Do you want your debut to be glamorous? There are lots of themes you can choose to fulfill that aim. But if you want to add drama to that glam, then 50’s “Old” Hollywood could be the perfect theme for you.
Old Hollywood is all about elegance and drama. You can be dramatic with your hair, make-up and dress without being accused of being “too much”. This theme is very similar to the Awards Night theme, but with this one you are trying to bring yourself and your guests to another period where star quality is the norm.
Invitations
You can give out invites in the shape of a movie ticket or a movie clapboard or you can have an invitation design that depicts the style of the 50’s. This way, you are encouraging your friends to glam up for your party. Of course, don’t forget to ask your guests to dress up like their favorite Old Hollywood star like Audrey Hepburn or Marilyn Monroe. Be sure to give out the invitations early so that your guests will have enough time to prepare themselves for your big night, like buying a costume for your party if they have to or conceptualizing that Old Hollywood look they will feel most comfortable in.
Souvenirs and Props
Having a photobooth in your venue is a great way to entice your guests to dress up really well and according to the theme. Set up a background and bring out props that can capture your theme like a director’s chair, megaphone and a clapper. Perhaps you can also provide some accessories like a furry boa in your photo booth to make your guests look great in their photos. You can also have some standees of actresses and actors, with which you guests can pose for their photo souvenirs.
You can also display a big screen on which you can show some audio visual presentations about you. During idle time, you can use this screen to display some Old Hollywood photos or moving pictures.
Food
For your appetizer, serve some popcorn, just like what you would eat while watching a movie. Put the popcorn on traditional popcorn containers (the cardboard ones). This would give your friends and family something to munch on while waiting for the mouthwatering main course!
What’s fun about this Hollywood theme is that you can use a movie house scenario to create an environment. Aside from displaying a big screen for instance, you can also be creative with the presentation of your food. You can set up a mock “concession stand” of food chains for soda, pretzels, nachos, popcorn, candies, ice cream, etc. Aside from that, you may still want to serve drinks that capture that Old Hollywood style.
Serve champagne or sparkling juices, which your guests can use to make a toast for you. You can also offer other kinds of cocktails like cosmopolitans and martinis. You can offer a wide variety of choices to make an impression of that opulent lifestyle that the Glamorous life Old Hollywood offered. Just make sure you are well-stocked with drinks!
Party Favors
One of the most important things to consider is your 18th birthday party giveaway. The party favor options for this kind of theme can include a small mock Oscars trophy, a Clapper picture frame with a photo of your guest taken by a Paparazzi, a mock Hollywood Star with your name on it or a Hollywood Keychain. Watch some classic films and get elements from there on which you can base your ideas for your debut party give away.
Music
What music you will play during your debut party will do much with the atmosphere you want to create. Let the voices of old Hollywood crooners like Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra fill the venue to set the right mood. Throw some Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday songs as well and put in some Jazz and Ragtime music to get everyone dancing. These are some Golden Age Hollywood songs you can play during your party to create an Old Hollywood theme:
– Singing in the Rain (Gene Kelly)
– Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend (Marilyn Monroe)
– The Way You Look Tonight (Fred Astaire)
– Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Judy Garland)
– Unforgettable (Nat King Cole)
– Anything You Can Do (Howard Keel)
Decorations
Conceptualizing what you want your venue to look like is fun! Have a red carpet rolled out, on which you and your guests can walk on. Hang pictures of Old Hollywood icons like Bette Davis, Jean Harlow, and Clark Gable. Get some props from second hand stores and ukay-ukay shops and scout for feather boas, beautiful glassware and plates, accessories and vintage dolls. You can use low lighting and light up candles for an added ambiance.
You can also have some films from the Golden Era of Hollywood such as like Cassablanca and Breakfast at Tiffany’s play throughout the evening (without the sound) so that your party guests will know how to behave, act or move about.
For your guests’ tables, you can display a stack of still pictures from Old Hollywood films with details such as your name, your debut party venue and date on them. These photographs can also serve as giveaways. To tell your guest where to sit, put his or her name on a Hollywood Star placed on the corresponding chair and table.
In the middle of the dance floor, put some Hollywood walk of fame stars. Also display some Hollywood street signs, movie cutouts, etc.
There are endless options when it comes to Old Hollywood decorations. Try to watch some movies first so you would have a big idea about the atmosphere you need to create. The color scheme for this theme is usually red, gold and black. But you can still have some other colors as long as they are sophisticated for the 50’s Hollywood style. But since you’re still a young lady, you can add some cool bright colors for a more youthful party.
Hang the famous Hollywood letters somewhere in your venue. Don’t forget to add some balloons, streamers and other objects. Place clapboards and megaphones around the room. Create an ultimate sparkling Hollywood atmosphere with Christmas lights as well.
You can display a lighted wire lamp arch for your entrance like this —
The Old Hollywood Glam Theme of the 50’s is indeed a beautiful theme for your 18th birthday celebration. You can feel like a real celebrity with this timeless theme, which is really what you are on your Debut. It will be a very unique party in a timeless theme that you and your friends can reminisce about when you grow older.
PHOTO GALLERY
(Click photo for credits)
Index Photo Courtesy of: Conde Nast Magazines
Hello…I will celebrate my 18th birthday this July and I’m planning to have a simple party with a 60’s theme…What can you suggest?…Thank you!
Hi Julie Ann!
We’re thinking of a Pleasantville kind of tone for your debut party. Simple yet elegant and with a nice oldies feel to it. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120789/ (Check out this link for more info on this film, which stars Reese Witherspoon and Tobey Maguire!) We suggest you watch this first (or AGAIN if you’ve already watched it) to condition your mind for this particular era.
Make sure that your guests participate in your little costume party. This is a good reference on how women in the 50’s / 60’s dress up — http://www.fiftiesweb.com/fashion/sixties-fashion-w.htm
It would be nice to give your friends and family an idea on what they should wear for your 18th birthday celebration. Don’t forget to put this reminder on your invitation. To encourage everyone to dress their best, tell them that a special prize awaits the person with the best outfit!
Hope this helps. Happy planning!
Hi! I found your site very informative especially for me who’s also an incoming débutante. I am planning to have a Hollywood-awards night theme but my mother also suggested a GALA NIGHT. It is kinda new to me so I don’t have any idea about it. When I Googled it, it appeared to be some formal gathering of i dont know. Can you tell me what’s the difference of such to a Hollywood-awards night theme? Hope you can help me 🙂 Also, can you suggest a theme that is also best for the month of December? :)) Thank you! and more powers to your beautiful site 🙂
Hi, I’m celebrating my birthday on July. I would like to have a barbie themed party. How can I do it?
Hi Nikki,
If you want a barbie theme, your make up has to be flawless as well as your hair. you can also add glitters on your face, arms and shoulders. your color motif should be in the range of pink and violet or sky blue. instead of a red carpet, have a hot pink carpet instead. your venue has to be sparkly so add lots of glitters on your decorations. a barbie theme is still something general, you can have a barbie tea party, barbie swan lake, barbie beach party, barbie dance party, etc. as long as it fits your personality. then from there, you can build a more specific theme so that you can design your decorations, invites, set-up, your make up and hair, etc.
hope this helps!
hi. i want to have a fairytale themed party. my debut will be in a garden venue. i want my guests to wear black and white. white for those part of the 18 ‘anything’ and black for the rest. any suggestion what kind of clothes should i require them to wear?
hi!
i’m using this theme.
but i don’t know what flowers to use for my 18 leading men and for my corsage, and my escort’s buttoneire. can you suggest flowers i can use that can still relate to this except for roses?
because roses are so common at debut parties.
thank you.
Hi! I’m celebrating my birthday this coming October and I’m planning to have, mix theme of Marilyn Monroe and Hollywood/ Grammy/ Oscars Award in a simple but yet elegant theme on my big day 🙂 but on more CHEAPER PRICE? Thankyou
Hi! I really love this idea. So I’m in the process of planning my debut and this site really helped. Also, if you don’t mind me asking, I saw the venues section of your site and my mom kasi wants sana City Garden Suites Makati.. what can you say about this? Is it a good place ba?
Hi Echel Aberin,
I haven’t attended a party done there nor have I personally been there. From the pictures in their website, it seems like a beautiful place. City Garden Hotel Makati. The best thing to do is to list potential venues. Read on our article The Quest for the Perfect Venue, then have an ocular on these potential venues. Hope this helps.
Hi, i so love your ideas!!! My 18th will be on the 3rd week of August and my theme is Hollywood glam. Well, we’re planning it to be modern and simple. Not the traditional one. What other ideas can you add to make my party fun esp when it comes to the designs and other stuff. For them to have a good impression about my birthday. I really need your help 🙂 I’m still not sure about the motif(color), design of the invitation, and decorations and stuff! Also, can you suggest other sites where in I could get ideas? 🙂 THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Hi Julia,
Well, first choose a color motif. Red, gold and black are usually the colors for Hollywood glam. You can also use silver and white. I think a lot has been described in our article Old Hollywood with regard to decor. You can put feathers instead of flowers for your table centerpieces like in this photo. If you favor silver and white combination, put sequined silver drapes on your stage for pizzaz. Any color will actually do. The key thing to remember in doing a Hollywood glam theme is to have everything grandiose, elegant and sophisticated. Hope this helps.
Hi Faye,
That is a good idea. The Old Hollywood theme is really a nice theme to have and to top it with an Awards Night theme is brilliant. Canvass your props in Divisoria for a cheaper price. There are cheap styros there that you can use for your backdrop. If you are doing the Grammy’s, print award certificates and paste them in a CD (burn your favorite songs in these CDs). This will serve like an award and a party favor at the same time. Hope this helps.
Hi, I’m celebrating my debut this October. I am planning to have a princess theme with a sudden masquerade to it.Well, not only is it my debut,its a THREE-SOME debut.I am not the only debutant, my two other cousins are as well. We plan on having the color black,blue, and purple as each of our dresses.But it doesnt seem to match our color theme which is blue and white.Any suggestion of colors that compliment each other? And what other suggestions could you make for this theme?
Ohh and if possible could you reccomend me venues for Davao City.:) Thank you 🙂
hello,
i’ll be celebrating my debut this coming september 5.. i want this theme in my debut.. then the hotel asking me what to put on as a design, they are having a hard time to look for a design.. what is better to wear with my guest? a cocktails or gowns? then what motif will do if my gown is colored pink (not totally pink but fuchsia i guess)
thanks a lot!
_steph
Hey 🙂
My 18th is still a 14 months away, but i want to start planning now. I’d looove to have an old hollywood themed party (theme colors red, black and white). I live in Canada so its pretty hard to find exactly what i’d need for my party. I have relatives back home who can probably take care of my dresses, invites, photobooth backdrops and stuff. I need help with the program though.. how can i make it more north-american with the 18 dances and candles? also, i’m not sure to make my party cocktail or grand? advice please? thankkkss!
hey debut ideas,
I want to have a barbie theme, but I really don’t know what my guests will wear, sometimes I think twice whether I’ll celebrate it this way or blah blah, I’m having trouble about it. It’s whether by a barbie theme, greek theme or fairytale theme. I also wanted my concept to be “Glam your own style” but how will it be? whatwould my motifs be? and the venue that’ll fit? please help ! 🙂
Can you suggest a catchy phrase for my hollywood glam themed debut? thank you! 🙂
Hi Stephanie Epe,
Usually the best thing to do is to have a theme so that you would have a cohesive party and you would know what decorations to put in the stage and all around the venue. Since your party is just a month away, probably having a color motif would help you. Since you said that you have pink/ fuchsia as the color of your gown, then probably you can go with a pink motif. Go for lighter shade of pink for your decorations or combine pink with white by putting pink and white roses as centerpieces and pink and white drapings on your stage. Hope this helps.
hey debut ideas,
I want to have a barbie theme, but I really don’t know what my guests will wear, sometimes I think twice whether I’ll celebrate it this way or blah blah, I’m having trouble about it. It’s whether by a barbie theme, greek theme or fairytale theme. I also wanted my concept to be “Glam your own style” but how will it be? whatwould my motifs be? and the venue that’ll fit? please help !
hello,
im planning to have black and white as my motif, is it okay?
hello,
im planning to have black and white as my motif, is it okay? Thanks a lot! my theme is slightly Hollywood and Vintage.. (:
Thanks a lot!
God Bless!
_steph
Hello there! I’d like to thank you for this website, I’ve been getting a lot of information from it!
My mom insists that I should just have a “semi-formal” party, no theme so that the guests will not have difficulty with what they are going to wear but I REALLY REALLY wanna have a themed debut party. Can you please help me? I’d like something elegant or magical but I don’t want my guests to suffer too! Thank you and I’d really appreciate it if you answee this question. 😀