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Are you the party planner or the host/hostess of your group? Are you passionate about making sure everyone is having a good time? Then, you’re going to love these top dress up party themes for adults!
It can be hard to come up with a great theme, especially if you’re party is last minute. That’s why we wanted to share some unique themed parties that are easy to pull off and are sure to entertain your guests!
Below we’ve listed our 50 party themes for adults that will make your guests have a night to remember! As always feel free to pin of favourite this page so you can remember all of these fun themes ahead of your next soiree!
The Best Dress Up party Themes For Adults!
One way to really throw a great themed party is to have all of your guests committed to dressing up! That way, everyone is ready to participate and get into the theme when they arrive.
50) Wild West
Ain’t this a bee in your bonnet? Get your cowboy hat and cowboy boots out of the closet and bring the best of the western world to your party! Serve some Texas-style BBQ paired with beers, such as Lone Star, Shiner Bock, or even margaritas. For fun, toss some bean bag boots or rent a mechanical bull if you have the space and the budget.
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49) Mad Hatter
The classic tea party with a twist. Invest in Mad Hatter and Alice in Wonderland costumes. Your guests will appreciate the traditional afternoon tea finger sandwiches, macarons and cookies served with various teas mixed with some good bourbon and whisky.
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48) Prom Night
A fun party theme to try out those prom outfits again. Sit-down meals work well with the main course, salad, soup, and dessert served with spiked party punch, prom night cocktails and slushies! Then, hire some live music or blast your favourite tunes from your prom night era and hit the dance floor.
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47) Glow in the Dark
UV black lights and tons of bright neon-colored decorations will make this a night to remember. Dress up in bright and colorful outfits that glow in the UV black light. Eat bright-colored food and drinks, like vanilla ice cream with glowing toppings, cupcakes with white icing, and jello-shots made with carbonated water (yes they really glow!). Have fun with some glow-in-the-Dark beer pong and blacklight Jenga, etc.
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46) Carnival
The top dress up party themes for adults had to include a circus! Decorating with the traditional red and stripes will set the mood. Dress up like clowns, acrobats, musicians, ringmaster, etc. Classic carnival foods are your best bet, such as corn dogs, caramel apples, pretzels, cotton candy, popcorn, and some champagne and vodka cocktails. Then, entertain with classic carnival games and even a bouncy castle (yes adults can still enjoy this to!)
45) Seven Deadly Sins
Get your guests to dress up as Lust, Wrath, Greed, Envy, Pride, Sloth, or Gluttony for this party idea. It’s the perfect theme if your guest list likes to get creative! Give some aphrodisiac food, aged cheeses with spices, bread, and various drinks.
44) Great Gatsby
Think of the 1920s, jazz, champagne towers, and metallic gold fringe curtains. The outfits should be glamorous and sexy but somewhat formal. Serve some bite-size sandwiches, harlequin salads, devilled eggs, and some lemon cupcakes with whiskey, gins, liqueurs, etc. Entertain your party guests with dancing games, charades, and a costume contest!
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43) Sports Party
Celebrate your favorite team! Dress up as your favourite player, as the cheerleader, or even the referee. Everyone has some form of sports gear lying around somewhere! Serve some sports game food like hot dogs and popcorn with various beers and party punch. This party theme is both easy and fun to pull off!
42) Out of This World
Get your space backdrops, and your space-themed party lights out. Dress up as astronauts, aliens, and anything else in between. Serve some space-themed food, like sandwiches cut into the shapes of stars and rockets. Make jello with fake little eyes, along with some Moscow mule galaxy cocktail and bright green punch.
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41) Red Carpet
Roll out the red carpet for another great party theme with the Walk of Fame and a photo opp wall. The dress code is formal attire. Finger food appetizers and dinner with cocktails and champagne are the best way to go. Plan an awards ceremony, get some props for the photo wall or rent an event photo booth for fun. It’s the perfect themed event when your guests want to dress up!
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40) Jungle Party
Think safari, jungle animals, Indiana Jones, and even Tarzan when coming up with a costume. Various nuts, fruits, sandwiches, sand-colored or green dips, and sushi are great food options! Jungle juice, party punches, and drinks made with Malibu rum or green liqueur will also fit the theme.
39) Retirement Party
Time to age 40-60 years! Dress like you are in your 80s by adding wrinkles to your face with makeup, pulling those curlers out of your closet and using a walker! Play retirement party games, such as bingo, two truths, and a lie, shuffle board and more!
38) Mardi Gras
Dress up in colorful outfits, preferably with the events’ colors, purple, green, and gold. Put on some hats, masks, feathers, and beaded necklaces. Have some tasty king cake sprinkled with the Mardi Gras colors, pancakes, cajun butter shrimp, and sausage skewers. To wash it down start with daiquiris, hurricanes, or party punches for drinks to complete this fun theme.
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37) Pajama Party
Why go to bed when you can go out and party? Dress in your favorite pajamas. Serve some comfort food bites, baked goods, and hot chocolate with rum or bourbon. If you’re into a more relaxed vibe, have a girls night and do some spa treatments!
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36) Around the World
A fun and easy party to make. Costumes should represent different nationalities. Serve typical dishes and drinks from a few countries around the world. Then, take it to the next level with worldwide decorations and trivia.
35) Pirates
Act out the famous pirate movie everyone loves. Wear a pirate costume or dress as one of the movie’s main characters. Serve fish and chips, shrimps, cheese platters, with some rum cocktails, of course. Then, organize a treasure or scavenger hunt with real treasure chests filled with goodies as the prize.
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34) Ancient Egypt
Decorate your house with pyramids, sphinx, golden accents, and some ancient Egyptian backdrops to set the mood. Then, serve pyramid-shaped foods, beetle or mummy-looking cookies, aged cheeses, cold platters, and drinks of your choice.
33) Toga Party
Have fun with some Greek and Roman mythology and get your guests to dress as a Greek goddess and/or god! Platters of cheese and crackers, grapes, and wine are good options to serve your guests.
32) High School Stereotypes
For one of the more unique dress up party themes for adults, bring back the high school years! Decorate with some balloons, footballs, and turf recreating some parts of your old school. Dress up as a classic high school stereotype like the football star, art nerd, or valedictorian. Serve some rum and coke, spiked party punches, beers etc!
31) Tight and Bright
This is where the spandex meets the neon-bright colors. Invest in neon-colored decor pieces and outfits with a pinch of 80s. Bright-colored food and drinks will complement the party decor and make up for a fun snack.
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30) James Bond
A classic party theme is James Bond. Think 007 backdrops for pictures and tuxedos. Costumes vary from secret agents, 007, Bond girls, etc. Foods usually served are canapes, finger foods, deviled eggs, and shrimp cocktail. For drinks, James Bond’s signature drink, of course, the vesper martini, and other martinis.
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29) Wizard of Oz
Decorate your home with the yellow brick road and other rainbow backdrops and dress up as your favourite characters from the Wizard of Oz! Keep it creative with how you’ll serve food and drinks, maybe use small fake cauldrons.
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28) Death to My Age
Say goodbye to your 20s, 30s, 40s in a fun way. It’s time to mourn the good old days. Invest in gothic outfits or wear black to celebrate. Serve some death-inspired cookies, cakes, and other savory dishes with red wines and cocktails.
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27) Pool Party
Who needs a pool to throw a pool party? Arrange some lounge chairs, beach towels, and umbrellas to create the pool atmosphere you’re looking for. Pool attire is the way to go. Serve fruits, dips, and cold platters with refreshing cocktails and party punch.
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26) Black Tie
Couldn’t create a top adult party theme post without Black Tie. This is the ultimate classic adult party theme idea because it gives you an excuse to wear that fancy dress you love. The dress code is black tie attire. Hors d’œuvres with champagne floats and cocktails are good serving options.
25) Après Ski
Turn your living room into a ski resort experience. Dress up in your ski outfits and enjoy the party! Serve some comfort food options that would warm the soul after a day of hitting the slopes! Serve warm alcoholic beverages like spiked hot chocolate or hot toddy’s.
24) Disney
Disney-inspired backdrops and props with pastel color balloons will set the tone. Dress up as your favorite Disney character. Have some Disney-inspired appetizers for your party, such as foods shaped like Mickey Mouse’s ears, or cupcakes with a fake little mermaid tail topping, and many others and some Disney-inspired cocktails. Entertain with Disney trivia, Disney charades, etc.
23) Murder Mystery Party
This creative party theme involves some planning. First, choose a murder mystery game (we’ve included our tired and true favourites below). Then let your friends know which character they’ll be playing before the party. Each guest must dress up and act as their character throughout the party! The game will develop by itself from there. Finger food, cold platters, spreads, and cocktails are easy and suitable for the party.
Our Top Murder Mystery Party Games
22) Christmas in July
Only another Christmas-lover can relate. So get some fake snow, dust off your Christmas tree, make summer-inspired Christmas ornaments and put on some Christmas music! For entertainment do a secret Santa gift exchange of course. Costume ideas include ugly sweaters, Santa, reindeer, and elves!
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21) Rosé All Day
This unique party theme is perfect for a whole day of festivities ending with a girls’ night. Have elegant decor with rose gold accents and maybe a flower wall backdrop for pictures. It’s a great option for a birthday party! Serve a variety of rosé wines with some hors d’œuvres.
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20) Burning Man / Mad Max
Bring the action to your party. Think of a post-apocalyptic world when coming up with costumes and decor. EDM, Bass, techno, and house are good choices for music. Serve party punches or have a cocktail competition!
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19) Olympics
Put your decorative Olympic rings up and incorporate the color scheme in food and drink choices. Invite guests to choose a country they will be representing and prepare with a ton of fun games to play. For example, have a table tennis or darts competition. For costumes, choose something with your own country’s flag.
18) Harry Potter
Who needs a letter to go to Hogwarts? Bring the Harry Potter world to your home. Use Harry Potter-themed decor, serve foods and drinks usually mentioned in the movies, such as butterbeer, shepherd’s pie, cauldron cakes, and more. This is a fun idea for a Halloween party theme as well, make sure all of your guests get sorted into their proper houses with the sorting hat quiz before showing up!
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17) Iconic Celebrities
Dress up as your favourite celebrity. Become Cher, Paris Hilton, Justin Timberlake, etc. Use lots of golden accents in the decor and serve champagne to celebrate your celebrity night.
16) Zombie Apocalypse
Warning and infected signs, planks covering the windows and fireplace, and some zombie-decorated food and drinks are great choices to create that scary atmosphere. Plan some fun activities for you and your zombie guests, such as a zombie scavenger hunt. This is the perfect theme for a Halloween Party!
15) Masquerade Ball
The perfect opportunity to combine your fancy dress costume with the mystery of a beautiful mask. Usually, a warm appetizer, entree, and dessert are served in balls. Remember, balls are meant for dancing. So dance the night away.
14) Gone to Paris
If you can’t go to Paris, bring the city of love to you. Dress up in Parisian style with the iconic wool beret, black and white striped tops, or a simple black dress. Some ideas for decorations are miniature Eiffel towers, French flags, and a Monalisa poster.
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13) Super Heros
The night superheroes took a break and had fun. There are so many costume choices, Batman, Wonder Woman, your favorite X-men, the sky’s the limit. So invest in-hero action signs, superhero-themed party cups, and tablecloths! Add some city skyscrapers for background to finish the decor.
12) Casino Night Party
The perfect excuse to play at a casino without leaving your home. Ask your guests to follow casinos’ dress code, semi-formal, and make some of the popular games available for them to play.
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11) Fancy Dress Theme
Have a. fancy dress you and your friends have been dying to wear? Why not make it a theme! If it’s co-ed, gave the men dress in tuxedos and make it a formal evening!
10) 90s Night
Boy bands, girl bands, F.R.I.E.N.D.S, boom boxes, and, of course, Bop it! There are so many things to drive inspiration for costumes and decorations. So hang old posters up again, play some good old BackStreet Boys, and remember the good old days with friends.
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9) ABC (Anything but Clothes)
One of the most popular dress up party themes for adults that typically happen during college is an ABC party. The guests have to show up dressed in anything except clothes. Serve college-party food and drinks, like beers, chips, etc. Hey, why not get a keg!
8) Rock Star
Golden and silver stars, streamers, balloons will create the ambiance to celebrate your favorite rock star. A fun plan for food and drinks would be to find out some of Elvis Presley’s favorites and serve those at the party. Then, host a karaoke night with some rock stars’ biggest successes.
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7) Medieval Times
The opportunity for you and your guests to dress up in renaissance dresses, aristocrat costumes, medieval knights, and much more. Invest in medieval party decorations and backdrops. Beers, wines, artisan bread, aged cheeses, and olive oils are good starters for food and drinks.
6) Tropical Getaway
Transform your home into the perfect luau party with some tiki torches, large palm trees (blow-up of course) and outdoor light bulbs, for example. Serve fresh fruits, cold platters, and tropical drinks. Also, ask your guests to dress up luau-style to make this party even more fun!
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5) 70s Night
A great excuse to bring the 70s back! Your guests won’t have any trouble finding the perfect outfit for this time period. So hang your disco balls, place your lava lamps where everyone can see, get a colorful dance floor, and dance, dance, dance. Perfect opportunity to put on dancing queen and get your ABBA fix!
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4) 80s Night
Time to bring back the legwarmers, neon colors, and animal prints! Host a karaoke and a moon-walking contest. Serve some snacks that the 80s babies will love to see again.
3) Music Festival
Summer dress up party themes for adults are always fun! Turn your backyard into a music festival lounge with great music and good vibes. Get some teepee’s, free-standing hammocks, beach balls, and refreshing drinks for your guests.
2) Paint Night Party
For those artistic groups of friends who love drawing, painting, pottery, and much more. An easy party to put together with some blank canvas’s, watercolor paints, topped with lots of wine and cheese platters. You can’t go wrong!
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1) Under the Sea Baby Shower
Dress up party themes for Adults sometimes relate to a new baby! Host a cute baby shower with ocean-themed invites, cupcakes, appetizers, and party decorations giving preference for pastel blues and greens. This theme allows for a fancy party without much effort.
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Now, it’s your turn. We hope you enjoyed all of these awesome dress up party themes for adults party! Choose your favourite party theme ideas from this list, make it your own, invite your guests, and get the party started!
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