The Six Steps to a Great Musical Theme Party.

1. Have a great selection of music.  No one has all the music from any decade. Don’t be afraid to ask some of your friends if they’ll share some of their musical library.  Don’t forget that this is a night for the favorites so it’s not a bad idea to pick up some “party mix” tapes. Some are well done and you won’t be getting up every couple of minutes to slip in a new CD.

2. Put someone you trust in charge of the music.  For larger parties just get a DJ. They have the selection and they can go with the crowd.  If a DJ isn’t appropriate or doesn’t fit the budget you still need someone to run the sound. You don’t want everyone handling your CDs or fighting over what to play.

3. Have enough room to dance.  Most of our homes don’t come with dance floors so you’ll have to clear some space in the house.  We actually move all the furniture out of the room we will use (except for a couple of chairs).  This not only creates space to move but forces people to stand. If you’re standing anyway why not dance?

4. Encourage people to dress for the theme.  Once people are in “costume” you’ll find that inhibitions disappear. Most women wouldn’t attempt a Charleston on a bet. But if they have a boa on and some beads the odds go way up.  We have recommended some wearables for every decade.  Add some made for the dance floor decorations like glow jewelry or a mirror ball and the mood is set.

5. Encourage people to dance but don’t force the issue.  Nothing will cause more resentment than dragging people onto the dance floor. You can still encourage people to trip the light fantastic by dancing yourself.  Don’t forget to ask different people to dance besides your spouse.  Line dancing or slow dancing have a tendency to get the most people on the floor the fastest.

6. Don’t give people too many “escape routes”.  You have to have some place where people can chat, get away from the music or just be wall flowers.  But don’t make that easy for people.  We make sure that we have a lot less chairs than people. People that stand tend to be sociable. We put the bar in the same room as the dancing. Lots of people “escape” to the bar. If the bar is connected to the dance floor you’ll find more people getting involved.