Throwing a 1920’s themed party this year, and need some ideas to host the best party ever? Need to turn your house into a speakeasy? I’ve got you covered with some great ideas for 1920’s party decorations!

This year I hosted a big 1920’s themed Halloween party, and it was so much fun! I love Halloween, I thought it would be exciting to host an adults-only murder mystery party. I’ve never been to one, and I was really excited to try it because we have the most fantastic group of friends, and I knew they would act their parts really well. Since it was Halloween, and a murder-mystery party, I wanted a solid theme that would work for both. And, I found it! I found a great online murder mystery game from the ‘Dinner and a Murder’ website, called Murder at the Four Deuces.  It’s set in a 1920’s speakeasy – perfect for a Halloween costume party!  

I had a lot of fun researching and coming up with ideas for 1920’s party decorations, and they really made the house look like the perfect 1920’s crime scene for our event. Of course, these ideas aren’t just for Halloween parties – you can use them for any 1920’s themed party. Read on for some fabulous ways to decorate your home for the 1920’s.

1. Front & Side Door Entrance

Decorate your front door by “boarding” it up and posting a “Closed for Violation of Prohibition” sign.  I didn’t take a picture of our front door, but here is a picture of the sign I made. You can download it at our FREE printables library.

HW2013_Condemned Sign

We used some scrap wood we had laying around the house and leaned it up against the door in a criss-cross pattern to create a boarded-up look.

Many speakeasies had a side or secret entrance and you had to know a special knock or password to get in. We used our garage side door entrance, ad printed out a 1920’s era peephole that we pasted on the outside of the door. In our invitation, we told our guests that they had to come in the side door, and speak the password, so they were expecting this. Here is a pic of the peephole that we cut out and pasted to our garage side door.

1920's peephole party decorating

2. Liquor Crates

This was a very easy and inexpensive decorating idea that really set a great mood for the party. We used plain cardboard boxes and printed out fun signs that we pasted on the boxes to look like liquor crates had recently been shipped to the speakeasy.  We filled the boxes with shredded paper (those shredded bills finally came in handy!) and some extra liquor bottles we had on hand. You are welcome to use our FREE printable labels – just click here to access them.1920's party decorations DIY liquor crates

3. Bathroom Decorations

OK, not everyone thinks about decorating their bathroom for a party, but it’s a room that everyone is guaranteed to visit during the party at some point, right?  So, why not dress it up?  I thought it would be fun to put some items out on a tray that the guests could take with them as part of their costume.  I set out some fake candy cigarettes, strings of pearls, fake mustaches, and feather boas. Lots of our friends commented about how much they loved the decorations in the bathroom. So, there you go, decorate the bathroom, friends! It will be noticed, and it was really funny seeing people emerge from the bathroom with mustaches and pearls to amp up their costumes.

1920's party decorations

4. The Bar

People didn’t come to the speakeasies to play cards…they came to drink!  Remember, it was illegal back then in our fine country. So, it’s important that you have a fully stocked bar for your 1920’s party!

Some speakeasies had signature drinks, so I came up with several “house” drinks from the era and made sure I had all the ingredients and condiments on hand.  I printed up a drink menu with recipes that the guests could use to make our house cocktails themselves. We put several liquor bottles in small paper bags and put labels on the outsides, as well, to create the feeling of bootleg alcohol.

1920's party bar drink menu

I think folks may have been a little nervous to play their parts for the murder mystery and needed some “liquid courage,” because we had a lot of alcohol consumed within the first hour!! This party marked the inaugural use of our new dining room buffet, too.

1920's speakeasy party decorations bar menu

5. Setting the Mood

Besides having amazing 1920’s party decorations, how do you make your house FEEL like a speakeasy?  Here are a few tips.

  1. Dim the lights – a speakeasy was a dark, smoky lounge.  To set the right mood, you’ll need to bust out the candles, and turn off the lights.
  2. Signed photographs – bars/lounges often have celebrities visit, and the 1920’s speakeasies were no exception.  I printed out some pictures of famous gangsters from the 1920’s and signed them as if they had visited our  “juice joint.”
  3. Music – this is key!  I downloaded music from the 1920’s and it played all night long.  Music goes such a long way when setting the mood for a party.
  4. Seating areas – bars and lounges have lots of small seating areas surrounding cocktail tables.  I used a small round side table from our living room, and covered it with a white tablecloth (I think it was actually an old sheet) and a black sheer spiderweb fabric I bought at the fabric store (ours was a Halloween party, after all).  With a little votive candle in the middle, and dim lighting, it felt just like we were in a classy speakeasy.

1920's speakeasy halloween party decorations seating area

6. Playing off the Murder-Mystery Theme

Because it was a 1920’s Halloween murder mystery party, I couldn’t resist adding some spooky flair to the decor.  I put a skeleton on a chair in the corner of our dining/bar room with fake cobwebs draped over him, and a plastic knife sticking out of his chest. I also added some fake cobwebs to the chandelier above the dining room table (where all the food was).  These easy additions made it feel like we were in a haunted speakeasy, which was just the look I was going for.

halloween party decorations

For dessert, check out the panne cotta brain-shaped dessert I made with raspberry “blood” sauce oozing from it. You can buy the same Plastic Brain Jello Mold. Not only did it look great, but it tasted amazing!

halloween party desert panne cotta brain with raspberry sauce

If you use these ideas 1920’s party decorations, and follow my advice for setting the mood, your party is sure to be a smashing success! A party for the ages!

Here are some of my favorite products and accessories to help set the theme for your 1920’s party. NOTE: These are affiliate links, which means that if you click on the link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.