Homecoming and Little 500 contain some of the best parties in the entire country. Themes play a crucial role in the overall party experience, making for an unforgettable night...or one you wish you could forget.

Party themes in my opinion, are often overlooked. I would go so far as to say costumes can easily make or break the social vibes. A good theme can act as a bonding experience or comic relief in an awkward situation. However, a bad theme can completely ruin the ritual that is getting ready. It can also make for an extremely awkward situation if you happen to not look your best in a bathing suit or don't own any cops and robbers outfits. 

Many fraternity brothers fail to recognize the importance of these themes, and don't take them seriously enough. More men should get involved in the creation of themes. Any fantasy that you've ever thought up can be brought to life by adding "frat" or "bro" to the end of the name. That's why it is time to dissect the top ten best party themes, as well as the worst five. These themes have been picked based on attractiveness of the outfit (*), creativity of the theme (+), and comfort level (^). Here is a definitive ranking of themed parties.

Top 10 best themes    
1. America (*^)     
2. Toga (+^)    
3. Yoga/jersey/sports (^)    
4. ABC (*+)    
5. Dress to impress (*)   
6. Fratalina wine mixer"/ the great fratsby (*+)    
7. Dirty Disney (*+)    
8. Mardi Gras/ Vegas (*+)      
9. Greek wedding (*)    
10.High school stereotypes (+^)  

Five worst themes
No definitive party theme list would be complete without the worst themes ever thought up. Sometimes they’re so bad, they’re actually funny. This list is not exhaustive, however, that’s not a challenge.  
  
1. Wizards and sluts. Hands down, one of the most uncomfortable themes. No one wants to say they're a slut, and no one has a wizard costume...except for the one guy who happens to own a really long white beard and pretends to be Gandalf. It’s funny for the first ten minutes of the party, but then creepy Gandalf starts grinding on everyone and it just gets weird.      
2. Blackout/whiteout. The most vague of all themes. Do I wear a black dress or a black body suit? This theme becomes dress to impress, which is great, but let’s save ourselves the confusion and call it what it is.      
3. D-day. The theme is called “army,” so let’s not earn ourselves the disrespect that comes with making a party theme about the most gruesome WWII battle. It’s bad karma.      
4. Luau/Hawaiian/beach. I love the beach as much as anyone, but I don’t love wearing a bathing suit to a party. I hate nothing more than looking at a bid week list and noticing a beach themed party scheduled in the middle of January in Indiana. Do you know how much cheesy bread I've consumed by this point? It’s been at least three months since my skin even had a glow, and I'm most likely in a committed relationship with the library instead of the gym. Let’s save ourselves the embarrassment.  
5. [Guy's outfit] and sluts. I can’t stress this enough.