Warning! Milestone Ahead-Planning 40th & 50th Birthday Parties

Warning! Milestone Ahead: Planning 40th & 50th Birthday Parties

Are you planning a party for a 40th or 50th birthday? These birthdays can go one of two ways - either a very special and sentimental celebration or a humorous, "Over-the-Hill" type bash. Which direction you choose will depend on the person you're celebrating and the relationship you have with that person - because no matter what, you want your friend or relative to feel loved and special.

Sentimental Celebration
A 40th or 50th birthday party is often a time of great reflection for the birthday person, so when planning a birthday party, you may want to go for a more sentimental celebration, filled with dear friends and extended family. These parties can be focused on celebrating the life of the birthday person, and guests can share special memories, photos, poems or songs that relate to the guest of honor. In fact, when you mail the invitations, you can include a blank scrapbook page, along with a stamped return envelope, and invite each guest to share a story about the birthday person on their page. Many people will go all out, including copies of photos and other mementos, and also decorate their page. Others will simply write down their special memories, but either way is just fine - everyone's memories are special to the birthday person. Compile all of the pages into a scrapbook before the party, and then present it to the guest of honor during the party.

For decorations, you can use photos of the birthday person through the years (childhood, high school, wedding, birthday parties from years past). It's a fun way to take a stroll down memory lane.

Humorous Celebration
If the birthday person has a good sense of humor, "Over the Hill" parties are great for 40th or 50th birthday parties. Decorations for this type of party are readily available at party supply stores, and of course, most people have black clothing they can wear for the "somber" event. You can ask guests to bring "Over the Hill" gag gifts such as laxatives, a cane, reading glasses or adult diapers. Party supply stores also carry an assortment of these types of gag gifts.

You may also want to think about a mock funeral party - but be sure the birthday person is in good health and has not recently experienced the death of any close friends or family members. This can be a little touchy, so you must know the guest of honor very well if you choose this theme. You can ask some of the guests to give eulogies, decorate all in black, have some organ music playing in the background, and have a tombstone shaped cake. If you think this is a good option for the guest of honor, you can really have fun with it - just use your imagination!

Milestone birthdays call for special celebrations. Whether you choose to celebrate the birthday person with kindness or with humor, just make sure that the guest of honor feels special and loved and you can't go wrong.