Help! I need creative minds!!

munkfraff

Hello ladies! For my husband's 33rd birthday party, I'm throwing him a 90's themed party. We have an awesome playlist, 90's movie/cartoon and sitcom trivia and we have a bunch of 90's video games we plan on playing as teams. It's going to be pretty cheesy and dorky but, that's how we are. I plan on making a bunch of snacks that we ate as kids in the 90's with an adult kick to them. I bought gummy bear and cotton candy flavored vodka to make "child like" signature drinks along with root beer flavored vodka for adult root beer floats. That's all the snacks I could think of and that's only the drinks! I need creative snacking food ideas based around the theme. So far, I have Pop Rocks and Ring Pops...I can't just serve alcohol and candy, that would be a disaster. So please, any and all ideas are welcome! Thanks!!

TarHeels&Rebels

Here's a hosting truth: people want a filling, square meal.  Menus based off themes often don't go over well because they just don't add up to a good meal. 

By way of example... The best food I've ever had at a wedding was comfort food: pork tenderloin, sirloin steak, mac & cheese, etc.  People LOVED it because it was great, filling food and there was lots of it - talking about how great the food was made them happy and the party was a blast.  The worst wedding food I've ever had was when a bride from New Orleans marrying a Midwestern boy took the N.O. theme too literally and served only N.O. specialties like jambalaya, crawfish ettouffe, and collard greens to a crowd made up almost entirely of Midwesterners - they didn't like it, people were hungry, and the party fell flat.  Moral: don't get wrapped up in the theme; serve a great meal that you know your guests will enjoy and the party will be halfway to a great success.  Hungry people aren't happy people.

Try serving your husband's favorite foods, if you can get them to add up to a good meal.  Or just do a good meal that's seasonally appropriate, like grilled chicken and pasta salad if it's summertime.  With your other '90s items, it should add up to a really fun party.  Do keep the Ring Pops - I loved those things!  GL and welcome to the board

PnkBride

I agree with Tarheel, serve your husbands favorite foods. Have the 90's candy, music, games, etc. But, serve good filling food.

munkfraff

Thanks, that is really great advice. Funny thing is, I was actually thinking of doing his favorite meals but, a few of my girlfriends thought Mexican food didn't blend well with a 90's theme which left me stressed because I thought of changing the whole menu when the party is just a week away. Comfort food wins over gimmicks, I totally agree. Thanks for the help!!

6fsn

Agreed with everything tarheels said.  My suggestions would be to do the mexican for dinner the use the theme for drinks and desserts.

I am curious, I'm not much older than your husband.  I wasn't drinking rootbeer floats and eating ring pops.  Much of my 90s was bar hopping and getting my first job.  Like I said, just curious if this is how he would remember his 90s.

kac

I love your drink ideas!  I had the same thought as the previous poster - Why the 90's theme for a 33rd birthday?  He was really a kid of the 80s, wasn't he?  But you can do whatever theme you like, after all it is your party and it sure sounds like fun.  I agree with keep the kid like drinks and desserts and do something more substantial for the meal.  In my mind Mexican food transcends all decades, go for it!

Kristen

wejustwant2:)

Hi!  Everything PP said - esp. re: serving a full satisfying meal vs. themed menu.

Also... just because.... here are the food trends I remember from the 90's:

1. Cappuccino - I was a waiter when the restaurant I worked for got the first large cappuccino machine I'd ever seen... all of a sudden  - no one ordered regular coffee.  Also in my mind Starbucks really took off then.

2. Cosmopolitans.  

3. Tiramisu  - not sure why but every restaurant had Tiramisu on the dessert menu and now you only see it at specialty Italian restaurants.  I could use some right now...

4. "Fusion" - not exactly remembering this trend but it seemed to involve a lot fo skewers and mixing of different cuisines.

5. Chain restaurants like Olive Garden, Applebees etc. got increasingly more popular - not sure if this was a good thing.

 

Can never go wrong with Mexican - if you scroll below you will see some recipes I posted over the Cinqo de Mayo weekend and also Tarheels Fiesta review is listed in some previous posts with her post party review.

 

That's what I can remember... HTH and GL.

vjcjenn1

http://www.inthe90s.com/food/index_g.shtml

So were you all kids in the 90's, you could just serve "kid food"...

I can think of a ton more candy...like those tearjerkers, but again...not helping you

I remember dunkaroos...everyone but me had lunchables (you could do something like this with crackers and pepperoni and cracker cuts)

another food that comes to mind in popularity is mozzarella sticks

 

vjcjenn1

snackwells and caeser salads

I also feel like bagels were big then (like we thought they were low fat)

Ciardasully

vjcjenn1:

snackwells and caeser salads

I also feel like bagels were big then (like we thought they were low fat)

 

Ha!  I miss the days when bagels were considered healthy.