Hi, this is going to be a little long. It's a compilation from several sites.
in Reply to: sockhop party posted by Kw on October 10, 1999 at 18:21:41:
KW, make syre you use lots of 50's music and decorations.
As to games, Hula hoop contest
Dances & contests: Twist, Limbo, Stroll
Bubble gum blowing contests: Have LOTS of Bazooka gum for this one.
Straw cover blowing: See how far they can blow the covers off their straws.
Toothpick and Straw blow: Set up a Styrofoam sheet and let the kids, one at a time, try to blow a toothpick through their straw toward it. The object is to get it to stick. No blowing at each other!
Catch popcorn - toss to each other.
DECORATIONS
Tag games outside in the "drive-in" playground. 7-up is a good one. Attach 7 clothes pins to the back of each person. On go, everyone tries to pluck the clothes pins off of each other...maynot go out of bounds or they lose a pin.
Decorate your garage or room in your house 50's style like the gym where the dance was held. Or do it up like a drive-in. Make a large cut out of a 50's style car. Find a stand-up Danny Zuko for them to take pictures with and pass them out as party favors. OR find a movie look-a-like to pose with them, a convertible or cardboard jukebox.
For decorations, use cardboard records or old 45's hanging around. Crepe paper, balloons, music notes and movie posters. Set up an "ice cream bar" or tables. Set a "road sign" out front.
Hope these ideas help. I do know of a place where you can get 50's outfits via the internet, email me for more information.
50s Rock Around the Clock
Go back to the decade when rock n' roll made its debut. Elvis was the reigning king and transistor radios were all the rage. The average yearly salary was around $3000, and only the lucky families owned a color TV. Little girls yearned to be Barbie while little boys emulated Davy Crockett and coveted his coon skin hat. Women walked around in poodle skirts with bobby socks and saddle shoes, and men wore tight, cuffed jeans with white t-shirts (and a pack of cigarettes usually rolled in the sleeve). American Bandstand and Dick Clark introduced the coolest dances with the newest music, while everyone was watching James Dean at the drive-in movies. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat and Dr. Jonas Salk developed a vaccine for polio. Father knew best and everyone loved Lucy. Take a trip back to the days when hula-hoops and silly putty provided hours of entertainment and Frankie and Annette were the couple to watch and be.
Invitations
Send your guests fun and colorful Rock & Roll theme invitations in The Deluxe Party Pack from 1-800-Party Shop.
Design your own 45s, and make each invitation a different song from the 1950s. On the front of the record, write all of the party information using a silver paint pen. Send or hand deliver to your guests. This will be like no party they've been invited to before. If you can track down real 45s or have them in your basement, still, make custom labels to stick over the existing label. Mimic word placement and language.
party411.papermania.com
Plastic 13 inch musical notes make the perfect invitations, too. Use a permanent silver or gold metallic marker to write all of the party details on the front of each note.
Send your guests their invitations and party favors all in one batch. Volumes I and II of the 50s Dance Party are available on CD or cassette. Attach a piece of paper with the pertinent party information to the front of each cassette or CD or make your own label to stick on the cover.
If you really want to make things festive, ask your guests to dress in their favorite 50s gear, whether leather coats and blue jeans, poodle skirts, cinch belts and saddle shoes, or bowling shirts and capri pants. Of course you will be wearing a beehive hairdo to compliment your look.
Decorations
Talk about nostalgia! This is the decade of reverie and contentment. Use your imagination and this list of things from the 50s to set the tone for your fabulous Rock Around the Clock Party.
Play music from the 1950s in the background to get the party started. You know, Fabian, Frankie Avalon, Dion, Bobby Darrin, the Platters, the Del Vikings - can you hear it now? Greet your guests with candy cigarettes and take their Polaroid picture with cutouts of James Dean and Marilyn Monroe.
Liven up your party venue by designing it like a restaurant drive-in. Stick a "James Dean Road" or "Elvis Way"sign at the end of your driveway to indicate to guests that they have arrived at your great destination. If you are really going to go all out, which the Party Girl recommends, make several little holes in your sign and stick little twinkling lights through them. Hook it up to your power source and let the lights dazzle your guests. Make a sign that says "Bob and Carol's Drive-In Burg-o-rama" and hang it outside. If you need help with the sign, let Party411 Custom Creations do the job for you with great caricatures.
For a complete set of bright and colorful decorations, you can't go wrong with the Fabulous 50s Deluxe Party Pack. Hang a sign that says, "Fabulous 50s" in the doorway to welcome your guests as well as a 6' Rock & Roll banner. Decorate the walls with records and 50s themed cutouts. Make "Guys" and "Dolls" signs to put on your bathroom doors.
For "le piece de resistance," place an inflatable jukebox where everyone can look and admire. Hang fuzzy dice everywhere.
Add a balloon arch over the DJ or band with mylar jukeboxes and primary colors -and you're set for one rockin' good time!
Centerpieces
Place a different blow up instrument from the 50s at each table to achieve an authentic Rock & Roll look. Centerpieces can be 45 records with a base of balloons and/or more colorful balloons coming off for a room with a high ceiling.
Throw musical note confetti all around the instruments for festive decoration. Mini chocolate records are an even tastier way to decorate the table around each centerpiece. If you only have one table to decorate, make a collage of the blow-up instruments. Set them up like a band about to play. Tie balloons off the base in bright colors. Bobby sox should be at every seat in multiple colors for people to wear while they dance!
Another fun way to decorate the center of the table is to rent a mini jukebox. Place it in the middle of the table, and let the guests choose their own music.
For a fun way to give everyone their favors, tie the cutlery at each place setting to these great "Blues Brothers" sunglasses reminiscent of the 50s.
Set a glass sundae cup with balloons attached at each place setting to decorate the tables in a fun and fabulous way. Here's where you might start early and hunt for relics of the past at novelty and vintage stores. You'd be amazed at what people save and where they end up later. You will find lunch boxes, toys, kitchenware, LPs (that's records for you youngins) and more delectable goodies that will even enlighten the most cynical party-goer.
Other decorations can include model and toy Thunderbirds, hot rods or DeSotos (we all remember Mr. Cunningham's De Soto on Happy Days, do we not?). Come on, you can make this easy. Here are other remembrances of this era: Sky King, Daniel Boone, Rawhide, Cisco Kid & Poncho, the Lone Ranger, Cowboys & Indians, Rin Tin Tin, Mighty Mouse, Winky Dink & Me, James Dean, Rebel Without A Cause, Elizabeth Taylor & Rock Hudson, Boris & Bullwinkle, Fels Naptha, Soap Operas, Diners Club Card, automatic washing machines, UFO sightings, Dr. Spock, bomb shelters, ducktail hair (DA's), motorcycles, Marlon Brando, Alan Freed (Cleveland's own!), Friday night Cantines, Sputnik, vacuum cleaners, garages, drag races, Barbie, West Side Story….and on and on.
Menu
Food will remind the guests (or orient those younger ones) of the soda shops and drive-ins that were so popular. Soda shops were around before cholesterol, so serve the greasiest cheeseburgers with the saltiest fries and the thickest milkshakes that you can create. Coca-Cola is an acceptable substitute for a milkshake, as is a malted or a chocolate phosphate. Don't forget root-beer floats. Ice cream sundaes are a must as well. Chocolate guitars, records and CDs should grace the table for after dinner (don't you think?).
If you divert from the drive-in fare, go for the at-home cuisine, namely TV dinners. Pigs in a blanket, Ritz crackers, Velveeta, Bosco, Ovaltine, mashed potatoes and meatloaf . You can see where this is going.
For drinks, in addition to the soda shop favorites, serve Manhattans, Grasshoppers and Martinis, too.
Activities
It wouldn't be 50s party without checkers, Mr. Potato Head®, Parcheesi, and dancing. Have a game competition or dancing contest. Music is a great social activator.
Have a lip sync contest using all of your Rock & Roll favorites from the 50s. Make sure to swivel your hips if you sing a song by "Elvis the Pelvis!"
The hula-hoop is a 1950's favorite. Make sure to have more than one hoop handy so the guests can compete to see who can hula for the longest amount of time.
Have a treasure hunt. Kids love these. Click here for a treasure chest full of fun toys and stuff from the 50s.
Everyone loves a piñata! Let your guests take a swing at a really cool piñata shaped like a guitar. You can even choose between putting candy or 50s toys inside. (Don't forget to get the piñata buster too.)
Remember the "Tube of Bubbles?" This is the small tube of rubbery liquid substance that you try to make into a bubble, using something that resembles a mini coffee stir. Give everyone a tube and have a bubble-blowing contest. The person who blows the largest bubble wins a prize.
Party Favors & Prizes
The Fabulous 50s treat bag, complete with a fuchsia treat sack, a tube of bubbles, a soda/candy notepad, a finger trap, an ice cream cone shooter, and an inflatable guitar, is the perfect way to thank your guests for making your party a blast! Click here for the inside scoop.
Are you having trouble finding nostalgic favors from the 1950s? Worry no longer! Click here for an array of great gifts that are reminiscent of the 1950s. Trust me, the nostalgia will bring a tear to your eye.
Want to go back to the days of the "greasers?" Switch-Action combs are back to terrify strangers as well as to comb your hair.
Mr. Potato Head® keychains with a note or sticker of thanks will get amusement.
Fuzzy Dice will eternally remind your guests of the great time they've had when they hang them on their own car mirrors
1950's Diner Recently I planned a really fun birthday for my husband (who turned 34) and he was very surprised. Around 4pm I sent him and our two year old son down the street to the neighbors. While he was out, I turned our dining room into a 1950's style diner. I covered our dining table with a red and white checkered oil cloth. My 12 year old niece helped me make placemats which were photocopies of old recipes and images from the fifties covered with see-through window paper. We also made a menu with "Blue Plate Specials" on it and listed our supper: cheeseburgers, French fries, gravy etc, with 1950's prices on it. We set up the TV and VCR in the dining room and played a video of "I Love Lucy". In the kitchen we played diner music: Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis etc. We finished decorating with some oldie signs and a big sign that read "Al's Diner". (My husband's name is Alex). When my husband and son came home, he found my niece and I dressed in 50's garb. My niece took the orders and I fried up burgers and fries in the kitchen while the "customers" watched "I Love Lucy" and sipped on old fashioned soda pop in bottles(bought at a candy store). After supper I took my hubby for a surprise night of bowling where we met several friends. Afterwards, we returned to "Al's Diner" for homemade ice cream cake topped with a chocolate record that said: "For the record I love you." I also put out bowls of nostalgic candy like "crackerjacks", licorice and other stuff that the local candy store suggested. Everyone had a great time and each person went home with a package of "Jell-O" as a party favor. My husband loved the "diner" so much he now wants the dining room to stay that way permanently!
confetti in the shape of music notes, plastic records that said sock hop birthday party on them, pink and black ribbon hanging on the ceiling, and the table was set with bluish green colored plates that had a pink poodle on them, and the pink forks and knives were tied together with a white scarf that we wore either with the bow on the left if you had a boyfriend and on the right if you didn't, the cups and napkins matched the plates. At every place the was a pink and green little bag the contained a yo-yo, 50's glasses, a slinky, and lots of candy. we got in groups to make little pizzas for dinner which was really fun. then we went upstairs to dance to 50's music, such as Wake up little suzy, and alot of Elvis, then we played limbo and took lots of pictures of us in our 50's clothes. it was really fun.
we made classic fifties cars out of heavy duty card board boxes(complete w/flames & all) forth kids to sit in for the movie, this was no small task since we had about 45 kids. we even made a big sign with blinking lights and arrow that said "Emma Lu's drive-in. I found those old style-paper ice cream hats (like from Johnny rockets) and printed Emma Lu's drive-in labels and stuck them on for party hats. for party favors I found these great cardboard cut-out cars (fifties classics) inside each one was a bag of classic goodies like paddle balls, jacks, pick-up sticks, finger traps, hamburger shaped yo-yos, ice cream cone bubble necklaces, tube bubbles, mini slinkys and old style candies like wax bottles, pixy stix, fun-dip, atomic fireballs and of course bazooka gum. I tied each bag with a pair of fuzzy dice and sat it inside the car boxes ( the kids loved them) for games I had a hoola-hoop contest, a drag race( blowing hotwheels across a table with a straw) and a carhop relay ( I used toy burgers, hotdogs, fries, coke bottles & ice creams on trays, the kids had to carry them with one hand to the finish and back, if they dropped any food they had to stop and put it back on their trays) for prizes I passed out blow-up guitars and saxophones ( I actually gave them out to all the participants, they were all winners) for decorations I had turquoise, pink & black balloons, paper goods and tablecloths, each table had a model car (from my dads collection), 45 records and old fashioned sundae glasses with carnations arranged like sundaes, pink then white w/ a real cherry and two straws. I sprinkled the tables with serpentines and music note confetti. I also had a big inflatable jukebox ( which looked perfect with all the guitars & saxophones around it. a friend even brought his turquoise 55 ford and parked it right in the yard, we took photos of the kids in front of it with a Danny Zuko look-alike (a friend who looks just like john travolta in grease) for food we served burgers and hotdogs and since fries were too big of a hassle for that many people I used chips that looked just like crinkle fries (smart & final). I rented a popcorn machine and we served milkshakes. 3 of my friends were dressed in 50's waitress dresses and wore aprons that said Emma Lu's drive-in (I printed them on iron-on transfers on the computer) they even carried trays. the cake was a full sheet frosted gray like a tray on top of it sat a hamburger shaped cake and a giant bag of fries (which were actually biscotti cookies) I used another old sundae glass and made a strawberry sundae out of mini cupcakes poked into a foam ball center with toothpicks then frosted pink and white, then a cherry and the 2 straws were 2 candles. We even made a piñata that looked like a pair of pink fuzzy dice. Finally after cake and presents we showed the movie Grease right there in the front yard on the wall of the house, we borrowed on of those projectors that you hook up to a VCR and it projected the movie beautifully right on the wall. All of our hard work paid of when I saw all the kids sitting in their cars eating popcorn and when the movie started everyone was singing and clapping. It was a big job since there were over 100 people altogether, but what a sight, almost everyone was dressed 50's. I ironed embroidered initials on mine and both my daughters sweaters, we all wore saddle shoes and poodle skirts ( even my 3 month old) It was a hit, everyone had a blast. surely it was one for the memory books.
50'S NIGHT FOR GIRLS! This will be a dinner party, so it should be late in the day like 5:00 PM. INVITATIONS: Have a 50's style old car on the front, the invitation can say "Cruise on over for a Hot Roddin' good time". TO START OUT, have the girls put their hair back in pony tails with scarves (from the dollar store, use the silky ones). You could even make some "circle skirts" Just cut a big circle out of some material and cut a hole in the center and sew in an elastic waistband. THEN THEY CAN EACH MAKE A "COOKIE-BURGER". You will need to have frosting in red, white and yellow, preferably in actual ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard jars with spreading knives. For the lettuce, take some coconut and tint it green with food coloring. Cheese is a yellow gumdrop flattened with a rolling pin. To make a cookie burger, you take two vanilla wafers, on one of them, add just a little bit of really thin glaze, and sprinkle sesame seeds on it. Give each girl a set of vanilla wafers, on the "Bottom Bun" they can spread one of the "condiments" and then place a little mint wafer of other round, chocolate covered cookie, about the same size as a vanilla wafer., then they can add another condiment and the lettuce and cheese, and finally, the last condiment goes on the top bun and they place it on top of their burger. This takes a little prep-work but the kids will have a blast doing it. AT DINNER give the girls a menu, but instead of food, they have to order parts of a car. For instance: Fuel Pump - Beverage; Intake manifold - Salad; Carburetor - Spaghetti; Steering Wheel - Garlic Bread; Clutch - Toothpick; Fan Belt - Parmesan Cheese; Upholstery - Napkin; Spare Tire - Green Beans. Etc. For the first course, they are allowed to choose four things, they may end up with Salad, Garlic Bread, Parmesan and a Napkin. For the second course, they may choose two more items, say spaghetti and green beans. And for the third course, they may order two more items, beverage and a toothpick, perhaps. FOR GAMES, you should play games with Music, preferably "Car songs" such as the Beach Boys Little GTO, etc. You could play musical chairs, freeze dance or "Hot potato" but use a stuffed car, if you can find one. I would suggest having dinner early in the party, so the kids can get up and dance around between dinner and cake time. BE SURE TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THE GIRLS. Maybe set up a poster of a 50's style convertible car with a girl driving and a cut-out where the girls can put their heads, or just a blow-up of a 50's style drive-in for a backdrop. FOR THE CAKE, you could make it look like a winding road and put a 50's style hot wheels car on the road, or make a big round cake and decorate it to look like a record. (Use black paste icing from a decorating shop or it will just turn out gray). FOR DECORATIONS, if you have any, you could put the album covers (I mean record album covers, you know, those big plastic round things with grooves on them) and hang them around, and maybe make some records out of black construction paper. Hope you have a great time at your party!
I had a fifties Party for my 7 year old last year. WE hung old records from the ceiling by fishing wire, contacted the radio stations for prizes: bumper stickers, key chains ect., played music from Grease and other 50's artists, made balloon poodles, had everyone dress in character, had a dance contest, a hand jive contest, a best dressed contest, and a limbo contest! The winners won prizes from the radio station (big ones like T-shirts and CD's). Everyone went home with the small prizes. We had a Cookie cake that was designed to look like a record and had root beer floats and ice cream sundaes they made themselves. Everyone had a ball and the party was a big success!! Invitations were copy paper cut out to look like a record and the text was written around the record to look like a record. In the middle I wrote Brieanna's 7th Birthday "It's My party and I'll cry if I want to." to make it look like a real record with the title.
When my daughter turned three years old, we made her a 50's party. We had a poodle skirt made for her, and I even found her some saddle oxfords. It was in September and I found her a white short sleeved sweater and I had it embroidered with a K on the left side. I had my sister give me all her old 45 records. I removed the original labels, and made new ones on my computer. They read as follows: Let's Rock and Roll at Kassandra Paulyna's 3rd Birthday Party. It had all the info on one side, and the other side listed my husband and I as the producers of the record and invited everyone to wear poodle skirts and leather jackets. I decided to decorate in red and black. I bought red table cloths and black center squares. For centerpieces, I bought a lot of coke glasses and crushed Styrofoam and tinted it pink with red food coloring. I put it in the glasses and glued three artificial carnations together to look like ice cream and put in the glass also. I bought artificial cherries and glued on top of the flowers and added some straws. They looked like ice cream sodas. I bought a candy mold in the shape of a jukebox and made plaster of Paris magnets and pins. We served hot dogs and hamburgers in plastic baskets and had a dance contest with the music from "American Graffiti" I could not believe how many moms went out of their way to make poodle skirts. My husband made a huge jukebox out of Styrofoam. I ordered jukebox shaped Mylar balloons, and made felt record shaped candy bags. I also bought music note shaped confetti and sprinkled them on the tables. It was an awesome party and everyone had a blast.
Here's a cute decorating idea our school has used for the past couple of years. First, ask a local pizza parlor to donate the cardboard pizza rounds they use deliver pizzas on. Next, cover the rounds with aluminum foil, add a colored or black construction paper circle in the center and a small sequin for the record punch. This replicates a record which reflects lots of light . You can also add dangling musical notes, etc. If you place them on the walls, it makes the gym kind of "sparkly". We also give each child a neon glow-in-the dark necklace (the glow stick kind). This is kind of cool too since some kids wear them on their necks, heads or arms and they glow while they are dancing around. Good luck!
