30th Birthday Party Ideas to Get the Party Started
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- Updated: 13th October 2023
If you were born in the early 90s, you lived through the Spice Girls, the cinematic release of Titanic, the Macarena craze, and the tragic end of Britney and Justin's perfect relationship... and odds are good that you've got a massive birthday on the horizon!
Are you thirty, flirty, and thriving? It's time to celebrate your thirtieth year on Earth and revisit the pop culture that got you this far!
We believe the best 30th birthday party ideas embrace the past, allowing you to revisit the best of your youth from an adult vantage point. Why throw a stuffy dinner party when you can let loose with the sound of your favourite pop sensations or stuff your face full of pizza?
Read on to learn how to throw a party for a thirty-year-old who still embraces the kid within!
The Ultimate 30th Birthday Pyjama Party
The ultimate rite of passage for anyone coming of age in the early aughts was the opportunity to stay the night at a friend's house.
These overnight get-togethers almost always devolved into bonafide pyjama parties, complete with the food, music, and activities that lasted until the wee hours. For your friend's 30th, we recommend elevating the humble sleep-over further by throwing a nostalgic 90s/2000s pyjama party with everything you wish you'd had growing up!
A teen sleep-over is one of our favourite 30th birthday themes because you can adjust it to suit any celebrant! It's a brilliant chance to kick back and enjoy all of their personal childhood favourites. Hire a DJ, play your favourite Spice Girls songs, and remember the good old days!
Party Entertainment
Take your event to the next level with one of our live party bands, musicians or DJs
Dress Down
When you're party planning, include a note on your invitations that it's a pyjama-friendly event. The casual dress code will clarify that this is a laid-back, nostalgic affair. Encourage dressing gowns, fuzzy slippers, and fuzzy pyjama bottoms!
You can also provide each guest with a pair of perfect slippers as a party favour upon their arrival. They'll feel like kids again when they leave their dancing shoes at the door!
Just because it's a pyjama party doesn't mean guests must spend the night. Decide if you'll be hosting everyone or sending them packing at midnight. These adult sleep-over parties tend to be a little boozier than their teenage templates, so it can be helpful if you offer to host!
Boy Band Bonanza
Long before One Direction hit the scene and the name "Harry Styles" produced a visceral reaction in the average music fan, plenty of other boy bands graced the charts. They were the steamy, dreamy pop sensations most popular in the late 90s and early 2000s. If you're turning 30 anytime soon, you most likely grew up with these fit crooners singing sweet nothings in your ears.
If you're throwing a Throwback Thirtieth for a grown-up boy band stan, you can't go wrong with a rockin' tribute to the pop idols of yore. A Boy Band-themed party permits guests to love big and loud, without shame, just like an enthusiastic teen. After all, it's probably been a while since you've screamed with glorious abandon when your favourite pop hit came on the radio!
Include the Hits
It's been such a long time since some of the biggest boy bands were popular that you may be able to coax them to appear at the party in person! If the blokes from Boyzone are busy that night, however, you'll still need entertainment. The best way to emulate the energy and enthusiasm of a late 90s or 2000s pop concert is to bring in a group of live musicians.
The top British Boy Bands from the 90s and 2000s include:
- Take That
- 5ive
- East 17
- Boyzone
- Let Loose
- Blue
- McFly
- The Wanted
- JLS
When you hire a pop band to play at your event, let them know that you're planning an over-the-top 90s, 2000s, or Boy Band theme so they can deliver the ultimate playlist! The members of a great 90s tribute band should be able to create a repertoire for the evening that will keep every 90s baby on their feet. They can even deliver a love ballad directly to a blushing guest of honour, making her feel like she's twelve again!
If you're craving that 2000-and-late pop sound, a pop-rock cover band will deliver what you need. These professional musicians understand the nuances of the music that formed the soundtrack of your childhood. They'll put together a bumpin' selection of 2000s chart-toppers, and everyone can hear their Top 40 favourite during the celebration.
Teen Bedroom Decor
Every 90s baby grew up with full-colour posters and magazine clippings on their walls and ceilings! You can emulate the vibe of a 2000s bedroom by featuring "vintage" posters and magazine centrefolds in your party decor.
Consider featuring AIM Chat Speak on your table cards or menus. Set each place at the table with a pair of neon shutter shades. You might even hire an airbrush artist to create custom trucker hats or t-shirts in that distinctive late 90s style.
Some translucent, inflatable bedroom furniture, beanbag chairs, over-the-top fluffy pillows, and bubblegum-coloured uplighting should complete the look. If you're keen to cringe, show some of the guest of honour's old home movies on an old-school television and VCR. You can mix it up and play some early 2000s music videos in between.
Lip Sync Contest
No 30th birthday pyjama party bash is complete without a lip sync contest! It's one of our favourite unique party ideas because it's both an activity and entertainment. Hire a band and get them involved in the competition!
Guests can take turns dressing in 90s and 2000s fashion props and attempting to nail a lip-synced performance of their favourite chart-topper. Be sure to award prizes for the best and worst performances. Don't forget to film the results!
Let Them Eat Cake (And Pizza)
A sleep-over theme is one of the best birthday party ideas for low-maintenance dining. While you're welcome to cater the event or even bring in a personal chef for a truly elevated adult pyjama party, it's unnecessary. The most authentic way to feed a crowd is to order a tall stack of pizzas or other favourite takeout and pig out - plates optional!
It can also be fun to include pizza making as part of the festivities. Offer dough and a toppings bar and allow guests to get creative. You can bake them in the oven or have a caterer bring in a wood-fired pizza oven for authentic fun.
Food is one component of the party that's easy to match to the tastes of your guest of honour. There's no reason why you can't have wine and cheese at a grown-up pyjama party, after all!
Of course, no birthday party is complete without a birthday cake, and you can incorporate creative party ideas into that part of the ritual, too. Buy a blank sheet cake at the store and leave the decorating to the guests, or have guests decorate individual cupcakes. For a more intimate affair, guests might even bake the cake themselves!
So much of the fun of spending the night as a teenager involves feeling like an adult. When adults make their own pizzas or birthday cake, they feel like teenagers! It's a funny paradox that you can only experience at a nostalgic, throw-back 30th birthday party.
The Midnight Feast
No pyjama party is complete without a midnight feast, and you can emulate the magic of this ritual for your grown-up guests! We recommend using this as an opportunity to splurge on adult goodies and feel like you're up to no good!
At a larger 30th birthday party, the midnight feast might take the form of a surprise Viennese table, complete with a buffet of tempting desserts from which to pick and choose. You might rent a sweets bar and allow guests to curate a bag of treats or even bring out a popcorn or candy floss machine.
You can also distribute grown-up favour bags full of the highest-quality junk food as an option for smaller events. Include a few chocolate truffles, fancy bakery pastries, gourmet lollies, and other surprises. Add a few bags of crisps or commercial sweets for that decadent, nostalgic touch!
If you have the stamina, you can engage the group in a cooking ritual at midnight instead and whip up fresh treats from scratch. Baking a store-bought tube of cinnamon rolls or a batch of cookies is just as fun!
Pop Culture Cocktails
What's the fun of throwing a pyjama party as an adult if you can't enjoy it like an adult? The thing that makes party planning so delightful is getting a little tipsy! Rather than stealing liquor from your parents' alcohol cabinet, you can curate a menu of 90s and early 2000s pop-culture-inspired drinks for guests to enjoy.
You don't need to be a mixologist to get creative. Take your favourite mixed drinks and give them names inspired by the films, musical artists, television shows, celebrities, and aesthetics that defined your childhood.
Of course, you can also choose drinks from the 90s and 2000s themselves, if you can find them! Nothing looked cooler to a starry-eyed teenager than one of those rainbow-coloured alcopops. Pick up WKD Blue and turn your tongue a shocking shade, or pack a cooler with Bacardi Breezers.
Alternatively, you can create custom drink labels for your favourite beverages, which make great decor. Everyone on the guest list will get a kick out of slurping spirits in their pyjamas, whatever you choose!
Show a Movie from the Decade
Has anyone ever spent the night at a friend's house without turning on a film? Once everyone's in their pyjamas, a bit drunk, and full of junk food, spread out some blankets and set up a projector. Your guests will relish the opportunity to lounge in the dark and enjoy watching a favourite nostalgic film late into the night.
A few of the top films in the 2000s include:
- Shaun of the Dead
- Hot Fuzz
- Attack the Block
- 28 Days Later
- Harry Potter
- My Summer of Love
- Sing Street
- Pride & Prejudice
- Bridget Jones's Diary
- Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging
Whether you try to scare guests with a campy horror flick or choose a teenage favourite, everyone will have a blast sprawling out and reminiscing. You might even time your midnight feast before the movie so guests can snack while they lounge.
Set up a Beauty Bar
You're unlikely to leave a teenage pyjama party without getting a makeover - or, at the very least, a manicure!
You can encourage this beloved sleep-over pastime by setting up a beauty bar for guests to visit throughout the event. Include a few silly beauty basics that your teenage self would have loved, then let guests go to town!
Include nail polish, nail polish remover, and fun, glittery nail decals for classic 2000s manicures. You can also include clip-in hair highlights or hair mascara. Add a few popular 90s hair accessories such as butterfly clips to recreate favourite hairstyles from childhood!
If you're encouraging makeovers, include a photo booth or backdrop where guests can record their results. Set up a dedicated party hashtag so you'll have access to the highlights after the event. Add a few photo props, you're sure to capture some gems!
30th Birthday Party Ideas for the Nostalgia Treatment
When you embrace these nostalgic 30th birthday party ideas, the 2000s won't seem like they were two decades ago. You and your guests will travel back in time to the best pyjama party of your lives! There is no better way to celebrate thirty years on the planet than by allowing yourself to relax, pig out, and embrace the unbridled enthusiasm of your youth.
Nothing will bring you back to the past like the distinctive sound of your favourite decade! Bands For Hire will hook you up with a professional DJ, cover band, or tribute band to transport you back in style. Reach out today to get that lip sync challenge started!
