A friend of mine is having a party with an “80s prom” theme for her 40th birthday. I’m all set with my outfit idea but I’m having trouble coming up with a good theme-appropriate birthday gift. My first thought was to buy a vintage Merlin electronic game from Ebay, but my guess is that those were more of a “guy thing”. Anyone have any suggestions on a fun gift idea? Anyone know what was big with teenage girls in that era?
Thanks!
Of course, “idea’s” in the title should be “ideas”. I swear my grammar’s better than that.
Rubik’s Cube?
Silly? Potentially useful? Something in between?
Potentially useful: A Swatch watch, if those are still around.
Silly? A Jane Fonda workout VHS, headband, leg warmers. A DVD or VHS of Xanadu. Or a Cabbage Patch Doll. (Better yet? Garbage Pail Kids trading cards!)
Something in between? Maybe an 80s Teen Idol CD (Something like this, maybe?) Or a DVD set of the series Square Pegs?
Merlin! I think of my old Merlin whenever I see the taillights on a Chevy Impala.
Lacunae Matata: I was definitely leaning towards silly, but I love the swatch watch idea!
Nothing says 80’s like an ounce of high grade cocaine 
A gigantic 1980s style cell phone? (aka “novelty brick”)
Im thinking Diet Coke memorabilia if she happens, like many many women, to drink Diet Coke. It came out in the 80s. Or new coke if she prefers.
A merlin would be ok, I had a merlin.
Remember those necklaces with your name in script hanging off the chain?
Oh, if you are going for useful what about that amber coloured visions cookware from the 1980s.
I am so jealous, sounds like a fun party.
When I turn 45 I want to have a “45rpm” record theme party, preferably only one hit wonders and things like that.
Gift basket with a can of Aquanet and some Wet-n-Wild cosmetics. Oh, and a bottle of Jean Naté.
Love’s Baby Soft or Sand & Sable. A Magic Eight Ball. A collection of 80s music or books.
Okay, how about a Retro-80s Movie (or TV) Night basket: Popular movies or TV DVDs from the 80s (Cosby? Pee Wee’s Big Adventure? Airplane? Ghostbusters? ET? Square Pegs? Loads of options, depending on her taste. Maybe a copy of VH1’s “I Heart the Eighties” series.) Popular snacks and candy from the eighties: Reese’s Pieces, of course, Microwave popcorn, Diet Coke, Jolly Ranchers, Gummi Bears, Jolt Cola, Pop Rocks, etc.)
While I am sure they were around in the eighties, the Magic Eight Ball was much more popular in the fifties and sixties.
You can still get working ones. Only minor catch is that the actual 1980s phones were analogue, and the analogue networks were shut down long ago (okay, around 2008 in Canada if you want to be picky). On the linked page, there’s a 1993 GSM version built into the brick phone case that still works with a modern SIM. Not sure what frequencies, but I suspect it’s GSM-900 only.
Edit: they make a reproduction!
I still have my original analogue Nokia 101, but it has no battery.
I don’t have any ideas but thats sounds like a heck of a lot of fun.
GREAT idea for a theme party.
I remember wearing one big earring in one ear, while the other ear sported a small stud earring. Could you buy her two pair of earrings (one big and crazy, the other dainty), but present it to her first as a mixed pair?
Or find out what some book bestsellers were of the time and get copies of those. Maybe well-known 80s biographies, like Shirley MacLaine or Lee Ioccoca.
It is fun to go back and look at the titles we read!
http://eighties club.tripod.com/id359.htm
Tacky leg warmers, can’t go wrong with that. All because of that Flashdance movie I think.
Oh no, leg warmers predate Flashdance by a bit. I seem to remember Jane Fonda’s fitness videos and Olivia Newton-John’s video for “Physical” being the big “kick-off” for that fad (along with the headband and aerobics leotards.)
A Cabbage Patch Kid.
They still sell them so they won’t be crazy expensive.
Other things I saw at Target:
Garbage Pail kids trading cards
Trading cards of products with “tasteless puns” substituted.
A barbie reissued 1980’s peaches and cream doll.
Hair gel in a big ass tub.
Wine coolers.
A Simon.
A retro 80’s games player (it has like 50 games in one joystick)
Thanks everyone for the excellent suggestions! I’m going to try to find as many of the cheaper suggestions above as I can and put them in a gift basket.
I’m also going to give one additional item which I think will be really cool and for which the idea just struck me this evening. There is an annual music/art fest here in West Palm that has been going on from Wednesday until tonight. There’s a husband/wife team that does some really fun and cheap “cheesy” art that I love and I buy at least one thing from them every year. As an example of what they do, I have a ceramic plate titled “Pugga Lisa”, which is the Mona Lisa but with a pug. I spoke with them and they are going to do a piece that has a happy birthday message to her and has a scene that follows the 80s prom theme. It will also feature Bobby Brown and Boone’s Farm Strawberry Hill since I know she was into that in the day. Given the artists’ prior work, I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
I’ve told my friend that I think her theme idea is an inspired bit of genius. I can’t wait.
Thanks again for everyone’s input!
Sounds like you already have some good ideas, but the first thing that popped into my head was one of those Swatch Watch wall clocks.
http://www.retrotogo.com/2010/01/ebay-watch-giant-swatch-watch-for-your-wall.html