Although I may have only been a baby in the 1980s I still think that the decade was an amazing one & I'm obsessed with 80s culture. My parents are practically OAPs now so I was always exposed to music & movies from times gone by when I was younger. Luckily Andy also shares my passion for the 80s. In celebration of the launch of Ladbrokes Crazy 80s Slot Game we were treated to a fantastic care package with everything we needed to put together an 80s night in. I thought I'd also share some ideas for how to host your own!
THE MOVIES: We were sent a selection of four classic 80s films. We ended up watching Back To The Future (although I prefer the sequel) & The Breakfast Club (one of my faves!). The 80s were a golden age for movies with huge blockbuster series like Star Wars, Batman, Indiana Jones & Die Hard. John Hughes was an unstoppable force & I'll happily watch any film with Molly Ringwold or any of the Brat Pack in it. If you're planning an 80s night here's some more cinema greats that I recommend: Heathers, Little Shop Of Horrors, Weird Science, The Man With Two Brains, Sixteen Candles, Blue Velvet, Labyrinth, Pretty In Pink, The Lost Boys, Raising Arizona, Twins, Beetlejuice, Return To Oz, Stand By Me, The Goonies, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Short Circuit, Gremlins & Fletch.
THE MUSIC: My favourite thing about the 80s is definitely the music! One of the first things Andy & I bonded over was our mutual love of Hall & Oates. The only radio station I like these days is Absolute 80s & I probably listen to 80s music more than anything else. We were sent this CD of 100 'hits' & that term should be taken lightly. There's some good bands on it but the song choices were pretty obscure. Instead here's whats on my personal playlist. I could list hundreds of songs I adore so this is just a small selection of tunes that I love to sing along & dance to:
1. The Smiths - This Charming Man
2. Dexy's Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen
3. ABC - Poison Arrow
4. Spandau Ballet - Gold
5. Cameo - Word Up
6. The Specials - Ghost Town
7. The Cure - The Lovecats
8. Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime
9. Visage - Fade To Grey
10. Dead Or Alive - You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)
11. New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle
12. OMD - Enola Gay
13. Orange Juice - Rip It Up
14. Duran Duran - A View To A Kill
15. Gary Numan - Music For Chameleons
16. Human League - Don't You Want Me Baby
17. John Foxx - Underpass
18. Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
19. Hall & Oates - I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)
20. Ultravox - Vienna
THE SNACKS: Whilst watching our films, dancing about like crazy to some 80s tuneage & playing some party games we stuffed our faces with some retro sweeties. We were sent this huge box full of goodies from A Quarter Of which is an amazing online sweet shop. I'm rather partial to Fruit Salads & there were so many lovely treats like Parma Violets, Love Hearts, Sherbet Fountains, Wham bars, Drumstick lollies & lots lots more. We also got a bag of hard boiled sweets & a bag of chewy sweets. Let's just say the chewy sweets were devoured within minutes of me putting them out. It was the very best kind of sugar rush.
THE GAMES: The most iconic toy of the 80s has to be the Rubik's Cube. Andy & I completely failed at matching any of it up. I gave it to Chloe the next day & she actually managed to do one side?!?! Some kind of child prodigy I tells ya. We all had loads of fun with the remote control Pac-Man racers. Andy got given this cool Pac-Man mug for his Secret Santa at work so we had to get it out for this occasion - although we just drank cocktails instead of hot drinks! I made Sex On The Beach because that's one of our favourite drinks & apparently it was very popular in the 1980s. If Chloe hadn't been in the house we were gonna do a Back To The Future drinking game but that would've gotten us pretty wrecked!
When you're a parent to a young child every night becomes a night in so it was a lot more fun to give it a theme. If you don't get much time to go on a night out then I'd really recommend doing something like this. Themed nights in are a great idea if you're looking for something fun to do without a huge budget. I'm already planning a 90s one. Any suggestions are very welcome!
THE MOVIES: We were sent a selection of four classic 80s films. We ended up watching Back To The Future (although I prefer the sequel) & The Breakfast Club (one of my faves!). The 80s were a golden age for movies with huge blockbuster series like Star Wars, Batman, Indiana Jones & Die Hard. John Hughes was an unstoppable force & I'll happily watch any film with Molly Ringwold or any of the Brat Pack in it. If you're planning an 80s night here's some more cinema greats that I recommend: Heathers, Little Shop Of Horrors, Weird Science, The Man With Two Brains, Sixteen Candles, Blue Velvet, Labyrinth, Pretty In Pink, The Lost Boys, Raising Arizona, Twins, Beetlejuice, Return To Oz, Stand By Me, The Goonies, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Short Circuit, Gremlins & Fletch.
THE MUSIC: My favourite thing about the 80s is definitely the music! One of the first things Andy & I bonded over was our mutual love of Hall & Oates. The only radio station I like these days is Absolute 80s & I probably listen to 80s music more than anything else. We were sent this CD of 100 'hits' & that term should be taken lightly. There's some good bands on it but the song choices were pretty obscure. Instead here's whats on my personal playlist. I could list hundreds of songs I adore so this is just a small selection of tunes that I love to sing along & dance to:
1. The Smiths - This Charming Man
2. Dexy's Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen
3. ABC - Poison Arrow
4. Spandau Ballet - Gold
5. Cameo - Word Up
6. The Specials - Ghost Town
7. The Cure - The Lovecats
8. Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime
9. Visage - Fade To Grey
10. Dead Or Alive - You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)
11. New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle
12. OMD - Enola Gay
13. Orange Juice - Rip It Up
14. Duran Duran - A View To A Kill
15. Gary Numan - Music For Chameleons
16. Human League - Don't You Want Me Baby
17. John Foxx - Underpass
18. Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
19. Hall & Oates - I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)
20. Ultravox - Vienna
THE SNACKS: Whilst watching our films, dancing about like crazy to some 80s tuneage & playing some party games we stuffed our faces with some retro sweeties. We were sent this huge box full of goodies from A Quarter Of which is an amazing online sweet shop. I'm rather partial to Fruit Salads & there were so many lovely treats like Parma Violets, Love Hearts, Sherbet Fountains, Wham bars, Drumstick lollies & lots lots more. We also got a bag of hard boiled sweets & a bag of chewy sweets. Let's just say the chewy sweets were devoured within minutes of me putting them out. It was the very best kind of sugar rush.
THE GAMES: The most iconic toy of the 80s has to be the Rubik's Cube. Andy & I completely failed at matching any of it up. I gave it to Chloe the next day & she actually managed to do one side?!?! Some kind of child prodigy I tells ya. We all had loads of fun with the remote control Pac-Man racers. Andy got given this cool Pac-Man mug for his Secret Santa at work so we had to get it out for this occasion - although we just drank cocktails instead of hot drinks! I made Sex On The Beach because that's one of our favourite drinks & apparently it was very popular in the 1980s. If Chloe hadn't been in the house we were gonna do a Back To The Future drinking game but that would've gotten us pretty wrecked!
When you're a parent to a young child every night becomes a night in so it was a lot more fun to give it a theme. If you don't get much time to go on a night out then I'd really recommend doing something like this. Themed nights in are a great idea if you're looking for something fun to do without a huge budget. I'm already planning a 90s one. Any suggestions are very welcome!
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such a creative idea! i loved it
ReplyDeleteGemma Taylor-Jones
it definitely beat watching telly anyway ;) xx
DeleteNew Order ❤ I had an 80s night in too, I combined it with a charity and did a raffle and raised some money for cancer research. It was a bit of a girly sleepover. I'm too lazy to do a race for life ;) xx
ReplyDeleteAhh thats sounds awesome! Well done Gem :) xx
DeleteAn 80s night in sounds awesome!! The music choices and sweets are awesome :)
ReplyDeleteBest,
Christina
http://thedancegrad.com
The music & sweets were my favourite parts too! xx
Deletethis is such a great idea, it looks so fun! next time i'm too poor to go out, this is definitely what i'll be doing xo
ReplyDeletehanne-xo.blogspot.com
i'm always too poor to go out haha. it was actually really good fun though! xx
DeleteWhat a fab idea, I now want an 80's night in x
ReplyDeleteBeautyqueenuk xx
you should do one! its pretty easy to put together & a lot more fun than just sitting in front of corrie ;) xx
DeleteOooh... Are the Spice Girls 90s? :)
ReplyDeleteDanniella x | www.famousinjapan.co.uk
yasss! can't have a 90s night without the spice girls! xx
Deleteoh I want this too!!
ReplyDeleteyou should do it, i loved putting it all together xx
DeleteI wasn't born in the 80's (just missed them, I was born in 1990) but in terms of films, music and sweets it has to be one of my favourite decades. I went to an 80's disco before Christmas and I had such a good night!!
ReplyDeleteJade
Beauty Butterfly | UK Beauty Blog
totally! in terms of pop culture it was one of the best times. you can't beat a boogie to some 80s music! xx
Delete