80’s Retro Day At Home
Being a child of the 80’s, I decided a few days ago that it would be a good idea to create a retro-themed 80’s day for my kids at home. My kids are 5 and 3 so I wasn’t sure how this would go over or if they’d even indulge me in my creativity, but I was pleasantly surprised to see how much they loved the experience!
The best part was that the whole thing cost me under $10.
Here’s how:
1) COSTUMES
I went into my kids rooms and pulled out all of their 80s style clothes. Leg warmers, neon pink shorts, a headband, and some jewelry for my daughter. A ‘surfer dude’ shirt, black headband and sunglasses for my son.
The tie and arm band that my son was wearing was from an 80’s party that my husband and I hosted long before we had kids! It brought me back to my good old days!
Tip:
If you don’t have 80’s style clothing, you can go to the dollar store and get a bright coloured head band, arm band, and/or tie to get the kids into the spirit.
2) TREATS
I let the kids choose 1 treat to have as a snack for that day. So I purchase some 80’s treats from the dollar store, including a pack of ring pops, push pops and bubble tape as well as a box of Teddy Grahams from the grocery store.
Tip:
Popular 80’s candy that are still available in stores:
Fun Dip
Ring Pops
Pop Rocks
Bubble Tape
Nerds
Teddy Graham’s
Fruit Roll-ups.
3) SCAVENGER HUNT
I hid 80’s themed toys around the house and had the kids find them. I wrote the name of each location as a clue, because my daughter is 5 and is learning to read. For older kids you can make the hunt more challenging with riddles.
To set everything up, the first thing I did was go through their toys to see which characters are from the 80’s.
We found a My Little Pony figurine, a Smurfs doll, a Garfield toy, a Supermario Dragon, a Ghostbusters Marshmallow Man, a Ninja Turtle, an Ariel Doll, and a Strawberry Shortcake and Berenstein Bears book. I made the mistake of taking a picture of my Scavenger hunt after they completed it, so I don’t know where all of the papers are ð
Tip:
You do not need to use toys for the scavenger hunt. Go on the computer and print up pictures of 80’s characters for your kids.
Character Ideas:
My Little Pony
The Simpsons
Alf
Garfield
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Smurfs
Fragil Rock
Muppet Babies
Care Bears
Rainbow Bright
Teddy Ruxpin
4) MOVIE TIME
After long deliberation my children chose to watch Honey I Shrunk The Kids while eating their chosen push-pop 80’s treat.
Tip:
Popular Kids 80’s Movies:
ET
Back To The Future
An American Tail
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Big
The Never Ending Story
The Wizard
The Brave Little Toaster
Troop Beverly Hills
Tip: You do NOT have to purchase a movie. You can stream a movie off your computer.
5) DANCE PARTY:
To complete our evening we had an 80’s dance party. I went on YouTube and put on some classic 80’s dance songs that my husband and I like.
We first played dance freeze and then the kids wanted to to free-style dance. It would have also been fun if I got glow sticks for them and shut off the lights. I’ll save that one for next time.
Tip:
Popular 80’s dance songs:
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun: Cindy Lauper
Open Your Heart: Madonna
Celebration: Kool and The Gang
All Night Long: Lionel Richie
Let’s Hear It For the Boy – Deniece Williams
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go – Wham
Mickey – Toni Basil
Ghostbusters – Ray Parker Jr.
Dancing With Myself- Billy Idol
Thriller- Michael Jackson
Do You Really Want To Hurt Me- Culture Club
EXTRAS YOU CAN DO
1) CRAFTS (All Dollar Store Purchases)
â¢Puffy Painting On Hats or Tops.
â¢Boondoggle or Lanyard.
http://www.laneyards.com/search?m=1
2) TRIVIA (No Cost)
Teach your kids facts from The 80’s.
http://www.fromthe80s.com/history/
http://www.crazyfads.com/80s.htm
3) MORE GAMES (All Dollar Store Purchases)
â¢Hackey Sack
â¢Rubics Cube Challenge
My kids had the best time. They are now begging me to do a 90’s day.
So stay tuned….
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