Retro Party - The Party Timeline. | Shipwrecked on Fabulous Island

It doesn't mean I'm not grieving... It just means that I need something to help me function... I find myself staring at Munch and almost brought to tears at the thought of something happening to her.

Before I cry, let's get to the Retro Party rundown.

Finally, the day had arrived. My dear mommy's party was upon us and I was ready to groove... Read on to hear more of how we brought the 50s, 60s and 70s to life with a structured timeline!

Costumes

The invitations asked guests to wear their favorite attire from any of the eras. I was the party host and kept my outfit 70s chic with a thrift store jumper and Party City wig... Total? $28 (including the $8 lipstick). Party read-ay!

Guests came ready to party too:

The Hustle Instruction

Do you see those costumes? Are you getting the party vibe? We kicked the party off with The Hustle dance instructions.

Mom wanted people to have a dancin' good time. I knew line dances were the way to go. I didn't, however, realize that my mom's list would go back to the original line dances... Matter of fact, I wasn't prepared for mom to take my suggestion and turn it into a party element - to learn the popular line dances by era... Thankfully, my amazing co-workers pulled together to teach me some of the older line dances.

At the party, the DJ looped the song's intro while we reviewed the steps:

My dear friend, Sheena, and her hubby, Dom, provided the lesson. It got everyone in the mood to GROOVE!

After the line dance, I arranged for the DJ to play a few(like 4) popular songs from the 60s and 70s then then a line dance. The order of line dances went like this:

The Hustle

The Electric Slide

The Cha Cha Slide:

The Cupid Shuffle

For each of the line dances, we had a leader in the front demonstrating and announcing the moves.

The Birthday Song

I had a cake made to match Mom's poodle skirt and even had a sweets table with all of her favorite retro candies (we'll talk more about that tomorrow):

We sang happy birthday... Then, the DJ played "Rock Around the Clock" and a few 60-second snippets of 50s songs.

The Re-Introduction

While guests enjoyed swing music, mom changed into her party dress and I handed out flashlights. I had all of the guests form a soul train line, channeled my inner announcer and said, "AND NOW RE-INTRODUCING MY 50 AND FABULOUS MOMMY, ALICIA!!!!"

The lights were turned off and the DJ dropped the song, "Flashlight." Can you imagine? Guests had their flashlight swirling and my mom started the soul train line by wiggling in her sparkle dress, leggings and boots. We had SO much fun!

Costume Contest

After the Soul Train line, we had everyone compete for 2 big money gift cards in a fashion show. I had contestants line up, pose for a picture then head down the walkway towards the judges. Check out some of the photographer's pics:

We identified the finalists but the judges needed some time to deliberate.

While the judges finalized their decision, the DJ started playing, "Big Girls Don't Cryyyy" then remixed it with the Big Girl Wobble! I taught guests (those who didn't already know) how to do the line dance and it was another amazing party moment!