This past NYE we hosted an 80's themed party and dressing up the part was required. Everyone's costume could be anything 80's related so sky was the limit and this would fare for a fun and interesting evening. Since everyone would be coming in costume we decided to also set up a photo booth with a few props.
For our family of four it was pretty easy to decide on what we would wear except for my hubby who kept changing his mind on his costume. With the holiday season being so busy we didn't have enough time to get too elaborate on our costumes and I wanted to use things that we already have or could find easily at the Goodwill or elsewhere for cheap.
Our two boys were totally easy to dress up, they ended up being Run DMC. All they needed were a pair of black track pants, black shirts, fedora hats, and gold necklaces. Real simple! The lil kid already had a hand me down Run DMC t-shirt from his big brother, so that was perfect. I also was actually able to find the lil kid a black Adidas track jacket at the Goodwill for $3.99 :) and fedora hats from The Dollar Tree. For the gold necklaces they just wore some gold beaded NYE necklaces that I got for party props.
For myself I pretty much had an idea on what I was going to wear but the decision on how to coordinate the outfit was the more daunting task. After searching on Pinterest and googling ideas I got set on some kind of Jazzercise'ish/Let's Get Physical outfit. When I found the lil kid's jacket at Goodwill, I also found for myself a pair of bright pink and black jogging shorts that were still brand new with tags on salvaged item from Target for $3.99. I already had on hand at home a pair of black tights, an old t-shirt that I cut up, and a white tube top. All I needed to complete my outfit was a pair of leg warmers and gloves. I didn't realize how expensive those things were! I knew there had to be a way to DIY it myself on the cheap.
I remember on Pinterest that leg warmers would be easy to make by using the sleeves of old sweaters. So I went back to Goodwill to hunt for some cheap sweaters on color tagged special but that was a bust until I saw something at the end of the aisle. There were pairs of cheap colorful socks and I also remembered on Pinterest seeing how to make baby legs from socks...also a friend of mine has done so herself. I examined the socks and figured that they were stretchy and long enough for me so I could experiment.
Based on tutorials when making baby legs you'd have to cut right where the heel part is and that would be a perfect length for a baby after sewing up a seam. However, I needed that extra material to fit for an adult. So I just snipped off the toe area and sewed a seam. Then since the heel part tuckered out, I snipped a little bit off so it was sticking out so much and sewed the hole right back up. Then there you have it a pair of cheap DIY adult leg warmers ;).
Now for my gloves I found a similar matching in color pair of socks at the dollar store. I snipped a little bit of the toe part off, sewn a seam, and sewn finger holes. Since I was pressed for time I just snipped a little hole for the thumb parts and put some anti fraying liquid to keep it from unraveling. Threw on my outfit, did a half up pony tail to the side with a cotton headband I used as a "scrunchie", slapped on some makeup, and used some of the NYE beaded necklaces. Outfit complete!
Now for my hubby he kept going back and forth on his outfit. He had the bright idea for us to go as American Gladiators or as Prince and Apollonia in the movie Purple Rain. If we had time I so could make that happen but there was no way I'd be able to pull that off in the few days had to prepare. Then I came up with the idea of him going as Bob Ross from that PBS painting show, he had the outfit all he needed was to borrow an Afro wig. Another option was to go as Tom Cruise in Risky Business, but hubby doesn't own tighty whities and I wasn't about to go buy a pack just for the party. Then I came up with the wonderful idea of him going as Cheech from the movie Up in Smoke ^_^!
I didn't have the yellow tank top/tee, red beanie, or red suspenders so I had to improvise a little. I could've sworn that my hubby had a black vest but it must've gotten lost in our moving shuffle from the year before. So I ended up doing a DIY vest of my own instead. I had an old black t-shirt and just cut off the sleeves and shaped the front to look like a vest. Since I was making photo booth props that consisted of mustaches there was one perfect to be a Cheech mustache. I traced the handle bar mustache onto some black felt and added double sided tape for hubby to wear. Then hubby threw on a pair of khaki pants, a white ribbed tank top, the DIY vest, the mustache, and a black beanie. Hubby normally shaves his head so he was supposed to wear my old mullet wig under his beanie but he opted out from doing so. It wasn't necessary since his costume was still easily identifiable even if I didn't have time to DIY a huge fake "joint" ;)-.
We had Bruce Springsteen, Ghostbusters, Marty McFly, a few more 80's exercisers, Sloth from The Goonies, Mr. T, 80's teeny boppers, Madonna,and Punky Brewster join the party. The night was filled with lots of food even if it was just a pupu potluck, laughs, and fun with the photobooth. When it was time to countdown to the new year, we all gathered outside and did four countdowns since we kept going by people's different clocks times. LOL! Nonetheless, we Chee Huu'd a few times and rang in the new year with everyone.
The party turned out to be a success and a few of us talked about doing another themed party in a few months. I think we settled on a superhero theme for the next one and I've already got ideas for our family costumes. I'm already thinking up ideas on how to improve the backdrop for the next photo booth.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014 EVERYONE!
xoxo,
Adriana
