The Roaring ’20s are roaring again! Celebrate the occasion with our concise and helpful guide on how to throw a jazzy party that is, as someone of the ’20s would say, the bee’s knees!

Decor & Music

What the master party planner must remember here is that the Roaring ’20s were flamboyant in every sense of the word. Think of “The Great Gatsby” — flashy, sparkly, and luxurious! Silver, gold, and black make for a striking palette. And if you’ve watched the Gatsby movie with Leonardo DiCaprio, you know music is crucial! “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody” essentially sums up the mindset of the decade. It was called the Jazz Age for a reason — from blues and ragtime arose the musical genre of jazz, pioneered by stars like Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. Today, electro swing music puts a more synthesized spin on classic jazz pieces — a good genre to include in your party playlist.

Dress

Encourage your guests to dress for the occasion. Flappers, the “new women” of the age as it were, dressed scandalously (by which we mean showing the ankle). Dresses had a loose and straight fit, and women also donned themselves with long pearl necklaces, cocoon fur coats, and beanie-like hats over a bobbed hairstyle. They also took one more revolutionary step for the age in applying bold and dark makeup. If your guests are not partial to dresses and skirts, men wore the finest of suits and tuxedos, with oxfords and fedoras or bowlers to top the look. Suspenders and bejeweled canes are also welcome accessories.

Food

The food of the ’20s was interesting, to say the least. The rise of factories ushered in many of today’s recognizable big brand names, like Oreos, Reese’s, Velveeta, and Haribo Gummy Bears. Baby Ruth candy bars and graham crackers were also popular, along with deviled eggs for fancier occasions. In addition, as the innovation of canned food made faraway delicacies more accessible, people began to indulge in new fruits such as bananas and pineapples. This gave rise to perhaps the most popular dessert of the decade: pineapple upside down cakes. They can also be made as cupcakes topped with maraschino cherries for the convenience of your guests.

It is important to keep the theme consistent here as well — serve your hors d’oeuvres on bright plates and dishware. We recommend serving drinks in champagne flutes for aesthetic.

Activities

As the party planner, you are at liberty to host any games or activities you feel appropriate for your gathering; however, we have a few recommendations. As you serve refreshments, have a little mocktail party. After all, cocktail parties were all the rage a hundred years ago! Later on, a rousing game of bingo!

If you have watched the Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life,” you may recall the scene at the high school reunion in which Mary Hatch and George Bailey competed in a grand dance-off in the school gym. They danced the Charleston, a surprisingly easy step you can teach to your guests! What makes it fun is that you can customize it any way you like with extra moves. Or, you can just play Just Dance. Whichever way you go, you can’t go wrong by including a jazzy dance!

If you follow these easy party planning tips, your ’20s get-together is guaranteed to be the cat’s pajamas!