By Gail Leino 

Everyone remembers this era fondly, and even if you are not a product of that era, you can enjoy a 50s theme party! Your 50s theme party may be based on a 50s sock hop, or a 50s costume party. Dances like the twist, and the jitterbug were all the rage, and if you are not old enough to remember, no worries! Just take a look at such popular movies as Grease, American Graffiti, or for an original, try Westside Story, for inspiration!

Menus are simple. Hamburgers, hot dogs, and French fries were the haute cuisine for the day! You could even consider renting a vintage movie theater for the day! Serve orange soda, purple cows (grape soda mixed with Milk), and vintage style bags of hot, buttered popcorn. Show old, vintage movies or remakes for an evening everyone is sure to remember and enjoy!

Hula hoops were all the rage, and you could have a hula contest, where the winner earns a prize. 50s trivia games are always fun, or you could have Name that song games where you played snippets of songs commonly heard on the oldies stations. There are two variations of this game. You may either play music from movies, themes from television, commercials, etc. to be matched with their titles, or play short pieces to be completed by listeners. This can fit in nicely with dance contests or Karaoke competitions.

Clothing such as saddle shoes, poodle skirts, straight legged jeans with the legs rolled up, penny loafers, cardigans, or beatnik dress should have everyone dressed and ready to rock the night away 50s theme style. Top it off with tunes from Elvis, The Platters, Little Richard, or The Platters will round out the night nicely and tie into the 50s theme you have planned!