How To Throw A 90s Party

The 90s were twenty years ago. There’s been a fair share of 80s and 70s-themed parties, but you probably haven’t been to many 90s one. Time to throw your own!
There ain’t no party like an S Club party.
Here’s everything you need to prepare the ultimate 90s bash.

Decoration | Attire | Entertainment | Food

Decoration

When it comes to 90s decoration, it’s all about references.

It’s time to take out all the toys you’ve kept from that time. Pull them out. Gameboys, Tamagotchi, Walkmans, you name it. That’s the good thing about the 90s: all the new toys that came out. I’m sure you have a trunk full of Beanie Babies, Pogs, Furbys, Troll Dolls; whatever you have in your house. Before smartphones, we had other ways to keep busy.
And how about movie posters (Titanic, Fight Club, Pretty Woman, Point Break, etc.) or ones celebrating boy and girl bands? I’m sure you still listen to the Spice Girls occasionally.
If you don’t have anything left from that era (who are you?), then eBay and your local flea market are your best options.

And last, but certainly not least, you must show some classics from the 90s.
If you have an old-school television (you know, one that isn’t flat), you can broadcast some shows and ads from the time. If you don’t actually own any of them on DVD (or VHS), you’ll probably find them on Netflix. Here’s a list to get you started:

• Boy Meets World
• Doug
• The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
• Rugrats
• Kenan & Kel
• Saved by the bell
• 90210
• Seinfeld
• Hey Arnold!
• Clarissa Explains It All
• Full House

And the list goes on.
When it comes to commercials, you’ll find plenty of YouTube playlists streaming those amazing clips. Switch on your screen, and let it play in the background.

Attire

When you’re throwing your 90s party, be sure to tell your guests to dress up (or down) in 90s clothing. It can be a mix of “90s style” and celebrity impersonation.

For the guys, some examples can include Will Smith (Prince of Bel Air style, with a colorful T-shirt, baggy jeans), grunge like Kurt Cobain, or MC Hammer.
For the girls, you can dress up as a top model (the 90s were their golden age). Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, the list goes on. There’s of course Julia Roberts, Cher (from Clueless) or Gwen Stefani.
For the groups, bands are your oyster. Destiny’s Child, S Club 7, Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, etc. You can also go into cartoon-land with Nickelodeon shows (Rugrats anyone?).
If you want to go all out, you can offer prizes for the best 90s outfits.

For overall 90s styles, who can forget Air Jordans and Reebok Pumps? Bonus points if you have a flannel shirt wrapped around your waist and backwards baseball caps. And don’t underestimate the power of accessories:

• Pins
• JanSport backpacks
• Jelly shoes
• Bandanas
• Overalls
• Slap bracelets
• Walkmans
• Scrunchies
• Baby Gs
• And virtual pets are mandatory.

Entertainment

From music to games, here’s some entertainment to spice up your 90s party.

Music

The 90s gave birth to amazing new musical phenomenons, from boy bands to dance, grunge, and the apex of summer hits. Therefore, no party could be complete without some of these amazing songs.
If you want to go full vintage, then you should consider a “no MP3” rule. Bring out your boombox and stereo. And only those. No iPods allowed.
Also don’t hesitate to “ask a friend” for those 90s music compilation CDs you “used to have”. You know the ones.

As for a “best of” 90s hits, here are a few popular ones:

• Baby Got Back – Sir Mix a Lot
• Barbie Girl – Aqua
• Blue – Eiffel 65
• Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It – Will Smith
• Hit Me, Baby, One More Time – Britney Spears
• House of Pain – Jump Around
• Hypnotize – Biggie Smalls
• I See You Baby – Groove Amanda
• I Want it That Way – Backstreet Boys
• Informer – Snow
• It Wasn’t Me – Shaggy
• Macarena – Los del Río
• Mambo No5 – Lou Benga
• MMMBop – Hanson
• My Name Is – Eminem
• No Scrubs – TLC
• Pokemon Them Song
• S Club Party – S Club 7
• Saturday Night – Whigfield
• Say My Name – Destiny’s Child
• Semi-Charmed Life – Third Eye Blind
• Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana
• Spice Up Your Life – Spice Girls
• The Bad Touch – Bloodhound Gang
• Thong Song – Sisquo
• Tubhumping – Chumbawamba
• U Can’t Touch This – MC Hammer
• We Like To Party – Vengaboys
• What I Got – Sublime
• What Is Love – Haddaway
• What’s My Age Again – Blink 182
• Wonderwall – Oasis

If you’re too lazy to create your own playlist and want to go digital, you can check online music services like Songza that have curated ones. Finally, you can offer your guests to bring their own mix-tapes.

Activites

Besides partying out all night long, you can also offer some cool activities for your guests.
Continuing on the music trend, how about some karaoke? People can battle it out on who does the best Britney Spears impersonation, or can sing the complete version of the Prince of Bel Air theme song. It’s the perfect time to give out some additional prizes (who doesn’t like winning?).
Another musical activity could be a blind test. Divide people into two teams, and “blindly” play some classic 90s tunes (TV theme songs, one-hit wonders, movie scores, etc.). Whichever team guesses the most correct wins.

If you want to bring added nostalgia into your party, you can ask everyone to bring a personal photo from the 90s. You can stick them to a giant moodboard. People can then guess who’s who.

People can also compete on their 90s knowledge with trivia games.
“In the 90s” offers three lists of trivia questions: TV, Music and Movies. Here are their top 5 questions for each:

TV

• Who killed Laura Palmer on Twin Peaks?
• Who’s Eric Cartman’s father?
• Which character from beavis and Butthead has their own show?
• How long were Jerry Seinfeld and his pals sentenced in the series finale?
• On Beverly Hills 90210, how did Scott (David’s best friend) die?

Music

• Which Michael Jackson song entered straight at #1 position on Billboard 100 Singles Chart?
• Who were the three original members of Backstreet Boys?
• Which two members of *N SYNC were mouseketters on the NEW Mickey Mouse Club?
• Which rap group was totally crossed out?
• who wanted you to “Hold my hand?”
• Which 2 New Kids On The Block Were Brothers?

Movies

• In the first Scream, what was Stu’s motive for the killings?
• How fast did the bus in the movie Speed need to go in order not to blow up?
• What event was the interview of the Natural Born Killer, Mickey, to be held during?
• Who ordered the Code Red in “A Few Good Men”?
• What was the print left on the car in the boat in the movie Titanic?

You can see the full list on their website.

Finally, how about some video games? The 90s were home of some of the greatest gaming consoles: SNES, N64, and PlayStation to name only a few. Why not battle against your frenemy on Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter?
And did you know there’s a drinking game for Mario Kart N64? Fairman on HubPages explains the rules (Like any drinking game, be careful. Drink responsibly):

The game is called Don’t Drink and Drive. So, you guessed it; you can’t drink and drive. At the beginning of each race, each person starts with a given amount of beer (anywhere from half a beer to a full beer works well). The only rule: you cannot hold the controller and drink your beer at the same time, thus, don’t drink and drive. You must finish off your drink by the end of race; if not, you automatically lose! So, different strategies should be implemented into your gameplay. Some may want to chug it at the beginning of the race, while others like to space out their drinking; as long as that beer is gone by the end of the race.

Food

Although many popular 90s products are no longer on the market, there are quite a lot still available today.
Here are some of the most sugary items you can buy:

• Bubble Tape
• Push Pops
• Ring Pops
• Airheads
• Jolt Cola
• Mentos
• Sunny D
• Gushers
• Crystal Pepsi (just kidding)

As for “real” food, here are a few trends that popped up during the 90s. Maybe you’ll get inspired to make a few dishes.

• Dried cranberries began popping up in every salad, and so did Balsamic vinegar, sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese.
• Corona Extra began to be served with a chunk of lime (although that is still the case in many bars today).
• Americans discovered Asian food (beyond Chop Suey and Chow Mein).
• Turkey bacon, tofurkey, and broccolini made their entrance in the first half of the decade.

Party on!