Throw your favorite 80 year old a Jazz themed party they will never forget. The 1930s were the decade they were born in, encompassed some of Jazz's finest years, and also marked the end of Prohibition - certainly a reason to celebrate. Read on for all the details you'll need to throw a fabulous Jazz themed 80th birthday.
Plan your party with the best-looking invitations on the web!
Create apropos 1930s themed invitations by working with your local printer who can create greeting cards.
Either find a picture of the birthday guy or gal in an old photo that typifies the 1930s, or choose an iconic 1930s photograph to use as the image on front of the card.
Pictures such as people celebrating the end of Prohibition, listening to jazz musicians, swing dancing, or wearing 1930s fashions like hats, curled updos and layered pearls.
On the inside of the card, invite guests to step back in time to the 1930s in honor of the year the birthday guest of honor was born.
Ask invitees to arrive dressed as their favorite 1930s icon such as Coco Chanel, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Spencer Tracy, Ernest Hemmingway, Alfred Hitchcock, Salvador Dali, Judy Garland, Clark Gable, Theodore Roosevelt, Cary Grant, Al Capone, Pablo Picasso, or Amelia Earhart, to name a few.
Jazz reigned supreme for the early half of the 1930s, with swing music creeping in toward the latter half of the decade. Make a fantastic music mix that will have guests feeling like they're in a 1930s Jazz club or listening to a swing big band with music from the following artists:
- Duke Ellington - Red Hot Peppers - Louis Armstrong - Fletcher Henderson - Benny Goodman - Glenn Miller - Artie Shaw - Count Basie - Lu Watters - Miles Davis and John Coltrane; though technically their music belongs in the category of 1950s jazz
If your guests are confused as to what constitutes 1930s fashion, we have a few suggestions for iconic outfits of the decade. Luckily, these clothes can be worn by everyone from ages 8 to 80:
Women's 1930s Fashion
- Long strands of layered pearls - Hats with a medium brim, worn askew - Waved hair gathered in low curls at the nape of the neck - Fox and other fur stoles - Long glamorous dresses - High waisted, wide leg sailor pants
Men's 1930s Fashion
- Dapper double breasted suits - Trilby hats, similar to Fedoras - Vests - Casual wear included polos - Pinstripes - Hair slicked back with a wet look
Though Prohibition lasted until 1933, as soon as the 21st Amendment went into effect everyone went back to drinking (if they hadn't already been visiting speakeasies for the past decade). Back in the 1930s, drink mixes and sodas were not around yet, and all cocktails were made from scratch with fresh ingredients. As a result, juleps, fizzers, sours, manhattans and sidecars were the drinks of the decade. Create Your Own 1930s Bar
Create your own speakeasy style bar setup by creating a few of the decade's favorite cocktails and pre-pouring them into glasses. Line the drinks up in rows according to the type of cocktail and place a label in front explaining the beverage for an easy yet chic self-serve bar. Add a bit of clever decoration by hanging a banner over the bar that reads "End of Prohibition."
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