’s? Now you can find out. Either put together the trivia game yourself (you won’t be able to play) or purchase a pre-made trivia game. If you don’t want a formal trivia contest you can always do a printable sheet, then see who got the most answers correct.

Keep 70’s games and toys on hand

Remember Rock em, Sock em Robots? Still an amazing Etch-a-Sketch artist? Pull out all those 197’0s games and toys you have lying around (or can find) for your guests to enjoy. If you have access to an Atari, hook it up and relive the action of Pong, Galaga, and Astro Blasters. 

Make some macrame

Macrame is actually coming back into style so it’s kind of an ideal craft idea for your retro 70’s party. It’s surprisingly simple to do; you usually use regular cotton rope and weave it onto a wooden dowel. Then it’s just a matter of mastering the knotting technique to get that classic macrame look. Choose a beginner pattern and if you don’t already know how, either learn it yourself or bring in someone who can help teach your group.

Tie-dye shirts

Give them something truly 70’s to take home when the party’s over. Ask all your guests to bring a white shirt, or pick up some in bulk yourself. You can get tie-dye kits that come with design ideas and instructions or DIY the supplies yourself. The design is all in how you die the shirt and apply the dyes. This one can get messy so do it outside or use something like a shower curtain or plastic table cloth to protect surfaces.

1970’s inspired party favors

All good things must come to an end, and so does your 1970’s party. Send guests off with a little gift in the form of a 1970’s themed party favor. For a kid’s party, look for anything with smiley faces, tie-dye, or peace signs. For adults, you might want to consider something more mature like 70’s themed (or better, vintage) shot glasses, a 70’s record to add to their collection, or groovy custom made cookies. 

As for your 1970’s party, well, your guests are definitely going to dig it if you put these retro 70’s party planning tips to work. Now do me a solid and put on your favorite disco record while you get down with all this party planning business.

If you’d like more party tips and tricks, sign up for the email newsletter. As an added bonus, you’ll get a free download of a 1970’s playlist! Also, check out EventOTB’s Pinterest for other Party Topics. Happy Partying!

About the Author

Anne loves finding the perfect gift idea that’s on budget. She has been writing about gift giving and personal finance online since 2012, as owner of UniqueGifter.com. Her favorite beverage is champagne and she loves figure skating, even if it’s harder now that she’s not 20!