Da Bomb! Ideas For A 90s Theme Party

Planning a 90s party takes more than just a killer playlist. To pull off the perfect nostalgia-filled event, you need the full package: decor, activities, food, and attire that transport your guests back to the days of scrunchies, boy bands, and dial-up internet.

This comprehensive guide has everything you need to make your 90s theme party totally da bomb. This post will not only give you ideas spanning music, decor, food, drinks, activities, attire, and more, You’ll find plenty of inspiration for more specific 90s theme parties, like a rave event or paying homage to 90s Hip Hop. So let’s dive in for some sweet throwback fun!

Bodacious Venues for Your 90s Theme Party

Choosing a venue with the perfect 90s ambiance is crucial for setting the mood. Here are some rad options to host your phat party:

To recreate those chill 90s hangout vibes, see if you can rent out a local roller rink, bowling alley, or arcade. Having the real deal venue transports guests back in time instantly. Go all out with neon lights, fun music, and 1990s snacks from the snack bar.

For a more DIY vibe, transform your parents’ basement into a 90s teen den. Use wood paneling as a wall backdrop and hang movie posters, string lights, and bean bag chairs. Bring in a TV, Nintendo, VHS tapes, and old board games to complete the look.

If you’re hosting an adults-only soiree, find a bar or club willing to go all out 90s for the night. Neon everything, discount well drinks, and some party jams on the speakers will do the trick. Pass out glow sticks and rock on like it’s 1999.

Decor That Brings Major 90s Vibes

With the perfect decor touches, your party venue will totally transport guests back to the decade. Use these ideas to make your space ooze 90s attitude.

Deck out your party space in vibrant neon colors, tie-dye patterns, and other loud 90s prints. Use streamers, balloons, tablecloths, and wall hangings to transport guests back to the decade.

Scatter pogs, beanie babies, Tamagotchis, and other iconic 90s toys everywhere as nostalgic decorations and conversation starters.

Transform party rooms by hanging streamers, neon signs, inflatable furniture, and glow-in-the-dark stars just like an authentic 90s teen bedroom. Boost the nostalgia further with “ancient” tech like boomboxes, VHS tapes, floppy disks, Walkmans, Tamogotchis, and brick cell phones. Scatter them around your party space or create displays.

Set up a photo booth backdrop covered in 90s memorabilia like CDs, cassette tapes, scrunchies, toys, and other icons of the era. Provide props like oversize headphones, huge sunglasses, fanny packs, old cell phones and bucket hats. These props will make for good grammable ops.

Light up your space with glow sticks, strobe lights, lava lamps, and candles for that chill 90s atmosphere. Play around with black lights too for a club edge.

Serve snacks in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle paper plates. Make Jell-O shots in Solo Jazz pattern cups. Wrap plastic utensils in 90s cartoon character napkins.

Bangin’ 90s Invitations

First impressions matter, so make sure your 90s party invitations set the rad mood you’re going for. Some fresh ideas:

Design printed invitations with neon, psychedelic or graffiti style fonts and graphics. Include 90s slang phrases like “This party is da bomb!”

Create a retro party invite flyer and photocopy it onto colored paper. Fold it into a paper airplane to mail.

If you really want to tap into that visual nostalgia, find some old school Lisa Frank or Sticky Hands stationery. Create invites featuring rainbow unicorns, puffy stickers, and neon squiggles for maximum 90s flair.

Or if you want to go digital, make a social media event with a 90s GeoCities or Angelfire style background graphic and neon text. Post 90s trivia and music videos to keep guests entertained in the run up to the event.

Use These Jams To Pump Up The Volume

No 90s party is complete without a playlist of classic 90s anthems. Here’s what to queue up to get guests rocking side to side:

The boy bands simply cannot be forgotten. Crank up the nostalgia with the smoothest hits from Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, 98 Degrees, O-Town, and Hanson. Everyone will be doing the choreography before you know it.

You also need the female pop icons that dominated the charts. Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, TLC, Brandy, Monica, Destiny’s Child – play all their smash hits back to back for maximum ’90s vibes.

In addition to the pop bands, reserve space for the hip hop legends of the 90s. Tupac, Biggie, Snoop, Dr. Dre, Wu-Tang – these juggernauts shaped the culture. Mix in classics from Jay-Z, Missy Elliott, Lauryn Hill and you’ve got one phat playlist.

And we can’t forget the guitar heroes like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Smashing Pumpkins and more that made 90s rock so epic. Sprinkle these heavy tunes between the pop for genre balance.

Finally, don’t forget to add a sprinkle of cheese with The Macarena, Barbie Girl, Cotton Eye Joe and other one hit wonders.

Dress the Part with 90s Threads

The clothing and style is half the fun! Encourage guests to rummage through their closets and the local thrift store, so they can show up dressed to impress in their finest 90s gear. Here are some iconic outfit ideas:

Have guests dress as their favorite 90s TV, movie, and pop culture characters. Ideas include the Spice Girls, Chandler from Friends, Cher from Clueless, the Fresh Prince, and many more. Pick sub culture fashions too like grunge and hip hop for inspiration.

Guys can rock Academy preppie gear like khakis, polos, sweaters tied around their shoulders, and backwards hats for that 90s frat boy swagger.

Ladies can slay in their cropped tops, choker necklaces, floral miniskirts, platform shoes, scrunchies, and butterfly hair clips. Think Clueless vibes.

Don’t forget the baggy jeans, overalls, flannels, windbreakers, bucket hats, fanny packs – these classic 90s styles work for everyone.

And the footwear completes the looks. Dr Martens, jelly shoes, light-up sneakers, chunky FILAs and Coverse canvas shoes.

Provide extra accessories like slap bracelets, scrunchies, and hair tinsel to take outfits to the next level. Award prizes for best dressed if you’re feeling some friendly competition!

Quench Thirst with 90s Inspired Beverages

Keep guests hydrated with nostalgic 90s drinks from the plastic pouches, 2-liters, and soda fountains that were so popular.

For a non-alcoholic vibe, serve up Kool-Aid, Surge, Clearly Canadian, and regular soda and juice in those iconic red or jazzy cups.

If you want to add booze, introduce Sex on the beach and Fuzzy naval cocktails along with wine coolers, gin & juice or other quintessentially 90s liquors. Don’t forget the beers!

Or set up a legit mocktail bar with hip drinks like the “Blue Hawaiian” made with blue curacao and pineapple juice.

Fuel Up With Totally Tubular 90s Grub

Guests will work up hearty appetites, dancing and laughing the night away. Make sure to have plenty of trendy 90s foods on hand to keep the party going all night long.

Savory Bites

90s finger foods like nachos, chicken wings, and mozzarella sticks make the perfect appetizers. Fry up a few trays of those crowd-pleasing bites.

Recreate the snacks mom used to make for after school snacks. Think mini Bagel Bites, pizza rolls, quesadillas with that shredded three cheese blend, ranch-dipped carrot sticks. Childhood fave foods always delight.

Another crowd-pleasing idea are mini sandwich rollups made with lunch meat, cheese sticks, pizza ingredients – anything 90s kids would expect in their Lunchables.

Don’t forget the classic chips n dip like Ruffles, Bugles and Cheeseballs!

Sweet Treats

Of course, the 90s candy selection brings the biggest dose of nostalgia. Fill bowls with Gushers, Nerds, Reese’s Pieces and Skittles – you know, the good stuff!

And who could forget the 90s classics like Dunkaroos, Fruit Roll Ups and Ring Pops? A 90s shindig makes no sense without them.

Rice Krispie Treats are a good addition for plant based guests.

Main Meals

For more filling 90s-themed fare, fire up the oven for 90s kid-friendly classics like mac n’ cheese, chicken nuggets, tater to casserole, sliders and hot dogs. Comfort food at its finest!

And don’t forget plant-based 90s specials like black bean burritos and vegetarian Boca burgers.

More 90s Party Food Ideas

Games & Activities for Major 90s Fun

In between busting moves on the dance floor, give guests a chance to let loose and laugh together with these entertaining party games and activities:

Hold a lip sync battle or full on 90s karaoke – bonus points if you actually learn the dances to your favorite 90s hits!
Test guests’ memories with rounds of 90s song trivia, finish the lyric challenges, and throwback TV/movie quote guessing games
Break out classic 90s board games like Dream Phone, Girl Talk and Mall Madness. Twister, Hungry Hungry Hippos, and Operation also never go out of style.
Hold a costume contest halfway through the party and award prizes for best dressed 90s recreation
Set up an “arcade” area with an N64 or a mini games console with 90s classics preloaded. A Mario Kart race or Mortal Kombat beat ’em up will keep the laughs flowing.
Hold a winner takes all Pogs tournament.
Channel beauty pageants of the 90s with a DIY competition. Have guests model their 90s outfits and give their best answers to questions about world peace. Hand out 90s swag as prizes.

Totally Awesome 90s Favor Bags

Send your homies home with parting gifts that keep the 90s spirit alive. Ideas for rad favors:

Goodie bags stuffed with Ring Pops, Push Pops, Slap Bracelets, Nerds, Airheads and other iconic 90s candies
Disposable cameras to capture even more old school Polaroids with friends
Custom print koozies, tattoos, sunglasses and other swag emblazoned with 90s slang like “Talk to the hand” “As If!” and “Da Bomb”
Homemade friendship bracelets with bright woven embroidery floss threads
Give out old school toys and accessories like Tamagotchis, Pogs, butterfly hair clips, scrunchies, temporary tattoos, slap bracelets, gel pens, mood rings and neon yo-yos.
Make DIY snack packs filled with classic 90s candies like Pop Rocks, Ring Pops, Push Pops, or Dunkaroos.
Give photo keychains, magnets, or prints from a signature 90s party selfie station.

Try These Rad 90s Niche Themes

Now that you’ve got a good overview of what you need to have a general 90s party, you might to get more specific with your theme. Give some of these different 90s flavas to try:

90s Hip Hop Party with Boomboxes, Bandanas, Bucket Hats and Baggy Clothes

For an authentic 90s hip hop party, decorate with graffiti art, street signs, and a DIY cardboard boombox photo booth. Ask guests to dress the part in baggy jeans, bandanas, bucket hats, name plate necklaces, door knocker earrings. Blast hit rap and R&B singles from the decade’s top artists like Tupac, Biggie, Snoop, Dre, Missy, Wu-Tang, Jodeci, Mary J and more. Serve up soul food staples like fried chicken, mac and cheese, collard greens, cornbread, and red koolaid. And provide prop blunts, 40oz beers, and “bling” necklaces and rings for fun photos. A hip hop homage with major old school swag.

90s Grunge Party with Flannels, Docs, and Gritty Guitar Jams

Break out the flannels, ripped jeans, and Doc Martens for this dark, moody 90s grunge theme. Crank the guitars with a soundtrack of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Smashing Pumpkins. Make a signature cocktail called “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. Deck out the space with band posters, string lights, and scatter beanie bags for chill lounging. Set up a moody grunge photobooth with Polaroid camera and props. And transform a wall into a collage of graffiti song lyrics. It will feel just like a 90s alternative show, perfect for rockers.

Relive Weekend Cartoons with a 90s Nickelodeon Party

For those who grew up watching 90s cartoons, this one brings the childhood vibes. Pick your favorite show like Rugrats, Doug, Ren & Stimpy, Hey Arnold, Rocko’s Modern Life and decorate with oversized cardboard cutouts of characters, balloons, streamers in the iconic colors. Project episodes on a screen and serve up bowls of cereal, waffles, donuts – Saturday morning classics. Make green slime cups, have squirt gun battles, and fill a kiddie pool with plastic balls to replicate 90s Nickelodeon in all its messy, colorful glory.

90s Country Hoedown with Cowboy Boots and Line Dancing

Create a boot scootin’ country party by decking out your space with bales of hay, wagon wheels, checkered tablecloths, and string lights. Ask guests to don their best cowboy boots, hats and belt buckles. Play top country hits from the 90s era on rotation all night long. Serve down home fare like BBQ ribs, chili, cornbread, baked beans and beer on picnic tables. With Shania and Garth blasting in the background, guests will be line dancing til the cows come home. Yeehaw!

90s Rave Party with Glow Sticks, Blacklights, Neon and Techno Beats

Recreate an underground 90s rave with blacklights, strobe effects, glow sticks, bead curtains, neon decor galore to transform the atmosphere. Pump the bass with classic techno, house, trance and drum n bass from the era. Make rave themed cocktails along with all those nostalgic snacks and treats. Bring in old school arcade games and have psychedelic projections on the walls. The ultimate retro party for EDM fans looking to relive the carefree days of 90s raving. Peace, love, unity, respect!

Slow Jam at a 90s R&B House Party

Slow jam the night away with sultry 90s R&B hits from artists like Dru Hill, Boyz II Men, Toni Braxton, TLC, Destiny’s Child and others. Ask guests to in their best 90s RnB video threads. Serve up soul food favorites like fried chicken, mac and cheese, collard greens and cornbread. Have throw pillows and floor cushions everywhere for relaxation. And get ready for nonstop bumping and grinding to the sensual slow jams of the era. A sizzling, seductive soiree.

90s TV Theme Party

For TV lovers, go all out with a nostalgic 90s television theme. Decorate with memorabilia and inside jokes from favorite sitcoms, teen dramas and cartoons. Print out color posters of show casts and place big cardboard cutouts of the most iconic characters. Use TV trays to display themed snacks and drinks like cereal and milk, pizza and soda, popcorn and Mallomars. Set up a cozy viewing area with beanbags and pillows where guests can watch classic 90s show intros and episode clips. Incorporate TV props as photo booth accessories – brick phones, Trapper Keepers, skateboards etc. And don’t forget trivia – test guests memorabilia with questions about characters, plots and memorable quotes. With all the beloved shows to pull inspiration from, this theme is perfect for a hilarious TV watch party.

90s Movie Theme Party

For movie heads, this theme is a chance to revisit the iconic films of the decade. Decorate with vintage movie posters, cinema marquees and clapperboards. Project favorite scenes and montages on screens. Name tables after popular actors like Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks, Jim Carrey. Serve popcorn in retro boxes, movie theater candy and pizza. Incorporate ticket booth photo ops and red carpet backdrops. Play Name That Movie quote trivia. Have viewing stations to watch classics like Clueless, Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump. And award prizes for the best 90s character costumes. A Hollywood-themed extravaganza for movie buffs to indulge in 90s nostalgia.

Whoah! I think you’ve just read the most epic 90s theme party guide of all time! Even if I do say so myself! I hope you have plenty of ideas now for an awesome party to take you right back to the days of carefree fun and childhood. Enjoy!