Theme party ideas for an academic department cocktail hour?
May 13, 2015 2:59 PM Subscribe
I need ideas for party themes for a small, semi-regular academic department's cocktail party. We're talking ~50 people, a mix of students and faculty and staff. But I'm rapidly running out of theme ideas, and having a really hard time finding ideas online that aren't either massively culturally appropriative or sexually suggestive/misogynistic (thanks, frat parties). Please help!
The real challenge is that we generally have a small activity of some sort in addition to the drinks and decor; in the past we've had remote-control forest animals (for a camping theme), and a photobooth (for a hollywood red carpet theme). Nothing that requires everyone to all join in at once, but just fun little icebreakers that the students can drift in and out of.
Everyone's coming off work, so intense costumes are mostly probably not going to happen. We were thinking of doing a California-beach-movies theme (beach boys music, beach balls, etc.) but can't seem to figure out an activity to go with it.
So: any fun but completely inoffensive party themes?
The real challenge is that we generally have a small activity of some sort in addition to the drinks and decor; in the past we've had remote-control forest animals (for a camping theme), and a photobooth (for a hollywood red carpet theme). Nothing that requires everyone to all join in at once, but just fun little icebreakers that the students can drift in and out of.
Everyone's coming off work, so intense costumes are mostly probably not going to happen. We were thinking of doing a California-beach-movies theme (beach boys music, beach balls, etc.) but can't seem to figure out an activity to go with it.
So: any fun but completely inoffensive party themes?
For the beach theme, maybe limbo?
Decades are always pretty easy.
posted by amapolaroja at 3:25 PM on May 13, 2015
Decades are always pretty easy.
posted by amapolaroja at 3:25 PM on May 13, 2015
Take a page from NASA's book for Pluto and name a planetary feature for a personal hero.
April is national poetry month, write a haiku or limerick, recite a short, favorite poem, etc.
Have an invisible disabilities awareness event. Everyone who wants to participate gets a sticker and a sheet of paper. Some people will be shy or struggle with English as a second language, while others have an invisible disability duch as diabetes, cancer, clinical depression, Purpose of the exercise is patience, awareness, listening and respect. Invite a disability services provider. Most disability is routine.
Jeopardy
posted by childofTethys at 3:39 PM on May 13, 2015
April is national poetry month, write a haiku or limerick, recite a short, favorite poem, etc.
Have an invisible disabilities awareness event. Everyone who wants to participate gets a sticker and a sheet of paper. Some people will be shy or struggle with English as a second language, while others have an invisible disability duch as diabetes, cancer, clinical depression, Purpose of the exercise is patience, awareness, listening and respect. Invite a disability services provider. Most disability is routine.
Jeopardy
posted by childofTethys at 3:39 PM on May 13, 2015
Turn-back Thursday (Tuesday?) party with elementary school snacks, juice boxes, coloring books, string crafts, and era-appropriate posters or back issues of magazines.
Cheese, chocolate, olive, bread, ice cream, or Popsicle tasting party.
Oktoberfest, with pretzels, beer, Bavarian music, and a Stein hoisting competition
Neon party; go to sciplus.com and look for thermoreactive paper, get some black lights or glow sticks, and serve drinks made with blue curaçao, gin and tonics (rumored to be reactive under black light), or other naturally fluorescing or brightly colored food or drink.
Game of Thrones themed party?
posted by Yellow Silver Maple at 5:20 PM on May 13, 2015
Cheese, chocolate, olive, bread, ice cream, or Popsicle tasting party.
Oktoberfest, with pretzels, beer, Bavarian music, and a Stein hoisting competition
Neon party; go to sciplus.com and look for thermoreactive paper, get some black lights or glow sticks, and serve drinks made with blue curaçao, gin and tonics (rumored to be reactive under black light), or other naturally fluorescing or brightly colored food or drink.
Game of Thrones themed party?
posted by Yellow Silver Maple at 5:20 PM on May 13, 2015
childofTethys, talking about invisible disabilities with students and academic colleagues sounds like the opposite of a party.
posted by yarntheory at 5:26 PM on May 13, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by yarntheory at 5:26 PM on May 13, 2015 [4 favorites]
I'm kind of surprised that the departmental discipline isn't a source of themes. If I were throwing math parties with associated activities, there'd be one with pie, and one with soap bubbles, and one with origami, and one with messages to decrypt, and one with a scavenger hunt based on Erdos numbers, and so on.
posted by yarntheory at 5:42 PM on May 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by yarntheory at 5:42 PM on May 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Atomic age! You could all dress up as frumpy/nerdy as possible like a 60s NASA engineer. Decorate with rockets and Jetsons-type decor. Drink and learn how to use a slide rule! Maybe skip the non-stop chain smoking indoors.
posted by ctmf at 6:28 PM on May 13, 2015
posted by ctmf at 6:28 PM on May 13, 2015
but can't seem to figure out an activity to go with it.
Beach ball basketball.
posted by DarlingBri at 6:34 PM on May 13, 2015
Beach ball basketball.
posted by DarlingBri at 6:34 PM on May 13, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by you're a kitty! at 3:01 PM on May 13, 2015