Partygoers who enjoy the pulsing techno music of a rave party will love black light decorations that enhance their experience. Keep your house clean by decorating your backyard for this exciting party.
Black Light Party Lighting Essentials
The crucial element of any black light party is the lighting. This means that any black light rave will need to be hosted at night to make the black light effects obvious to dancers and onlookers. Make sure your outdoor party lights are appropriate for this type of party.
Swap Light Bulbs
The first thing you should do to get your party area ready is to swap out all traditional outdoor light bulbs with black light bulbs. Remember to swap the porch lights, outdoor lamps, and any overhead lighting on patio rooftops.
Black Light Bars and Panels
The quickest way to get the right effect is to bring out large light bars or panels. Hang bars:
- From the top of a gazebo
- From the patio roof, spaced several feet apart
- Near any special décor effects that you want to highlight
- Along the perimeters of the party area
Light bars and panels are both available from HouseOfRave.com.
Lighting Strands
Hang black light lighting strands throughout your yard. Swag them:
- Along your fence line
- Along garden columns and posts
- Around arches and doorways
Lighting ropes and strings are easy to hang and add ambiance to the party.
Reactive Decorations
Once you have the black lights in place, it is time to add some decorations that will react to the black lighting. These decorations include items like the following, which are all available from Blacklight.com:
- Balloons
- Hanging fish
- Candles
- Posters
- Barware, like pitchers, cups and straws
For a truly awesome effect, set up a bubble machine pointed at the rave dance floor. Pour in Bewild.com's Tekno Bubbles and your dance floor will be a stunning sight.
Black Light Painting
Create a unique guestbook by propping a large sheet of plywood in a corner of the backyard. Hang a black light bar above the plywood or set a small panel below it. Set out black light paints and paintbrushes and allow guests to sign their names, write messages and draw pictures on the plywood. The guest book becomes part of the décor.
Guests Are Part of Decorations
Don't forget that partygoers themselves can be part of the decorations.
- On your party invitations, indicate that people should wear white or light colored clothing.
- Hand out glow sticks and necklaces to guests as they arrive.
- Set up a black light face painting area and allow guests to decorate themselves with reactive body paint.
Find what you're looking for in body paint, facial dust and lip gloss at Be Wild.
More Decoration Ideas
- Strobe lighting is perfect when the rave music is really pumping. Set the strobes so they pulsate with the beat of the songs.
- Fog machines add great ambiance in the backyard while allowing the glowing haze to disperse without bothering anyone.
- If you have trees and bushes, look for glow in the dark stars to hang from them. They'll look light they're part of the black light decorations, and you won't have to worry about aiming a light at them.
Additional Rave and Black Light Decorations
Party supply stores will offer a few items, but for more specialized rave and black light decorations, you may need to seek out online sellers. Pick up additional decorations for your backyard black light rave party at the following online stores:
- Glowsource offers novelty items perfect for any party. Check out their LED vine lights, glow sticks and light up ballons to add to your party fun.
- Gadgets and Gear sells a gamut of items from submersible floralytes to fiber optic lights to beacons and plasma balls.
Backyard Black Light Rave Parties
A backyard rave party featuring black lights makes an exciting party theme for adults and teenagers alike. Even kids can get into the fun with face painting and dancing. With enough black lighting, all of your reactive decorations will stand out in the dark night.
