Search
Login
Foodies Only in your inbox
By clicking "Subscribe", you agree to ourPrivacy Policy and to receive marketing emails from Foodies Only
ITC Portal
Copyright © 2025 Foodies Only
Copyright © 2025 Foodies Only
7 min
29/12/2025
Very millennial-core to even think about this, but the early 2000s are back and better than ever, especially if you are looking for ideas for your NYE party. You might have some old discs, boom boxes and streamers lying around, which will shine in such occasions. If you want something modern, then K-pop follows a closer theme and will fit into the fangirling and fanboying culture.
Go all out this New Year’s Eve by going retro (Gen Alphas and younger Gen Z will agree), with these throwback party themes. These themes, especially the second one (more of that later), are having a major moment, from the nostalgia-packed early 2000s aesthetic to the pulsing energy of K-pop culture. Blast peppy music, celebrate short shorts, hippie, tight jeans and colourful ruffles and clothes. This is the best way to revel in nostalgia and usher in a new year with style, sparkle, and plenty of memories.
Deck the halls with glitter and Y2K decor by layering metallics and chrome through shimmering tablecloths, streamers, silver or gold balloons, and disco balls that add a moody sparkle. Evoke nostalgia with old-school tech displays like hanging CDs, cassette tapes, floppy disks, and DIY flip phones or early iPods as photo props.
Don’t forget the inflatable chairs and couches for an authentic early-2000s lounge vibe. Set the mood using lava lamps, string lights, and pink-and-blue neon signs, lean into the era’s butterfly obsession with hanging decor or butterfly clips for guests, and finish with pop-culture posters of icons like Britney Spears, Rihanna, Paris Hilton, or Mean Girls styled into a DIY magazine wall collage.
Y2K fashion blended futuristic touches like metallic fabrics, holographic materials, glitter, and sparkles with the playful, bright colours of the late ’90s. Think low-rise jeans, butterfly clips, fitted tracksuits, and everything bedazzled with rhinestones, paired with baby tees or crop tops and mini skirts. Finish the look with platform sneakers or chunky shoes, tiny Matrix-style sunglasses, and mini handbags barely big enough for a flip phone – pure early-2000s ‘it girl’ energy.
If you're not up for building your own playlist, search for ‘Y2K Party’ playlists on Spotify or Apple Music. Your soundtrack should be heavy on late '90s and early 2000s pop and R&B. Essential artists include Britney Spears, NSYNC, Rihanna, Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys, Usher, Nelly, Jay Z, Jennifer Lopez and more.
Keep the nostalgia flowing with these interactive elements, which you can find at retro shops and thrift stores, the more colourful the more fun:
DIY Craft Stations: Set up a table where guests can bedazzle their jeans with rhinestones, make friendship bracelets, or customise hot pink T-shirts with decals or markers.
Karaoke Showdown: Set up your karaoke machine and sing Y2K music classics. Perfect for belting out ‘...Hit Me, Baby, One More Time’ or ‘Backstreet's back, alright!’
Video Game Console: Set up an old video game console for playing games like Mario Kart, something you can discuss with fellow enthusiasts and arrange.
Photo Booth: Create a photo area with inflatable seats, flip phones, feather boas, and decorated sunglasses. For a more aged appeal, use disposable cameras or a Polaroid.
Y2K Trivia: Test everyone's knowledge of early 2000s pop culture, celebrities, movies, fashion, and music.
Keep the Y2K party snack menu fun and nostalgic with a mix of desi childhood favourites and era-appropriate treats that will spark memories, like classic potato chips, mini samosas and other easy savoury bites like smilies and chicken nuggets. Stock up on colourful fruit-flavoured candies and pop-rock Magic Pop that fizzed in your mouth, toffees, bubblegum and old-school sweets, simple instant noodles, chocolate cake and custard for comfort desserts, plus bright, playful drinks that evoke childhood party vibes.
Bring K-Pop Seoul to your celebration with a high-energy party theme, setting the tone with pink, blue, and purple lighting using LED strips, spotlights, and concert-style backdrops, then add custom illuminated signs featuring famed group names or logos.
Create a photocard collage wall so guests can show off their biases, layer in group-specific colours, banners, and light sticks for authenticity, and finish with a mini karaoke stage where everyone can perform their favourite K-pop hits like they’re on a comeback stage.
K-pop fashion is defined by its loud and eye-catching clothes, something that has streetwear that mixes things up with high fashion. Then you have oversized graphic tees or hoodies paired with high-waisted pants, crop tops with baggy pants and bling or skirts to match sets. Platform shoes or chunky sneakers ground the look, while statement jackets like leather, denim, or varsity styles add impact, finished with bold accessories, hair clips or headbands, and colourful makeup with graphic eyeliner.
Cup Sleeve Event: Turn your party into a cup sleeve event using online templates where guests can add their design, print them, and bedazzle with sparkles and stickers. This mimics the popular K-pop fan tradition.
Photocard Decoration Station: Set up a craft station with materials for decorating photocards and topladers with stickers, resin, and other embellishments.
Random Dance Play: Play K-pop music videos and have guests dance along whenever they recognise a song. The familiar beat will get people grooving.
Karaoke Competition: Set up a screen with K-pop music videos and let guests perform their favourite songs, complete with choreography if they're feeling ambitious.
Bias Bracket: Create a tournament-style bracket where guests vote on their favourite K-pop idols, songs, or music videos, with the winning song, idol or video becoming the mascot well into the New Year.
Serve crowd-pleasing K-pop-inspired food with easy Korean favourites like street snacks such as sotteok sotteok (sausage and rice cake skewers), Korean corn dogs, or pajeon. Add kimbap filled with seasoned rice and veggies, customised with tofu, chicken, or pork, alongside popular Korean snacks. For fun extras, include themed cookies cut into K-pop mascot shapes and a DIY boba bar with different teas, flavours, and toppings.
Why choose when you can have both? A Y2K-Pop fusion party celebrates the evolution of pop culture from the early 2000s to today's K-pop phenomenon. This hybrid theme works beautifully. You can have dual photo booths, then start with late '90s to early 2000s pop and gradually transition to K-pop hits as the night progresses, showing the evolution of pop music. You could also mix up the dress codes and food to bring variety and fun to the party.
Whether you go full Y2K nostalgia, embrace K-pop energy, or create a fusion of both, these themes offer the perfect opportunity to celebrate with personality and flair. The key is to focus on fun, nostalgia, and embracing the colourful, energetic emergence of pop culture. With the right decorations, music, and everyone dressed in their best themed attire, you'll host a New Year's Eve party that guests will be reminiscing.
