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The 20-30s of the 20th century went down in American history as the “gangster era.” The impetus for its flourishing was the adoption of Prohibition. The law did not bring the expected effect, but it became an incentive for the growth of bootlegging and smuggling. Gangsters took control of the illegal liquor trade, which brought huge profits. Elegant clothes, expensive cars, beautiful women in diamonds, shootouts with the police - the chic and dangerous lifestyle of the “bad boys” still attracts attention to this day. The phenomenon of “gangster cinema” even emerged in cinema. Films such as “The Public Enemy”, “Once Upon a Time in America”, “Scarface”, “The Godfather”, “Pulp Fiction”, “Chicago” have become classics. Because of its romantic and mysterious aura, a gangster theme will be an excellent theme for organizing a party. It is worth noting that this style for a theme party will be especially interesting for people over 25 years old. The gangster era is a time of dangerous chases and shootouts, robbery and persecution, the smell of whiskey and cigars, as well as a constant uncontrollable passion for power, money, women and weapons. It is this slightly rogue atmosphere that you should try to convey at the time of the gangster party. Or as it is also called - a mafia themed party.
Preparing for the party.
In order for the party to go perfectly and match the surroundings, you need to try to take into account as many details as possible. The preparatory stages include the following organizational processes:
1. Drawing up a list of guests, selecting a suitable place (room) for the party; 2. Production, preparation and distribution of invitations; 3. Think over your “gangster” image; 4. Think over the design of the room, selection of props, creation of a photo zone; 5. Select suitable dishes for the menu. 6. Make a list of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks that will correspond to the theme of that time; 7. Selection of thematic music; 8. Competitions, entertainment and board quest games - team quest “Al Capone’s Gangsters against the Russian Mafia” and board quest “Bank Robbers”.
What, I suppose you read the entire plan outlined above and became scared by the number of organizational issues? Don't be afraid, Don Zavodila is with you! As the old gangsters say, “Take a machine gun and don’t be afraid of anything!” Our detailed script will be your weapon in preparing for a mafia-style party.
Go …
Party in the style of "Mafia" - dress code
At the beginning of the party itself, meet all guests at the entrance and conduct a comic search for weapons and prohibited substances. If nothing incriminating is found during the search, hand such a guest something from the list:
- cigar pistol;
- a bag of white powder;
- wooden knife;
- handcuffs;
- toy pistol;
- wallet with paper bills (can be printed in advance);
- other types and attributes of “mafiosi”.
Only then invite guests to enter. The dress code is also very important at a Mafia themed party.
We make a list of guests and choose a place for the party.
First, we make a guest list. After all, it depends on the number of guests how many invitations to make, what size room to look for, what menu to create. When choosing a place for a holiday, take into account its location so that all guests can easily reach it. Don't forget that thanks to a gangster party, you and your guests should be transported to the atmosphere of the 30s, and this is the time of underground casinos and illegal bars. Therefore, depending on the number of guests, we recommend the following places for your party: 1. If your guest list includes up to 6 people , then such a party can be held in an apartment. 2. If there will be from 6 to 25 guests, then consider the option of a country house, cottage, cafe or restaurant. 3. If there will be more than 25 , then a storage facility (hangar) may be an excellent option.
Party up to 6 people:
When organizing a party in an apartment for a small company, immediately take into account the duration, which should not exceed 5 hours, since in a confined space guests can quickly become emotionally exhausted and the theme of the party will gradually become unnoticeable. In order to keep your gangster friends constantly in suspense, warm up the mood, think over thematic tricks that you will implement throughout the evening. For example, an hour after the guests have gathered, enjoyed the atmosphere of your interior, took pictures with each other, offer everyone a small aperitif and smoke a real cigar or roll up a roll of tobacco. A rolling kit and tobacco are not expensive and can be purchased at any tobacco store. For girls who smoke, take care of long cigarette holders with which they can smoke a cigarette elegantly. If you do not allow smoking in the apartment, then organize a special place for smoking, as well as smoking accessories - matches, ashtray.
Also, at the time of the feast, you can please your friends with whiskey aged 15 years. And also tell some happy story that you saved this bottle for a special occasion, since it is very valuable to you and you borrowed it 5 years ago from the director of the National Bank at the time of your successful robbery. If there are no smokers among your guests, then you can get by with sweet cigars. To do this, take chocolate tubes, arrange their box like a cigarette case, and place a lighter next to it. Now even your non-smoking guests will be able to smoke a cigarette and be in the subject of all the intimate conversations that usually take place in the smoking room.
Party from 6 to 25 people:
When choosing a venue for a gangster party for up to 25 people, think about which establishment from among those you have visited best suits the interior in the mafia style or the interior of the old city in the style of the 30s. If you don’t know such establishments, then use the Internet. Now every self-respecting establishment has a website where you can see photos of the hall and find reviews on social networks. Also take into account the fact that if your guests are no more than 15 people, then there is no point in renting a whole cafe for this. You need to find a venue with a separate room for your event (VIP room) and agree to rent this room.
If your guests will be more than 15 people, then it makes sense to rent the entire establishment and arrange a real gathering of the leaders of mafia clans.
Party from 25 people:
An abandoned warehouse (hangar) can also be an excellent option as a party venue. Just imagine the festive atmosphere when, approaching such an abandoned place, your guest sees an elegantly dressed young man standing on the street with a machine gun. Having approached him, the guard will menacingly ask: “Your name?” Hearing the name, he will take a notepad and pencil out of his back pocket, check his notes and say: “Yes, you are on the list!” After which he leads the guest to the large door of the brick hangar and loudly shouting “Johnny, it’s me!” will open the gates! Having gone inside, your gangster friend will find himself on the territory of a warehouse, where, in addition to some boxes, boxes, wooden pallets, he will see a bar counter, hear music and smell cigars and whiskey. This atmosphere will highlight and add a little spice to your party.
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Add a pinch of extreme. To organize a gangster party in such a place, you will additionally need to take care of:
- Find a suitable hangar.
- Clean the premises.
- Consider seating, necessary furniture, toilet, etc.
- Provide suitable lighting.
- Provide music.
- Consider an option with a bar counter, a bartender, and dishes.
- Solve the issue with the menu, as well as with cutlery.
Preparing for this kind of party will take quite a lot of time, effort and material resources, but the effect of such realism will really take you back to the 30s of Chicago.
Staff and welcoming guests:
The number of staff depends on the budget, the size of the party, and the number of guests. If you are throwing a party at home, for a small circle of friends, you can handle it yourself, but for a large party you need at least a bartender.
Ensuring that the guests do not get bored and that the atmosphere is maintained is the task for the party host. So think over the scenario for the entertainment part of the event yourself or discuss it in detail with the host. A good holiday requires musical accompaniment; this problem can be solved with the help of musical equipment that will play pre-recorded music; if the party budget allows, then invite musicians or a DJ. You can invite a professional photographer. If a gangster party is organized entirely in-house, then all these organizational tasks fall on the shoulders of the owner of the house. Separately think about the process of welcoming guests. A properly organized meeting will stir up interest in the party and set a festive mood from the very threshold. Invitees will like it if they are met on the street, or on the threshold of their home. In the premises itself, guests can be greeted by a waiter (or the owner of the house) with drinks and cigars. Further “guardianship” of the guests is taken by the host of the party or its owner, if there is no host.
Celebration scenario
A wedding in the “Mafia” style implies a scenario inspired by 20-30 years of the last century. To make a themed celebration fun and memorable, you need to think through everything in advance. If future newlyweds want to leave the redemption procedure, then it needs to be done in accordance with the general style. The bride may be kidnapped by representatives of a hostile clan or taken hostage during a robbery of the Don's mansion. The groom, together with his faithful companions, must free his beloved; he is advised to prepare in advance a stylized case with fake money.
After the ransom, everyone goes to the official painting site, for a photo shoot, and then to the banquet hall. In the invitations, the newlyweds can write a password for a secret passage to the wedding, and all guests must give it to the “security guard.” At the celebration itself, everyone present can come up with an Italian pseudonym, and the most original one will receive a prize.
To entertain guests, you can arrange other competitions:
- Several girls and boys are called, they are divided into pairs. They are blindfolded and their hands are handcuffed behind their backs. Each couple is given a bottle of alcohol and a ribbon; those participants who tie a bow on the neck the fastest win.
- Young men who smoke can compete in blowing cigar rings. The one who has the most wins.
- A competition in accuracy would be suitable for a gangster wedding. All participants need to shoot at targets using a pistol with toy bullets or sticky bullets. The one who scores the most points wins.
- The winners are given symbolic prizes - handcuffs, decks of cards, cigars. At a mafia-style wedding, you can arrange other typical entertainment - playing roulette, playing cards or the psychological game of the same name.
There are many options!
Production, preparation and distribution of invitations.
Once the list has been compiled, the date and place have been agreed upon, we send out invitations to guests. An invitation is the first step to immersing guests in gangster surroundings. You can make invitations yourself or order them. If you decide to make your own invitations, we provide you with several options:
A simple and uncomplicated option . If you don’t see the point of spending a lot of time on invitations, then this option is just for you. We find on the Internet the relevant pictures and pictures you like on the topic of gangsters, mafia, weapons, etc. Using a graphic editor, add your invitation text to such pictures, print it on a printer, roll it into a bundle, tie it with a scarlet ribbon and the invitation is ready. (see photo No. 1)
- In the form of a playing card. To do this, use a computer to write the text of the invitation, add the designation of a playing card in the corners and print it on a printer. Then carefully glue the printed text to the cardboard (coated on both sides), round the edges of the card and the invitation is ready. (see photo No. 2)
- In the form of a tuxedo. This is one of the simplest, but at the same time visually original ways to make an invitation. A black sheet of cardboard is folded on the left and right sides so that the folded edges meet clearly in the middle of the original side of the cardboard. At the left and right folded edges, you need to additionally bend the edges at an angle so that they resemble a tuxedo collar. On the left side of the tuxedo we make a slot and insert a piece of white cardboard into it, as if a white scarf is peeking out of the tuxedo. Next, we print out the invitation in A5 format and insert it into the tuxedo, which was previously made from black cardboard. (see photo No. 3)
- In the form of a pistol. To make such an invitation, you will need black cardboard, A4 paper, a computer, a printer, glue and scissors. We print out an image of a pistol on a printer (2 pieces per invitation). Cut out the printed image along the outline. Next, we cut out a gun from cardboard in the shape of the printed image so that the two halves of the cardboard are connected to each other in the muzzle area (as shown in the photo below). Next, we glue the cardboard and the printed image together. Inside the pistol we place a sheet of invitation rolled into a tube, make a hole in the area of the trigger so that the invitation can be tied through it with thread to prevent it from falling out of the pistol.
5. In the form of a wanted poster (printed in a printing house). A creative and funny way to invite your friends to a gangster party is to have a poster with a personal photo of your guest. It is best to print such a poster not on a home printer, but in a printing house. Take funny photos of your guests from social networks, write a funny text (preferably individual for each guest) like: “Attention!!! A dangerous criminal, a seducer of women, a lover of strong drinks and strong tobacco is wanted! If you have any information, please contact me by phone number (indicate your number) or appear for personal testimony (indicate address, date, time).”
Do not design invitations in bright colors; it is better to choose black and white. In the invitation, in addition to the date and time of arrival at the “gangster party,” we make sure to draw the guests’ attention to the importance of the dress code. Indicate in large print that a stylized costume is required.
The dress code is important for the atmosphere, for conveying the spirit of the party, so the more details guests are advised on this issue, the better. You can send your guests a short list of rules for your party along with the invitations. All points of such rules should be presented with humor, so that your gangster friends can immediately anticipate the fun format of the party.
Gangster image or description of costumes (outfit) for a gangster party.
In their “golden times,” famous gangsters formed the elite of society and paid close attention to their personal wardrobe. It was customary to have suits made to order from personal tailors. When creating a male look, the suit should be a classic two-piece or three-piece, made of smooth fabric in blue, gray and black shades. The shirt is plain or vertically striped, perfectly ironed, and the shoes are no less perfectly polished. Under no circumstances should you use sneakers or any elements of a sports style as footwear. Every self-respecting gangster had a fedora with a soft brim. It’s great if you have one like this in your wardrobe, it will add realism to the image. You can complement your look with accessories such as suspenders, cufflinks, pins, massive pocket watches, cigars and, of course, weapons.
To create a female look in the style of the gangster era, we take straight-cut dresses. The color of the dress is your choice, but it is advisable not to experiment with multi-colored dresses with flowers and polka dots, but to give preference to classic solid colors such as red, black, white, blue. A great addition to the look can be: long beads, feathers, veils, furs, sequins, gloves, fishnet tights, mouthpieces. We complement the image with a hairstyle, bright makeup and an equally bright manicure.
If your city provides rental services for gangster-style costumes, we advise you to indicate the addresses of such points in your invitations. Perhaps this will make the task easier for some of your guests, and for others it will prompt them to create their own unique image.
Room decoration
The first thing to think about is, of course, decoration . The task ahead is not easy: to transform an ordinary apartment (house, hall, office) into a real mafia paradise - mysterious Sicily. To do this, you should decorate the room with flowers. Grape vines (can be artificial), olive branches, and orchids are perfect. You can hang black and white photographs on the walls.
The room should be in twilight, so it is better to hang heavy curtains on the windows. If space allows, then place small round tables around the room, on which you can place decks of cards, ashtrays, tokens in random order, and arrange bottles of expensive alcohol (alternatively, the labels can be re-glued).
If you have a country house at your disposal, then it is better to hold the party in the basement. Ideally, you should have something like a casino. For a more complete atmosphere, you can turn on a DVD movie from the 30s or a radio playing retro songs.
A Mafia-themed party is essentially the same as a Gangster party, but with slight differences!
Decorating the room, selecting props, creating a photo zone.
Gangster parties are held both in entertainment venues and at home. If you find a bar or pub that works in the right style, it will make the preparation task much easier. If there is no “ready” space, we decorate the room ourselves. There are nuances that need to be taken into account in the design: we use black, red and white as the main colors; We make the lighting dim; We close the windows and doors with heavy curtains. In those days, this was necessary so that no one would see that a meeting of gangsters was taking place, at which they not only decided on their important issues, but also drank illegal alcohol. There are some interior features that will definitely help you when decorating your interior. ♦ 1. Print in a printing house or printer, and then hang posters with views of Chicago or New York, black and white images of celebrities of those times on the walls. First of all, these are portraits of famous gangsters - Al Capone, Johnny Dillinger, Tommy Morello, Charlie "Lucky" Luciano, and others. Images of “movie gangsters” will also add a party atmosphere. ♦ 2. You should also hang the posters on the wall, which we wrote about in point No. 5 “Preparation of invitations.” Place "Wanted" posters on your walls with pictures of your friends and a funny description. This design will definitely lift the spirits of your guests. ♦ 3. What is a gangster without passion? Also use dice and cards as interior elements. Place them on furniture and a holiday table. ♦ 4. Wooden boxes, which can be stacked in a chaotic manner at the entrance to the room, are suitable as excellent props for the interior of a mafia-style party. The boxes may contain empty bottles or straw, indicating that something fragile was transported in the boxes. ♦ 5. On some boxes with straw, you can use a stencil to make the inscription “whiskey”, and also put a couple of bottles of whiskey in the box. ♦ 6. In the 30s, gangsters loved everything luxurious, so pay special attention to various kosher interior elements - pearl beads, feathers, etc. ♦ 7. An excellent option to emphasize the financial success of your gangster party would be a large number of packs of dollars that need to be laid out on furniture, table, etc. For such dollars, you can use napkins with an image of a 100 dollar bill printed on them. The napkins look very realistic, so they will definitely add their own thematic charm.
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♦ 8. We also advise you to pay attention to jute bags or, as they are simply called, “burlap.” Such bags can be filled with something bulky and folded at the entrance to the holiday room. Your guests will feel like they are in some kind of underground warehouse. ♦ 9. As a tablecloth for a festive table, we advise you to order on the Internet a green cloth with an image of game cells printed on it, just like in a casino. If you couldn’t find such a tablecloth, then buy a piece of green fabric in the store, preferably its quality should be similar to the fabric that is used to cover billiard tables and roulette tables. This will give your guests the feeling that they are sitting at a gaming table in a casino. ♦ 10. If you have old vinyl records, they are also perfect as props for your mafia party.
Photo zone:
When decorating a room, plan a separate space for a photo zone. Surely guests will be delighted with stylized photographs. For a photo zone, you can use a prison stadiometer, handcuffs, dummy weapons and, of course, a large number of souvenir American dollars in a suitcase. You can also separately make various signs with thematic inscriptions, such as: “The Mafia is immortal!”, “Wanted,” “Attention! Dangerous criminal." etc. With such signs your guests will be happy to take pictures. Also, having bought a black piece of fabric measuring 1.90 m X 1.5 m, you can draw a body outline on it with chalk, as a reminder that there was a shootout in the room in which Big Joe, a militant of the opposing mafia clan, was injured. Spread such a piece of fabric on the floor. If there is an advertising agency in your city and your party is taking place in a cafe or restaurant, then you can order a professional photo stand. For example, you can make a photo zone with a real-size car of that time that was shot at.
To ensure that guests behave appropriately and do not forget who they are visiting, be sure to post the rules of your party in the most visible place. Every gangster present must respect your rules.