Build Your High School Yearbook on a 1980's Theme

The 1980's was a great decade. Rock music was diverse and spanned from New Wave to Glam Rock. Hair was high, teased, messed, and tussled whether you were a man or a woman. Why not make the theme of your yearbook the 1980's? Here are some ideas to help.

Ask your teachers for pictures of themselves from their high school yearbook. Many of them probably graduated in the 1980's. Do comparison shots of them then and now. If the teacher didn't attend high school in the 1980's ask for a picture of them from the 1980's that you can use.

Draw contrasts throughout the yearbook between your graduating class and classes of the 1980's. Compare the costs of things in the eighties and those same things now. Contrast the 1980's technological advances to those of today. Compare photos of sports stars and celebrities as to how they looked then and now.

Have a 1980's day at school and take pictures of students dressed in 1980's garb. Think of dressing along the lines of Madonna or Michael Jackson. Rock out as a member of a big hair band, like Poison or Motley Crue. In the 1980's, hair ran a wild gambit. Do a little research on the Internet to find your preferred look and encourage other students to do the same.

Create sidebars to your yearbook featuring forgotten celebrities, entertainment, and games. Hacky Sack was popular in the 1980's as was ALF, the television alien from the planet Melmac. Mary Lou Retton was a 1980's icon, as were Princess Diana, Elton John, John Lennon, Al Pacino, Sean Penn, and many more.

There are plenty of icons and pieces of pop culture from the 1980s that you can use to add more flair to your yearbook. The radio was playing songs like "Call Me" by Blondie, "Magic" by Olivia Newton John, "All Out of Love" by Air Supply, "Another One Bite the Dust" by Queen, "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang, "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar, and "Shining Star" by the Manhattans. References to songs like these will greatly add to your 1980s theme.

Sports stars of the 1980's featured people like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Barry Bonds. Implement pictures and news clippings about these stars to your yearbook.

The most popular television show of the 1980's was Cheers. Married With Children was a popular television show along with The Cosby Show, Highway to Heaven, The Dukes of Hazzard, Little House on the Prairie, Happy Days, Taxi, Benson, and Growing Pains.

These are just some ideas. To learn more, talk to relatives, neighbors, moms and dads who were around in the 1980's. You'll find it was a time of great diversity and individuality that many of them will be happy to reminisce about. Your 1980s yearbook theme will not only be a success --- it will be fun to create!