Create an animal-based music theme for preschoolers. "Old MacDonald" and "We're Going to the Zoo" present an opportunity for dramatic play. Make simple crayoned animal masks from paper plates. Transportation songs, including "Wheels on the Bus," "Row Your Boat," "I've Been Working on the Railroad" and "Driving in a Car," further engage children in musical dramatic play. Line up chairs to form seats on the bus. Give children paper plates for wheels to turn.
Invite children to bring stuffed cuddly toys for a Lullaby musical theme. Use Pachelbel's Canon, along with Brahms' Lullaby and lullaby songs.
Broadway and famous musicals for children represent a music-themed idea. The musicals Annie, the Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and The Wiz are child-friendly. Tell the story of each musical. Play music from musicals and allow older preschoolers to draw a character.
Combine classic rock with 70's clothes for a Retro-Rock dress-up party for retro-loving teens. Invite teens to dress up in bell-bottom pants, tie-dye T-shirts and hippie granny dresses. Loop background videos of the "Woodstock Concert" while playing the music of The Rolling Stones, Crosby Stills Nash and Young and Jimi Hendrix. Create a "Name That Tune" by playing excerpts of obscure one-hit wonders of the 70's and award special prizes to teens who dress up as famous rock icons, such as Janis Joplin, Tina Turner or Joni Mitchell.
Create a Beatnik or Beat night Coffee House with jazz and poetry. Invite teens to read their poems to the accompaniment of congas and John Coltrane or other jazz greats. Hand out a folk guitar for those who want to sing the folk music of Bob Dylan. Pass out berets as favors.
Coordinate an adult Halloween party with an unusual twist. Play the soundtrack music of scary movies, including the soundtrack from "The Birds," "Jaws" and "Pyscho." Create a game where each couple draws a number from a hat. When the couple's number is called have the couple improvise a scene based on the movie of the soundtrack or guess and improvise if the soundtrack is unfamiliar.
For Motown devotees, invite guests to come dressed as The Supremes and The Temptations. Host a "Soul Train"" party with a Don Cornelius and "Soul Train" floor where the "Soul Train" gang can dance. Challenge guests to sing a Motown song either solo or by coordinating a trio or quartet with other guests. Select four guests who do not know each other to sing a Motown song as a group.
Although music is the main entertainment, enhance the party with a music-related decor. Hang real or fake albums and 45's on the walls. Have phony microphones for the guests to lip sync with. If the party budget permits, rent a karaoke machine and a real mic. Serve food that corresponds to music. For example, soul food can complement the "Soul Train" theme. For the scary music sound tracks, grilled shark could be served to the music of "Jaws."