Retro children's party for adults

[80svibes]

So long story short, I have found myself organising an afternoon tea meets eighties children’s party in a work context, as a bit of a light-hearted team event.

Hoping to please mine some ideas from you nest of vipers... :)

We’re thinking retro party food, party bags, games, etc. Things like Party Rings, Hula Hoops, Monster Munch, Fondant Fancies, etc. as well as "proper" food like sandwiches too.

Any thoughts on any food/snacks would give proper 80s kids’ party vibes? Or what might put in an adult's party bag (obvs work appropriate). Any games or activities that could work for a work crowd? We’re not talking musical chairs or pass the parcel - more tongue-in-cheek quizzes, challenges, maybe something we could do on Kahoot, or anything that gets people involved without being too cringe. Any other little decorations, touches or ridiculous 80s details that would really make it?

Thanks in advance for anyone's ideas!

Sweetie watches
https://www.treasureislandsweets.co.uk/love-hearts-tabs-pez/candy-watches-x-60-mega-value-party-bag.html?srsltid=AU7gw4Vj_YWwY4wRol9dkWol78ZlY_Nzp8T_MYN2nG0eWpJNiAwFMLbW

Candy sticks (no longer with the cigarette packaging!)

https://www.treasureislandsweets.co.uk/love-hearts-tabs-pez/barratt-candy-sticks-box.html?srsltid=AU7gw4WygCyeIxjDoUufnMzVrc30Nk2J-E-7VRncIkxKwy7VYGtFrcKv

Assuming everyone on the team is English? I ended up at a sort of retro party thing once with older versions of games but as an immigrant I basically had no idea what was going on. Not to say you need to be totally inclusive but just kind about people who might skip the quizzes or challenges etc.

I did one of these many years ago but with friends so my ideas wouldn’t be work appropriate 😂

I think the bulks been covered, kids parties in the 80s were definitely very basic. The only other suggestions I have are apple bobbing and party hats.

Oh, and spiral hats!

https://parkersbranded.co.uk/product/spiral-hats/

We never got party bags in the 80's. This is a game we played at school called the word association game.

• Sit in a circle with your group.
• The first person says a random starting word.
• The next person quickly says a new word that relates to the previous word.
• The game moves around the circle in order.
• Keep the pace fast and do not pause.

Rules and Tips

• No repeats: You cannot reuse a word that was already said in the current game.
• Quick thinking: Set a timer, like 5 seconds, for each person to speak. If a player takes too long, they are out.
• Justify connections: If someone picks an unusual word, the group can ask them to explain the link.

One example is the starting word was house we had to think of words associated with a house. About half around the circle someone said walls so the next person said ice-cream.

Playing hide and seek
Playground games the farmers in his den orange's and lemon's skipping tag etc. Them clapping rhymes we used to do.

Jazzies/ jazzles
Bon’s Bon’s
pear drops
sherbert dips
could actually do retro sweet bags!
pineapple and cheese on cocktail sticks
Cheese and cucumber sandwiches without the crusts

party bags containing mini Rubik’s cubes

Play ‘Superman’ by Black Lace and do all the actions! Or realistically perhaps a related game where maybe you could put a bunch of suggestions and people say which ones were and weren’t in the song and get points for it? Although I’ve just Googled and it was released in 1989 apparently so only just clips the ‘80’s.

Neon socks in party bags, ideally repacked into mis matched pairs. Michael Jackson gloves and Madonna/Cyndi lace gloves. Lynx Africa.

It was also the era of pizza buffets and roller boots, if you wanted to go a bit more teenage school disco than primary party.

We’re thinking retro party food, party bags, games, etc. Things like Party Rings, Hula Hoops, Monster Munch, Fondant Fancies, etc. as well as "proper" food like sandwiches too.

Make sure you leave the sandwiches out just long enough to slightly curl at the edges!

Jam tarts
Jammie dodgers
Wotsits
Cadbury fingers
Cucumber sticks and cherry tomatoes

Pin the tail on the donkey

And one of those orange fortune telling fish you put on your palm.
Deely boppers were all the rage in the early 80’s.

Someone did pass the parcel at a work event for us it was very retro and fun

Cheese and pineapple definitely!

And tiny tubes of smarties

Playlist to include

The Birdie Song
Agadoo

Some of these are making me feel very nostalgic!

No to the donut thing at a work party 😂😂

Don't forget the music!

A playlist featuring the right sort of music from the decades when colleagues were children.

Ha, another popular game was a race passing balloons along a line without hands by holding the balloon between knees or there was a variation holding the balloon under your chin. I discounted these as being NSFW!

Absolutely no to the feminine wipes and condoms. First of all, they’re not funny (this is for adults, not 12 year olds!) and even if they were, you shouldn’t be making jokes that relate to your colleagues genitalia or sex lives.

I’m all for a bit of fun at work and the party sounds good - but keep it appropriate.

There’s plenty of things you can put in an adult pass the parcel that don’t are HR complaint (scratch cards, stationery, chocolates, tea bags, funny desk signs, joke books, silly socks).

I made adult party bags once. Each bag had a pen, sweets, a bendy straw and a magnet with an amusing phrase on geared towards the specific person. Girls had some pretty pocket tissues and boys had a small pack of pokemon cards.

You could play 'Pin the Tail on the Manager'.

Definitely do pass the parcel, if I went to this and there wasn't pass the parcel I'd be so disappointed

Communards -don’t leave me this way
kylie- the locomotion
Micheal Jackson - Bad
S.A.W songs
The Conga 😊
Salt N Pepper- push it

The chocolate game where you have to get dressed up in a scarf, hat and gloves and eat a bar of chocolate with a fork and knife. Or what was the one where you got blindfolded and hit your friends with a big stick made out of newspaper?

Music!! Superman song - ie the song where they call out actions you have to do like swim, ski, macho man and it always ended with doing superman and kids would be standing on benches jumping off pretending to be superman. My fav memory of any 80s party

"Are you there Moriarty?" I loved that game, excellent opportunity to whack my brothers hard on the head with newspaper.