390 PARTY THEMES: THE ULTIMATE LIST OF PARTY THEME IDEAS FOR ADULTS BIRTHDAY PARTIES AND COSTUME PARTIES

Here is a gigantic list of 390 party themes that are perfect for birthday parties, costume parties or festive celebrations for adults.

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 390 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 of themes to get creative with your next birthday party, anniversary party or even Christmas get-together party. 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. If you scroll past this list, you will also find the themes split up into the following theme genres:

• Movie inspired ideas
• TV show-inspired ideas
• Christmas theme ideas
• Sport inspired ideas
• Halloween theme ideas

Right, are you ready to dive in?

THE BIGGEST LIST OF PARTY THEMES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

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
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. Barbie
39. Barbie and Ken
40. Baseball Greats
41. Basketball / NBA party
42. Basketball Heroes
43. Baywatch
44. Beach party
45. Better Call Saul
46. Big Bang Theory
47. Black, gold, silver theme 
48. Black & White Movies
49. Black and white colour theme
50. Black tie
51. Bluey
52. Board game night
53. Bob Ross painting party
54. Boho
55. Bollywood
56. Brazilian Carnival
57. Breakfast at Tiffany’s
58. Breaking Bad
59. Bridgerton
60. Britain’s Got Talent / TV talent show
61. British royal family through the ages
62. Brunch party
63. Buffy The Vampire Slayer
64. Bugsy Malone 
65. Burlesque
66. Camping party
67. Candy theme
68. Carnival
69. Casino – the movie
70. Casino night
71. Characters from 80s movies
72. Characters from 90s movies
73. Characters from stage musicals 
74. Characters from noughties movies
75. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
76. Cheerleaders
77. Chinese New Year 
78. Chocolate fountain party
79. Christmas in July
80. Christmas sweater party
81. Chronicles of Narnia
82. Cinco de Mayo
83. Circus
84. City Slickers
85. Class Disney character
86. Classic 80’s (think Ferris Buller, Pretty in Pink)
87. Clueless
88. Coachella festival at home
89. Cocktail party 
90. Cocomelon
91. Comedy show characters
92. Comic books
93. Cook-off or bake-off theme
94. Country Bumpkin
95. Country music
96. Craft party
97. Crazy hair
98. Cricket afternoon tea
99. Dance battle
100. Dancing With The Stars/Strictly Come Dancing
101. David Bowie
102. Dead zombie pop stars
103. Dead zombie movie stars
104. Death to my youth party 
105. Denim and diamonds
106. Dessert bar
107. Dia De Muertos/Day of the Dead
108. Die Hard – everyone dresses as John McClane
109. Dinner party 
110. Dirty Dancing
111. Disco
112. Doctor Who
113. Downton Abbey
114. Dr. Seuss
115. Dress as the thing you most fear
116. Dress as your favourite celebrity
117. Dress for the decade you were born
118. Dress up as your favourite character from a TV show or film!
119. Dr Who
120. Egyptian Theme
121. Elvis through the decades party 
122. Enchanted forest
123. English High Tea
124. Escape room
125. Fairy Tales
126. Famous couples
127. Famous Dead People
128. Famous Sports People
129. Fancy Dress (anything goes)
130. Fantastic Beasts
131. Favourite popstar
132. Favourite things party
133. Fire and ice
134. Fondue
135. Footballers and Wives (or husbands) 
136. Footballing heroes
137. Fresh Prince of Bel Air
138. Friends (the TV show) 
139. Game of Thrones
140. Gameshow
141. Gaming
142. Gaming party
143. Gangsters and Flappers
144. Garden party
145. Geeks and tech bros
146. Ghostbusters
147. Ghosts and ghouls
148. Girls night in
149. Glamping
150. Glam Rock
151. Glam squad
152. Glastonbury at home 
153. Glee
154. Glitter and sparkles
155. Glow in the dark
156. Golf 
157. Goth
158. Grammys party
159. Grease
160. Great Leaders from History
161. Great Wall of China
162. Grill and chill
163. Halloween
164. Hamptons at home
165. Happy Days
166. Harry Potter
167. Harry Styles
168. Havana Nights
169. Hawaiian Luau
170. Heavy metal
171. Heroes vs villains
172. High tea
173. Hip Hop
174. Holographic
175. Horror film classics
176. Hot Tub Time Machine
177. House of the Dragon
178. Ibiza Chillout 
179. Ibiza Rocks
180. Ice cream bar
181. Iconic footballing heroes
182. International food
183. James Bond
184. Jane Austen novels
185. Jane Fonda 80s workout party
186. Jelly and ice-cream 
187. John Hughes 80s party
188. John Hughes movies
189. Karaoke party
190. Keeping up with the Kardashians
191. Kids show characters
192. Kings and Queens party
193. La Dolce Vita 
194. Las Vegas
195. Lego
196. Line dancing
197. Lord of the Rings
198. Love & romance
199. Mad Hatter’s Tea Party
200. Mad Max
201. Mad Men
202. Madonna through the decades
203. Magic show
204. Magnum PI
205. Makeover
206. Mama Mia
207. Mardi Gras
208. Martin Scorsese movies
209. Marvel Characters
210. Masks and Mimosas
211. Masquerade ball
212. Mediaeval
213. Memory lane 
214. Mermaids and mermen 
215. Mexican fiesta
216. Miami Vice
217. Milkshake bar
218. Minute To Win It
219. Mission Impossible
220. Moulin Rouge
221. Movie marathon
222. Movie stars of the 80s
223. Movie stars of the 90s
224. Movie stars of the noughties
225. Murder mystery
226. Music festival in your yard/back garden
227. Music video party
228. Neighbours (TV show)
229. Neon UV party
230. New York New York 
231. Nightmare Before Christmas
232. North Pole
233. Notorious figures from history 
234. Oktoberfest
235. Olympians/Olympics
236. Olympic heroes
237. Onesie party
238. Oscars party
239. Outer space
240. Painting party
241. Pantone Colour of the Year
242. Parisienne nights 
243. Pastel colours
244. Peace and love
245. Peaky Blinders characters
246. Pierrot 
247. Pirates of the Caribbean 
248. Pizza
249. Plant and sip gardening party
250. Poker party
251. Pool party
252. Pop art
253. Pop culture
254. Popstar 
255. Pot luck party
256. Pretty in Pink
257. Pretty Woman
258. Primary Colours Only
259. Priscilla Queen of the Desert
260. Project Runway
261. Pulp Fiction
262. Pyjama Party
263. Quentin Tarantino movie characters
264. Race day
265. Rainbow party
266. Real Housewives
267. Reality TV Stars
268. Red, blue and white
269. Red carpet
270. Redneck/Hillbilly party
271. Reggae
272. Retro
273. Retro board games 
274. Retro rave 
275. Retro video games
276. Revisiting your school prom
277. Rio Carnival 
278. Rockabilly
279. Rock n Roll
280. Rockstar
281. Rocky Horror Picture Show
282. Roller disco
283. Safari
284. Salsa 
285. Sandra Dee sleepover party
286. Saturday Night Fever
287. Scavenger hunt
288. Science fiction
289. Scooby Doo mystery party
290. Selfie party
291. Seven deadly sins
292. Shakespearean characters
293. Signs of the zodiac
294. Silent disco
295. Silver soirée
296. Slumber party
297. Smores and hotdogs campfire
298. SNL 
299. Social media influencer party
300. Spaghetti Western
301. Spa pamper party 
302. Speakeasy
303. Speed dating/matchmaking party
304. Spielberg movie characters
305. Sports Day
306. A Question of Sport – plan your own sports quiz
307. Spice Girls
308. Springtime in Paris
309. Squid Game
310. St. Patrick’s Day
311. Star Trek
312. Star Wars
313. Stranger Things
314. Strictly Come Dancing / Dancing With The Stars
315. Studio 54
316. Summer camp
317. Sumo party
318. Super Bowl
319. Superheroes
320. Superstar DJs 
321. Surf’s Up
322. Surprise party
323. Survivor
324. Sushi train 
325. Taco bar
326. Talent Show 
327. Tantrums and tiaras 
328. Tartan & Scotch
329. The Bachelor / Bachelorette
330. The beautiful and the damned
331. The Breakfast Club
332. The Crown
333. The Future
334. The Godfather
335. The Goonies
336. The Greatest Showman
337. The Great Gatsby
338. The Grinch
339. The Inbetweeners
340. The Kardashians
341. The Mandalorian
342. The Muppets
343. The Nightmare Before Christmas
344. The Queen’s Gambit chess party
345. The Rocky Horror Picture Show
346. The Simpsons
347. The Sopranos
348. The Wizard of Oz
349. Things starting with a certain letter
350. Things That Fly
351. Thrift Shop Finds (set a budget)
352. Tiger King
353. Time Travellers
354. Titanic
355. Toga party
356. Top Gun
357. Toy Story
358. Transformers
359. Trashy/tacky dress-up party
360. Travel themed
361. Tropical
362. Truth or dare games
363. Tux and Tiaras
364. TV show characters 
365. Ugly bridesmaid dress theme 
366. Ugly sweater
367. UK prime ministers through the decades
368. Under the Sea/ Nautical
369. Underwater/ocean
370. Unicorn
371. US presidents through the decades
372. Venice Beach muscle party
373. Video Killed the Radio Star
374. Vintage Funfair Themed Party
375. Vintage garden party
376. Vintage Hollywood
377. VIP party
378. Viva Las Vegas
379. Walk Like An Egyptian
380. Westside Story
381. White partyBlack party
382. Wig party
383. Wild west
384. Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory
385. Wimbledon whites
386. Wine and cheese
387. Winter Wonderland
388. Wizard of Oz
389. Woodstock
390. Woody Allen movies
391. Zen 
392. Zombie Apocalypse Party

TV SHOW-INSPIRED PARTY THEMES

TV shows make great 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. Peaky Blinders
21. Project Runway
22. Real Housewives
23. SNL 
24. Squid Game
25. Star Trek
26. Stranger Things
27. Strictly Come Dancing / Dancing With The Stars
28. The Crown
29. The Inbetweeners
30. The Muppets
31. The Simpsons
32. The Sopranos
33. 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. Breakfast at Tiffany’s 
6. Casino
7. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
8. Classic 80’s (think Ferris Buller, Pretty in Pink)
9. Clueless
10. Die Hard – everyone dresses as John McClane
11. Dirty Dancing
12. Fantastic Beasts
13. Ghostbusters
14. Grease
15. Harry Potter
16. Hot Tub Time Machine
17. Iconic horror movie characters
18. James Bond
19. John Hughes movies
20. Lord of the Rings
21. Mad Max
22. Mama Mia
23. Martin Scorsese movies
24. Moulin Rouge
25. Pirates of the Caribbean 
26. Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
27. Pulp Fiction
28. Quentin Tarantino movies
29. Saturday Night Fever
30. Spaghetti Western-inspired
31. Star Wars
32. The Breakfast Club
33. The Godfather
34. The Goonies
35. The Greatest Showman
36. The Great Gatsby
37. The Mandalorian
38. The Nightmare Before Christmas
39. The Oscars – Academy Awards 
40. The Rocky Horror Picture Show
41. The Wizard of Oz
42. Titanic
43. Top Gun
44. Vintage Hollywood movie stars
45. 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. Characters from Musicals (stage or film)
11. Coachella festival at home
12. Country music
13. Dance battle
14. David Bowie
15. Disco
16. Elvis through the decades party 
17. Favourite popstar
18. Glam Rock
19. Glastonbury at home 
20. Glee
21. Harry Styles
22. Hip Hop
23. Ibiza Chillout 
24. Ibiza Rocks
25. Karaoke party
26. Line dancing
27. Madonna, through the decades
28. Music festival in your yard/back garden
29. Music video party
30. Reggae
31. Retro rave 
32. Rockabilly
33. Rock n Roll
34. Rockstar
35. Roller disco
36. Saturday Night Fever
37. Spice Girls
38. Studio 54
39. Grammys winners

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. Tacky tourist
3. Unlikely celebrity look-alike
4. Ugly sweater/Christmas sweater
5. Mismatched party (wear clothes that don’t match)
6. Crazy hat party
7. Tech bro party – from Elon to Mark, party on, bro!
8. Crazy sock party
9. Halloween in April
10. Awkward family photos
11. Tacky prom night
12. Celebrity Impersonators
13. Trailer park bash
14. 80s workout video

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

HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST PARTY THEME FOR YOUR PARTY

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

PIN TO SAVE: