408 Party Theme Ideas For Adults

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408 Party themes from the cute to the quirky that will rock your next party

Here is a gigantic list of the best 408 party themes that are perfect for birthday parties, costume parties and celebrations in 2025.

Yep, move over, kids! It’s time for the grown-ups to have some theme party fun!

If you have spent so long planning kids’ parties that you’ve run out of creativity for coming up with a party for you and your own friends, look no further. 

There are 408 unique party theme ideas for you to choose from ahead of inviting all your favourite family and friends to join you for the mother of all parties. 

Use this big list to get creative with your next anniversary or birthday party theme.

Or perhaps for a Christmas get-together and of course for New Year’s Eve!

Whether you hire a party planner or make the party yourself, just because you’re grown-up doesn’t mean you can’t play dress-up! 

I’ve created a huge list of all the party themes in alphabetical order.

And just to make things as easy as possible for you…

If you scroll past the main list, you will also find a separate list with the themes split into the following theme genres:

• Movie inspired ideas
• TV show-inspired ideas
• Christmas theme ideas
• Sport inspired ideas
• Halloween theme ideas
• Funny party themes – for serious amounts of comedy

Right, are you ready to dive in?

THE BIGGEST LIST OF PARTY THEMES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

Want to know what the really good party themes are for adults?

The coolest themes, the quirkiest, the most fun? Read on…

I’ve literally added every single conceivable idea for a party theme to this list.

Some of the themes are food-inspired, and some are distinctly retro or nostalgic.

There are plenty of ideas for dress-up and costume parties, but also plenty of ideas for simply having a party decor and party food theme.

1. 1920s – Flapper – (see How to host a Great Gatsby theme party)
2. 1920s – Gangster
3. 1950s – Rock n roll
4. 1960s – Swinging 60s London
5. 1970s – Hippie 
6. 1970s British punk 
7. 1970s Disco Party
8. 1980s Movie stars
9. 1980s Pop stars 
10. 1990s Pop stars
11. 2000 Pop stars 
12. 80s Club night 
13. 90s Club night
14. Abigail’s Party  
15. Alice in Wonderland
16. All American
17. A Midsummer Night’s Dream
18. Ancient Rome
19. Andy Warhol The Factory 
20. Angels and Devils
21. Animal Kingdom
22. Anime
23. Anything but Black
24. Arabian Nights
25. Around the world
26. Astrology
27. Austin Powers
28. Avengers
29. Awards after-show party
30. Back to Prom
31. Back to school
32. Back to the Future
33. Back to the Future
34. Back to the noughties dance party
35. Backyard BBQ
36. Bad hair day
37. Bad Santa
38. Bad Taste Party
39. Barbie (The movie)
40. Barbie and Ken
41. Baseball Greats
42. Basketball / NBA party
43. Basketball Heroes
44. Baywatch
45. Beach party
46. Better Call Saul
47. Big Bang Theory
48. Billie Eilish – neon green and black party
49. Black, gold, silver theme 
50. Black & White Movies
51. Black and white colour theme
52. Black tie
53. Bluey
54. Board game night
55. Bob Ross painting party
56. Bogan Bash Party
57. Boho
58. Bollywood
59. Brazilian Carnival
60. Breakfast at Tiffany’s
61. Breaking Bad
62. Bridgerton
63. Britain’s Got Talent / TV talent show
64. British royal family through the ages
65. Brunch party
66. Buffy The Vampire Slayer
67. Bugsy Malone 
68. Burlesque
69. Camping party
70. Candy theme
71. Carnival
72. Casino – the movie
73. Casino night
74. Characters from 80s movies
75. Characters from 90s movies
76. Characters from stage musicals 
77. Characters from noughties movies
78. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
79. Cheerleaders
80. Chinese New Year 
81. Chocolate fountain party
82. Christmas in July
83. Christmas sweater party
84. Chronicles of Narnia
85. Cinco de Mayo
86. Circus
87. City Slickers
88. Class Disney character
89. Classic 80’s (think Ferris Buller, Pretty in Pink)
90. Clueless
91. Coachella festival at home
92. Cocktail party 
93. Cocomelon
94. Comedy show characters
95. Comic books
96. Cook-off or bake-off theme
97. Country Bumpkin
98. Country music
99. Craft party
100. Cuban Nights

And now for the next 100…

101. Crazy hair
102. Cricket afternoon tea
103. Dance battle
104. Dancing With The Stars/Strictly Come Dancing
105. David Bowie
106. Dead zombie pop stars
107. Dead zombie movie stars
108. Death to my youth party
109. Denim and diamonds
110. Dessert bar
111. Dia De Muertos/Day of the Dead
112. Die Hard – everyone dresses as John McClane
113. Dinner party
114. Dirty Dancing
115. Disco
116. Doctor Who
117. Downton Abbey
118. Dr. Seuss
119. Dress as the thing you most fear
120. Dress as your favourite celebrity
121. Dress for the decade you were born
122. Dress up as your favourite character from a TV show or film!
123. Dr Who
124. Egyptian Theme
125. Elvis through the decades party
126. Enchanted forest
127. English High Tea
128. Escape room
129. Fairy Tales
130. Famous couples
131. Famous Dead People
132. Famous Sports People
133. Fancy Dress (anything goes)
134. Fantastic Beasts
135. Favourite popstar
136. Favourite things party
137. Fire and ice
138. Fondue
139. Footballers and Wives (or husbands)
140. Footballing heroes
141. Fresh Prince of Bel Air
142. Friends (the TV show)
143. Game of Thrones
144. Gameshow
145. Gaming
146. Gaming party
147. Gangsters and Flappers
148. Garden party
149. Geeks and tech bros
150. Ghostbusters
151. Ghosts and ghouls
152. Girls night in
153. Glamping
154. Glam Rock
155. Glam squad
156. Glastonbury at home
157. Glee
158. Glitter and sparkles
159. Glow in the dark
160. Golf
161. Goth
162. Grammys party
163. Grease
164. Great Leaders from History
165. Great Wall of China
166. Grill and chill
167. Guardians of the Galaxy
168. Halloween
169. Hamptons at home
170. Happy Days
171. Harry Potter
172. Harry Styles
173. Havana Nights
174. Hawaiian Luau
175. Heavy metal
176. Heroes vs villains
177. High tea
178. Hip Hop
179. Holographic
180. Horror film classics
181. Hot Tub Time Machine
182. House of the Dragon
183. Ibiza Chillout
184. Ibiza Rocks
185. Ice cream bar
186. Iconic footballing heroes
187. International food
188. James Bond
189. Jane Austen novels
190. Jane Fonda 80s workout party
191. Jelly and ice-cream
192. John Hughes 80s party
193. John Hughes movies
194. Karaoke party
195. Keeping up with the Kardashians
196. Kids show characters
197. Kings and Queens party
198. La Dolce Vita
199. Las Vegas

Keep going, there’s more…

200. Lego
201. Line dancing
202. Lord of the Rings
203. Love & romance
204. Mad Hatter’s Tea Party
205. Mad Max
206. Mad Men
207. Madonna through the decades
208. Magic Mike
209. Magic show
210. Magnum PI
211. Makeover
212. Mama Mia
213. Mustache Party
214. Mardi Gras
215. Martin Scorsese movies
216. Marvel Characters
217. Masks and Mimosas
218. Masquerade ball
219. Mediaeval
220. Memory lane
221. Mermaids and mermen
222. Mexican fiesta
223. Miami Vice
224. Milkshake bar
225. Minute To Win It
226. Mission Impossible
227. Moulin Rouge
228. Movie marathon
229. Movie stars of the 80s
230. Movie stars of the 90s
231. Movie stars of the noughties
232. Murder mystery
233. Music festival in your yard/back garden
234. Music video party
235. Neighbours (TV show)
236. Neon UV party
237. New York New York
238. Nightmare Before Christmas
239. Nobody Wants This
240. North Pole
241. Notorious figures from history
242. Oktoberfest
243. Olympians/Olympics
244. Olympic heroes
245. Onesie party
246. Only Murders In The Building
247. Oscars party
248. Outer space
249. Painting party
250. Pantone Colour of the Year
251. Parisienne nights
252. Pastel colours
253. Peace and love
254. Peaky Blinders characters
255. Pierrot
256. Pirates of the Caribbean
257. Pizza
258. Plant and sip gardening party
259. Poker party
260. Pool party
261. Pop art
262. Pop culture
263. Popstar
264. Pot luck party
265. Pretty in Pink
266. Pretty Woman
267. Primary Colours Only
268. Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
269. Project Runway
270. Pulp Fiction
271. Pyjama Party
272. Quentin Tarantino movie characters
273. Race day
274. Rainbow party
275. Real Housewives
276. Reality TV Stars
277. Red, blue and white
278. Red carpet
279. Redneck/Hillbilly party
280. Reggae
281. Retro
282. Retro board games
283. Retro rave
284. Retro video games
285. Revisiting your school prom
286. Rio Carnival
287. Rockabilly
288. Rock n Roll
289. Rockstar
290. Rocky Horror Picture Show
291. Roller disco
292. Safari
293. Salsa
294. Sandra Dee sleepover party
295. Saturday Night Fever
296. Scavenger hunt
297. Science fiction
298. Scooby Doo mystery party
299. Selfie party

On the home strait now, here’s the last 100+

300. Seven deadly sins
301. Shakespearean characters
302. Signs of the zodiac
303. Silent disco
304. Silver soirée
305. Slumber party
306. Smores and hotdogs campfire
307. SNL
308. Social media influencer party
309. Spaghetti Western
310. Spa pamper party
311. Speakeasy
312. Speed dating/matchmaking party
313. Spiderman
314. Spielberg movie characters
315. Sports Day
316. A Question of Sport – plan your own sports quiz
317. Spice Girls
318. Springtime in Paris
319. Squid Game
320. St. Patrick’s Day
321. Star Trek
322. Star Wars
323. Stranger Things
324. Strictly Come Dancing / Dancing With The Stars
325. Studio 54
326. Succession – will you be Shiv, Kendal, Roman or Logan?!
327. Summer camp
328. Sumo party
329. Super Bowl
330. Superheroes
331. Superstar DJs
332. Surf’s Up
333. Surprise party
334. Survivor
335. Sushi train
336. Taco bar
337. Tacky Prom Party
338. Talent Show
339. Tantrums and tiaras
340. Tartan & Scotch
341. Taylor Swift stans
342. Tech Bros – (Elon, Mark, Jeff…)
343. Tech Nerd Party
344. The Bachelor / Bachelorette
345. The beautiful and the damned
346. The Bear (TV Show)
347. The Breakfast Club
348. The Crown
349. The Future
350. The Godfather
351. The Goonies
352. The Greatest Showman
353. The Great Gatsby (See how to put together a Gatsby-themed party)
354. The Grinch
355. The Inbetweeners
356. The Kardashians
357. The Mandalorian
358. The Muppets
359. The Nightmare Before Christmas
360. The Queen’s Gambit chess party
361. The Rocky Horror Picture Show
362. The Simpsons
363. The Sopranos
364. The Wizard of Oz
365. Things starting with a certain letter
366. Things That Fly
367. Thrift Shop Finds (set a budget)
368. Tiger King
369. Time Travellers
370. Titanic
371. Toga party
372. Top Gun/Top Gun: Maverick
373. Toy Story
374. Transformers
375. Trashy/tacky dress-up party
376. Travel themed
377. Tropical
378. Truth or dare games
379. Tux and Tiaras
380. TV show characters
381. Ugly bridesmaid dress theme
382. Ugly sweater
383. UK prime ministers through the decades
384. Under the Sea/ Nautical
385. Underwater/ocean
386. Unicorn
387. US presidents through the decades
388. Venice Beach muscle party
389. Video Killed the Radio Star
390. Vintage Funfair Themed Party
391. Vintage garden party
392. Vintage Hollywood
393. VIP party
394. Viva Las Vegas
395. Walk Like An Egyptian
396. Westside Story
397. White party
398. Wig party
399. Wild west
400. Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory
401. Wimbledon whites
402. Wine and cheese
403. Winter Wonderland
404. Wizard of Oz
405. Woodstock
406. Woody Allen movies
407. Zen 
408. Zombie Apocalypse Party
409. Zodiac Nights Party

Related: 463 Costume party ideas – even more costume inspiration!

TV SHOW-INSPIRED PARTY THEMES

TV shows make really fun party themes.

They are particularly brilliant if there is an iconic character or characters, such as Ross and Rachel for a little nostalgia or Jon Snow and Daenerys for an epic fantasy-style party.

Reality TV shows also make a great basis for creating a party theme for a party for adults.

Keeping Up With The Kardashians provides endless opportunities for creative dressing up fun, as does the Real Housewives.

Favourite and super popular TV shows from across the decades make great party themes.

Here is a list of TV shows that would make great party themes, either because they have iconic characters or iconic storylines or just because they offer up the chance to have lots of fun.

1. Bay Watch
2. Better Call Saul
3. Breaking Bad
4. Bridgerton
5. Doctor Who
6. Downton Abbey
7. Favourite TV comedy show
8. Favourite TV detective show
9. Favourite TV quiz show
10. Friends
11. Fresh Prince of Bel Air
12. Game of Thrones 
13. Happy Days
14. House of the Dragon
15. Keeping up with the Kardashians
16. Mad Men
17. Magnum PI
18. Miami Vice
19. Neighbours
20. Nobody Wants This
21. Only Murders In The Building
22. Peaky Blinders
23. Project Runway
24. Real Housewives
25. Succession – the ultimate power party theme!
26. SNL 
27. Squid Game
28. Star Trek
29. Stranger Things
30. Strictly Come Dancing / Dancing With The Stars
31. The Bear – though, be careful not to actually recreate the epic party scene in season 2!
32. The Crown
33. The Inbetweeners
34. The Muppets
35. The Simpsons
36. The Sopranos
37. The Walking Dead

MOVIE-INSPIRED PARTY THEMES

Movie-inspired party themes to make for really big, fancy parties.

Think of milestone parties, like 30th, 40th, 50th etc. You can pick a film that was huge in the birthday person’s birth year.

Go for parties with iconic characters, such as James Bond, Cher from Clueless or Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Or think about how the movie could inspire the party venue – or the party venue could inspire the party theme!

1. Abigail’s Party  
2. Austin Powers
3. Avengers
4. Back to the Future
5. Barbie (So many Barbies and Kens to choose from)
6. Breakfast at Tiffany’s 
7. Casino
8. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
9. Classic 80’s (think Ferris Buller, Pretty in Pink)
10. Clueless
11. Die Hard – everyone dresses as John McClane
12. Dirty Dancing
13. Fantastic Beasts
14. Ghostbusters
15. Grease
16. Guardians of the Galaxy
17. Harry Potter
18. Hot Tub Time Machine
19. Iconic horror movie characters
20. James Bond
21. John Hughes movies
22. Lord of the Rings
23. Mad Max
24. Magic Mike
25. Mama Mia
26. Martin Scorsese movies
27. Moulin Rouge
28. Pirates of the Caribbean 
29. Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
30. Pulp Fiction
31. Quentin Tarantino movies
32. Saturday Night Fever
33. Spaghetti Western-inspired
34. Spiderman
35. Star Wars
36. The Breakfast Club
37. The Godfather
38. The Goonies
39. The Greatest Showman
40. The Great Gatsby
41. The Mandalorian
42. The Nightmare Before Christmas
43. The Oscars – Academy Awards 
44. The Rocky Horror Picture Show
45. The Wizard of Oz
46. Titanic
47. Top Gun/Top Gun: Maverick
48. Vintage Hollywood movie stars
49. Woody Allen movies

MUSIC-INSPIRED PARTY THEMES

Music-inspired party themes. Well, the sky is the limit. Pick from a favourite band or artist, or pick a music genre or music from a certain decade.

Music-inspired parties are great for invoking a sense of nostalgia, especially as they lend themselves to you getting really creative with the music playlist.

1. 1950s – Rock n roll
2. 1970s British punk 
3. 1970s Disco Party
4. 1980s pop stars 
5. 1990s pop stars
6. 2000 pop stars 
7. 80s Club night 
8. 90s Club night
9. Back to the noughties dance party
10. Billie Eilish – neon green and black party
11. Characters from Musicals (stage or film)
12. Coachella festival at home
13. Country music
14. Dance battle
15. David Bowie
16. Disco
17. Elvis through the decades party 
18. Favourite popstar
19. Glam Rock
20. Glastonbury at home 
21. Glee
22. Harry Styles
23. Hip Hop
24. Ibiza Chillout 
25. Ibiza Rocks
26. Karaoke party
27. Line dancing
28. Madonna, through the decades
29. Music festival in your yard/back garden
30. Music video party
31. Reggae
32. Retro rave 
33. Rockabilly
34. Rock n Roll
35. Rockstar
36. Roller disco
37. Saturday Night Fever
38. Spice Girls
39. Studio 54
40. Grammys winners
41. Taylor Swift stans

SPORTS-INSPIRED PARTY THEMES

Sports party themes don’t necessarily mean having to play the actual sport.

Get everyone to dress up as a sporting hero from the world of football or basketball.

1. Baseball heroes
2. Basketball / NBA party
3. Basketball Heroes
4. Cheerleaders
5. Cricket afternoon tea
6. Footballing heroes
7. Iconic footballing heroes
8. Olympic heroes
9. Sports Day
10. Superbowl

FUNNY PARTY THEMES

If you are looking for a way to add some humour to your next party,

I’ve put together a list of ideas from bad hair days to tech bro cringeworthiness.

Here are 14 funny party themes for adults that will have you and your guests laughing all night.

1. Bad hair day
2. Bogan Bash party
3. Tacky tourist
4. Unlikely celebrity look-alike
5. Ugly sweater/Christmas sweater
6. Mismatched party (wear clothes that don’t match)
7. Crazy hat party
8. Tech bro party – from Elon to Mark, party on, bro!
9. Tech nerd party
10. Redneck party
11. Bad taste party
12. Crazy sock party
13. Halloween in April
14. Awkward family photos
15. Tacky prom night
16. Celebrity Impersonators
17. Trailer park bash
18. 80s workout video
19. Tacky prom party
20. Moustache party

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY PARTY THEMES

Give your party a fun theme if you want to really make sure your Christmas party stands out as THE party of the holiday season.

There is so much pressure to have fun at Christmas that sometimes a theme is the best way of getting the party started.

Think Christmas movies or simply think glamour and luxury.

Christmas number ones is a particularly fun idea, where everyone can choose their favourite Christmas number on and dress up as the music artist.

1. 12 Days of Christmas 
2. A Christmas Carol
3. A winter wonderland
4. Bad Elf on the Shelf 
5. Bad Santa
6. Black and gold 
7. Candy canes
8. Christmas crackers comedy 
9. Christmas Elvis
10. Christmas games night
11. Christmas HoeDown
12. Christmas in Vegas, baby!
13. Christmas masquerade ball
14. Christmas movie marathon
15. Christmas number ones
16. Christmas on the beach
17. Die Hard – everyone comes as John Maclane
18. Dress as a Christmas bauble
19. Funny Christmas hats
20. Gingerbread house building
21. Ornament making party
22. Snow and ice
23. Tartan and Scotch 
24. The Grinch 
25. The Nightmare Before Christmas
26. The Nutcracker
27. Ugly Christmas sweaters
28. Wreath making party

HALLOWEEN PARTY THEME IDEAS 

If you want to take your Halloween party to the next level, it is well worth giving it a theme. It’s also a great way of getting everyone to dress up because a general theme of ‘Halloween’ can sometimes be overwhelming.

Go for current spooky favourites from the world of TV or film, like Stranger Things or Squid Game or go for movie classics, like Halloween or It, or Freddy Kruger in Nightmare on Elm Street.

1. The Last of Us (HBO TV Series)
2. A Nightmare on Elm Street
3. Beetlejuice
4. Black and white 
5. Dead zombie movie stars
6. Dead zombie pop stars 
7. Dia de los Muertos
8. Escape room
9. Fortune telling party
10. Ghost white party
11. Ghouls night in 
12. Halloween (The movie)
13. Hallo-Wine party
14. Haunted gingerbread house
15. Iconic horror movie characters
16. It
17. Mad scientist 
18. Murder mystery
19. Neon glow party
20. Rocky Horror Picture Show
21. Scooby Doo
22. Scream (The movie)
23. Smores and hotdogs campfire
24. Squid Game
25. Stranger Things
26. Vampire / Dracula
27. Zombie prom night

HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST BIRTHDAY PARTY THEME

You know your party guests – and yourself – best. So, gauge just how much effort everyone is likely to put into getting dressed up for a themed party.

If the answer is absolutely zero, then go for a theme that doesn’t involve fancy dress. You can easily theme a party with fun invites, decorations, food and music. 

But if you know that everyone is ready, willing and able to go full force with their fancy dress outfits, then the sky’s the limit with the party theme suggestions on this list. 

The only other thing to bear in mind before diving into the list of theme ideas is how much time you have ahead of your party. 

If you’re going for a full-on party theme, you want to give your guests a good amount of time to plan and get their outfits together. Around a month should do it for most themes. 

The same goes for being realistic about how much time you have to prepare for the party. Don’t go for an over-the-top fancy theme that you just don’t have the time to prepare for. 

A quick note: Whilst plenty of themes below can be adapted or are suitable for kids’ parties if you are looking specifically for kids’ party themes, I’ve got a separate post with a big list of 99 of the best themes for kids’ parties.

HOW TO BRING YOUR PARTY THEME TO LIFE

Once you’ve chosen your party theme, you need to work out how to bring it to life. Here’s a quick list of ideas for things you can do and include.

• Themed party invitations – include dress-up ideas/instructions.
• Themed decorations
• Party music playlist
• Themed party food
• Themed party food plates and cups
• Themed party drinks – create a special themed cocktail.
• Themed party favours

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