Coming up with a party theme is not as easy as it sounds,

we can help you!

Choose your theme! 

The theme of your party should say something about you, your interests and your history. If you are in your 40's why not go for a 1970's theme, (especially if the party is for your big Four-O).  Those of us who are coming up on 50 could go for a 1960's theme and so on...

We have assembled a massive list of  themes, eras in history and characters to spark your imagination, follow this link.

You could select one aspect of your personality shine through, humour, glamour, sex-appeal: which aspect is up to you!.

Think about one of your interests or hobbies and come up with a theme based on that.  If you like going on cruse holidays then you could invite your friends to a 'What where you doing when the ship went down?' party! 

Film and TV are great places to start hunting for inspiration.  If you have a favorite film or TV show you could base your ideas around that. 

Our themes section is there to give you some inspiration, take a browse through there, select the best costume for you and let others know what you are wearing so they will not copy!

Planning is always the best bet to start the process of hosting a great fancy dress party, attention to detail will impress your guests needn?t cost a fortune.

Invitations: Once you have chosen your theme you need to get invitations out.  In these days of texting and emailing things are very instant, but it is much nicer to have something through the post if you have the time.  We have developed invites for our Pirate Parties and perhaps you could adapt these invites to fit your requirements.   Be specific, if your fancy dress theme is a little abstract then explain or give a couple of examples, your idea may be the funniest thing you have ever heard of, but not everyone is blessed with your sense of humor.  What if they simply do not get it, they will not come!     An invitation is the perfect place to let folks know what you are planning especially if there is something you need your guests to do!

Budget; you do not have to spend a fortune to make your event look great and in these credit crunching times your guests would not be shocked if you asked them to bring a bottle or help out with the catering by bringing something.  If this is the case let them know, be clear what you would like them to bring, who wants to end up at an event with 25 bottles of pale ale!   Decorate your venue. Something as simple as covering your tables with dramatic black tablecloths really can make a difference, you can buy massive rolls of disposable cloths for very little cash.  Try red and white check for a Western party, black and orange coverings for Halloween, silver for sci-fi, red and green for Christmas. Take a look around your local junk shop for items that you could customize to fit in with your theme, use a little imagination.  Print of images relating to your theme from the internet, you can hang them on the wall or use them as place mats.

Remember the entrance to your party.  If you have a garden path (or a corridor to your flat) use effective lighting; solar-powered lights along a path look spectacular and can be found for very little money at DIY stores (just remember to expose them to the sun so that they are charged!).   You can let your party theme spill out around your door, taking the theme out to your visitors whilst they are waiting for you to open the door gets things going.

Fragrance is a great way to set the mood at your venue, espicall if you are renting a local hall that is regularly left closed!  You can get special fragrance rings that are designed to go onto lights and they give a wonderful aroma to set the scene.   Try cinnamon and spice for Christmas or for a 70?s theme you could put bottles of Brut on the tables and suggest that folks ?Splash It All Over!?  (Yes, you can still get it on Brut on the internet for under £5.00 it is little touches like this that will get your guests smiling!)

Food, you do not want to spend the week running up to your party stuck in the kitchen, sweating over a hot stove!  In the budget section we mentioned that many guests do not mind bringing food and (or) drink, but if it all falls to you then keep it simple.  Try basing the food on theme of the event, Barbeque is great for Western themed parties, savory pumpkin soup and sweet pumpkin pie would be good for Halloween! Dishes of crisps and dips positioned all around the venue give a good impression and do not cost a fortune.  Keep your eyes open for supermarket specials and stash them in the freezer.  Freezer shops also do bargain party packs, just bung them in the oven and they are ready!

Delegate! Ask your friends to help you out.  Only ask the ones you can trust, if you give a vital element to a person that may not turn up then you could come unstuck!  If you give someone a task also give them a time and place that you will need the promised item. 

These ideas are just a few of the ones we have gathered over the years we have been supplying fancy dress, if you have any information, suggestions or tips that you would like to add then please do contact us at info@fancydress.com, we would love to hear from you!