It was all Michael, Madonna, and dancing on the ceiling at our brother's awesome 80s birthday party. We included lots of neon, of course, and a little nod to his dino-loving days as a kid, but the best part was the photo backdrop made from crepe paper streamers, garlands of pom-poms, and geometric cut paper. We all dressed up and had a blast posing with sunglasses, a slinky, Pac-Man and a can of hairspray, along with some totally radical era-appropriate thought bubbles. Wasn't this such a fun time to grow up?!
Here's where I got these decoration ideas:
I was absolutely inspired by the neon party DIY decor on this post from 100 Layer Cake-let, including the hand-cut paper Happy Birthday sign and colorful spray-painted animals. The big number 32 on the wall was made out of sticky notes. I added in some squares of darker blue card stock for some contrast. Garlands of neon pom-poms were hung everywhere, including from the chandelier. Plastic drink cups were decorated with neon round color-coding labels (the kind you buy at the office supply store, or even the dollar store).
The geometric cubes I used to decorate the pots of succulents were made from the templates here on the Ruffled blog. I must admit for some reason I was a bit challenged making these, and the glue didn't always seem to hold, so I just stuck with the pyramid shaped ones which were easiest.
I got the how-to for the paint-splattered popsicle stick table runner from At Home In Love (and I will say that it was a good time splattering that paint).
Finally, our ice cream cake this year was a Neapolitan style, with layers of chocolate, pistachio, and strawberry ice cream, along with chopped pistachios, maraschino cherries, and chocolate and vanilla wafers. The pop of colors when we cut it went perfectly with our theme!
