Your Guide to Planning a 30th Birthday Party: 20 Fun Ideas

Wave goodbye to your 20s and hello to your 30s in style with the ultimate party. While heading into the next decade may feel daunting, planning your celebration doesn’t need to be. We’ll make sure you’ve ticked off every detail and provide plenty of inspiration, all you’ll need to do is put together a guest list.

Naturally, we think it’s the music that really makes the party and so it’s worth putting the time in when it comes to creating a play list. If you don’t feel up to the task, why not hire one of our party bands or DJs? Our artists know exactly what to play to keep the dance floor full all night long.

Next, you’ll need to think about food, décor and a party venue. If you’re stuck for ideas, read on. You’ll find plenty of suggestions plus a few ideas to shop now below. Happy party planning!

The location of your party will dictate almost every other element so it’s important to consider this first. Depending on the size of your guest list, you could consider hosting at home. A house party is purse-friendly and keeps things simple – no party gear to transport and unlimited time to prepare and set-up.

If something a little bigger is on your birthday wish list, start scouting out venues well in advance to make sure your top choice isn’t booked up. Local pubs with private rooms, halls, restaurants or even fields are all great choices. A field or other outdoor venue is perfect for festival themed parties and a pub room or hall could be transformed to fit practically any theme with a bit of creativity. Don’t believe us? Check out point five for some inspiration.

Live music is a great addition to any party, and we can’t think of a better way to bring in a new decade than with a night dancing to your favourite hits. Why not surprise your guests with a band? Whether you’re into indie, jazz or pop, we’ll have a band for you.

Alternatively, you could put together a playlist of party floor fillers yourself. Check out our Spotify profile if you’re in need of song ideas. You’ll need to use a good quality speaker at home or check with the venue if they have a sound system you can use to make sure your carefully chosen playlist can be heard. If you’d rather just relax and enjoy your guests, why not book a DJ? That way they can help choose the right songs and avoid any awkward transitions. Plus, they can bring lighting to give your party even more wow-factor.

If you’re hosting at home without the help of a pub or restaurant kitchen, you’ll need to give food a thought well in advance. If it were us, the last thing we’d want is to spend the day slaving over a hot stove making food for the evening. Keep things simple with a cold buffet that can be prepared well in advance, lay it out on a table dressed with table confetti and a few candles. We love the idea of taking your party back in time to 30 years ago, why not fill your buffet with party rings, sausage rolls, cheese and pineapple on sticks and birthday cake a la 1990s?

If you’re not up for laying on your own food, look into local caterers. Hiring a pizza or burger van could be a fun addition, particularly if you’re thinking of throwing a 30th birthday festival. A BBQ is another good option for summer soirées, just consider hiring a BBQ style caterer or creating a rota so no one person is chained to the BBQ and missing out on all the fun!

Going full glam on your 30th birthday is, of course, well within your rights. It’s your night and your time to shine. But if you fancy doing something a little different why not set a fun dress code or choose a fancy-dress theme? As with the food, we think taking it back to the 90s is a fun idea. Think spiky updos, low slung combat trousers, flared jeans, platform trainers, bucket hats and raver smiley face t-shirts. Watch an episode from one of the early seasons of Friends, Sex and the City, Dawson’s Creek or Sabrina the Teenage Witch for inspiration.

If 90s trends just aren’t for you, ask your guests to wear black and throw a funeral for your 20s! Alternatively ask guests to dress in your favourite colour. We’ve listed some theme ideas below, so check these out for more ideas.

Before you can think about buying décor, you’ll need to know where you’re hosting and whether or not you’re going with a theme. To help you decide, we’ve listed some of our favourite theme ideas below.

When choosing décor on a budget, think of cheap but effective items like helium filled balloons or tissue paper streamers. Flags, banners and fairy lights will easily create a festival theme in a field or garden. While these may seem pretty basic, there’s plenty of styling ideas on Pinterest and Instagram that will elevate them. Ideally, your venue will give the right vibes for your theme, so you’ll just need to add a few finishing touches.

1. Funeral for my 20s – a popular theme over on TikTok, get all of your guests to wear black and accessorise your birthday cake with this RIP to my 20s cake topper.
2. 1990s fashion – rewind back 30 years and you’ll find yourself in the year Princess Diana rocked her famous ‘revenge dress’, Rachel Green had us all rushing to the salon and Liz Hurley held it all together with safety pins. Whether you choose to emulate one of these iconic looks or create a 90s fit of your own, we think this theme will be a winner.
3. 1990s TV shows – get a little more specific with your 90s looks and pick out a favourite character from a 90s TV show. Ask your guests to do the same and have fun guessing who’s who!
4. White party - not just a theme for reality TV stars, asking guests to wear all white creates an elegant and luxe feel.
5. Great Gatsby – if you want to bring the glamour and decadence, a Great Gatsby theme could be the one for you. Think sequins, feathers, a jazz band and plenty of champagne coupes.
6. Favourite colour party – if you’re obsessed with a certain shade, what could be better than asking your guests to flood your venue with that hue?
7. Harry Potter – dress as your favourite character or choose a house and rock their colours. Butter beer welcome drinks optional.
8. Rave party – take guests back in time to the early 90s rave scene where dance music ruled and glow sticks were essential.
9. Taylor Swift eras – draw inspiration from Taylor’s recent tour and ask guests to dress up like their favourite Swifty era. This is a theme that will never go out of style…ahem.
10. Barbie – the 2023 Barbie movie showed us that there’s a Barbie for everyone. Ask guests to dress as their favourite incarnation of the iconic doll (or Ken, of course!).
11. Disney – guests can come as a princess, prince, villain, talking animal, magical tree, giant mouse… the options are endless!
12. When I grow up – we think this idea is the cutest of them all. Dress as whatever it was you dreamt of being as a child and ask your guests to do the same. You’ll love seeing all the lion tamers, ballerinas and chocolate testers coming through the door!

If you’re planning a 30th birthday fest, give your guests a keepsake to wear on the day and keep. We think these wrist bands will give your festival an authentic feel.

We love a bit of tongue in cheek décor and these Ginger Ray balloons certainly deliver.

Make sure everyone knows who the birthday lad or lady is with this bedazzled party hat.

Let everyone know they’ve arrived at the right place with this stylish, personalised birthday sign.

Add a touch of glitz and glamour to your venue with this dazzling gold backdrop.

Photo booth props and frames encourage guests to get involved and take some snaps. Dedicate a corner of your venue to photos and leave this for guests to play around with!

Napkins are a party essential, so you may as well buy ones with 30 written on them!

We love these disco ball string lights from Dunelm. Hang them up on the bar or use them as part of your photo booth backdrop.