BIRTHDAY PARTIES IN THE 1980s

Parents, have your kids ever been invited to an over-the-top birthday party that looked like it was straight from Pinterest and might have cost more than your wedding?

Kids’ birthday parties have gotten more extravagant in the last few years and often resemble a competitive sport, with families trying to outdo one another with each soiree. A simple cake-and-ice-cream party is hard to come by these days.

There was a time, though, when birthday parties were rather modest and didn’t cost an arm and a leg. Those of us who grew up in the 1980s probably remember the simplicity of yearly celebrations with friends and family. Let’s revisit that decade and take a look at a typical birthday party for a child back then.

Location

Birthday parties were often at the child’s house, with a few friends and family members. Sleepovers were common, particularly for girls. If the party were outside the home, roller rinks, pizza restaurants and McDonald’s were popular locations.

Cake

The favorite part of a celebration for most kids—and adults—was often baked by Mom in the ’80s. Even when it was from a bakery, the cake was usually pretty basic, perhaps with a favorite character on top. My mom made a Pac-Man cake in the early ’80s by cutting a slice out of a round cake and slapping some yellow frosting on the rest. That was as fancy as it got at our house!

Gifts

Popular toys in the ’80s included Rubik’s Cube, Cabbage Patch Dolls, Rainbow Brite, Care Bears, Pogo Balls, Lite Brite, G.I. Joe, Atari and Nintendo games, Strawberry Shortcake, Star Wars items and Smurfs.

Decorations

Long before Martha Stewart and Pinterest inspired parents to up the fancy factor for their kids’ parties, decorations were typically unassuming. Parents hung a few crepe paper streamers and balloons and called it good. Neon colors, rainbows and polka dots were popular.

Food

Full spreads of food are common at today’s birthday parties, but in the ’80s parents often served just cake and ice cream. If snacks were provided, they were likely out of a bag and poured into serving bowls. Popular snacks and drinks of the time were Fruit Roll-Ups, Doritos, Combos, Pop Rocks, Tab cola, Kool-Aid and Capri Sun. If parents wanted to go all-out, the paper plates might have had a theme, such as Smurfs or Transformers.

Music

If some tunes were played at a birthday party (always at roller rinks, of course!), kids heard the hit singers of the time, including Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Michael Jackson, the Bangles, Journey, Whitney Houston, Phil Collins and, in the latter part of the decade, New Kids on the Block. MTV was in its infancy, and cassette tapes were all the rage. Who didn’t have a mix tape or two of their favorite songs in the ’80s?

It’s interesting to note that many party supply stores now carry ’80s-themed goods, so if you missed the decade the first time around or want to relive that era, you’re in luck!

Tisha Foley grew up in the ’80s. Her favorite birthday memory is having a party at the park when she turned 7.