Sockhop Activities/Games

There are plenty of activities to do at a sock hop party. Of course you can dance to 1950s music (look up instructions on how to do the jitterbug, hand jive, etc.), but there's other 1950s activities, like bubblegum blowing contests, hula hoop contest, Monopoly ( a popular board game in the 50s), watching Grease,  and a mini bowling competition. I cut out some pennants out of stiff felt I found at a craft store, and then guests can decorate a pennant  with felt letters, glitter, and gems if they want. A big part of my party is going to be making our own ice cream sundaes, floats, and milkshakes. You can also pose in front of some of your party decorations and snap a whole bunch of photos of you and your gang in your poodle skirts, Pink Ladies jackets, and cat eye glasses! :)

1950s Food

If you decide to serve dinner at your sock hop, there are many choices of food that fit the theme. For my party, I'm having hot dogs/ hamburgers and french fries/onion rings. You could also have mini meatloaf and mashed potatoes for everyone, or even get a bunch of frozen t.v. dinners. I'm putting my food in a  red  plastic basket which included red and white checked wax paper that I got at Walmart. They look like authentic diner baskets! Drinks are going to be in mini glass coke bottles I found at a dollar store for 2 for a dollar. You can also order striped paper straws from various places online.
I'm also going to have a make your own sundae or milkshake spot, so I'll stock up on vanilla and chocolate ice cream, coke, root beer, chocolate syrup, and get the blender ready. I found out how to make some popular 1950's drinks, like a brown cow (root beer float) and an egg cream (seltzer water, milk, and chocolate syrup). However, an egg cream doesn't sound very appealing to me, but maybe some guests will be more adventurous :).

1950s Candy

If your having a 1950s party, you should definitely stock up on candy from that era. After a lot of online research on popular 50s candy, and a trip to the local pharmacy that has a large array of old fashion candy to choose from, I ended up with a pile of candy, which included candy buttons, Mary Janes, wax bottles, buttermints with sweet 16 wrappers, shoe string licorice, satelite wafers, candy lipstick, cherry lollipops, scented chewing gum, and of course Bazooka bubblegum. Most of these candies will be sent home in giftbags, but I'll scatter them around the table so they're available to anyone who wants some candy during the party. :)

Homemade Jukebox

 For my party I decided to make a jukebox decoration. As I said in an earlier post, in hindsight I would've purchased one, because it took so long to make.However, if you make the design simpler than the one I chose, it will go faster.
The jukebox I made was about the size of an entire poster board, only the edges were rounded off. I used a ruler and pencil to sketch out the design I wanted (I used some jukeboxes on Google Images to help with the design) (it will be easier to sketch out the design on a piece of loose leaf first). Then my sister and I painted the jukebox with craft paint. I opted for some brown paint to make it look like a wooden jukebox, but you can do a completely colorful jukebox if that's the look you want. We then traced the jukebox with marker to help make the design pop.  :)

Sockhop Invites

Sock hop invites are pretty easy to make, especially if you only need to make a a few. Using construction paper, black poster board, and a marker, you can create a 1950's record. I used a plate to trace circles on the black poster board, and then cut them out. I traced a cup on pink (or whatever colors you are using for your party; mine were mostly pink, black, and white) construction paper, and glued them in the center of the black records. I used a marker to draw a black dot in the center, then in a circle around that dot I wrote Kelly's Sweet Sixteen Sock Hop". I typed up the info about the party (when, where, etc.) on the computer and glued that to the back of the record. To fit the invite in an envelope I bent the records in half. And wha-la - you have invites! :)

Party Planning Tips

Here some tips that may help you with your party planning...
 1. Don't stress. Your party and party  planning should be fun, not a pain and yet another thing to stress over. Work on your party a little bit each day, rather than start the day before and completely freak out.
2. Figure out whats worth making yourself and whats better to buy. If your creating a lot of the party yourself (decorations, food, etc.) decide if its worth your time and energy to make it or just spend a few extra dollars to buy. For example, I learned it would have been better to buy a paper cut out of a jukebox rather than draw one on a poster board, paint it, and outline it. I think I've worked on that jukebox for more than 2 hours already, and the darn thing still isn't done. Don't get me wrong, I love doing crafts, but its starting to get a tad tedious now that I'm nearing the 3rd hour....
3. Get some helpers. If at all possible, see if you can get a few people to help you plan a party. My mom and sister are really good at helping :)
4. Everything is better  with glitter. This is my personal motto :) 

Sweet 16 Sock Hop!

So, for my sixteenth birthday party, I decided to do a 1950's Sock hop/Soda Shop theme. (If I got the choice of what era to live in, it would be the 1950s, cause who wouldn't love the poodle skirts, sock hop dancing, and 50s music?) It started off as more soda shop theme, but evolved more into a sock hop. We did alot of online research for this party, and many of the decorations were home made, or found at other stores, rather than just a party store. More posts to come on this party! :)

Welcome!

Welcome to Glitter Girl Parties! I'm going to use this blog to share party ideas :)