Landmark Birthday Party
Make this one special
We’ve all been to a lacklustre birthday party or two. When the disappointment of a crappy party makes everyone feel uncomfortable, it’s a horrible way to celebrate a birthday, and it’s quite traumatizing for the birthday boy or girl, too. Despite what your mom might say, no one wants to celebrate her 50th without some fanfare, even if she swears that she doesn’t want a party. This is a trap, folks! If you don’t throw a party, be prepared for subtle guilt trips for an indefinite period of time. Whether your boyfriend’s almost 30 or your mom’s turning 60, here are some pointers on how to make their special days a memorable, un-embarrassing, guilt-free blast.
Venue
Securing a venue is your first course of action, not only because you need to let people know where the party will be, but because you need to figure out how many people can fit in the space, what the costs will be, et cetera. Choose a location for the party that’s special and is a place that your loved one will really like. It could be at a friend’s place, your place, a restaurant she goes to on a regular basis, whatever. Just make sure you finalize your decision and book what you need well in advance. Please, please, please don’t choose a place where there are horses, duels and people throwing food on the ground whilst calling their servers wenches. One doesn’t really want to simultaneously eat dinner and smell horse manure on one’s birthday.
The Invitees
Go over the party list with the birthday girl or boy’s best friend or significant other just to make sure everyone who should be invited is invited, and those who shouldn’t aren’t. Let’s face it, it’s not a whole lot of fun to spend your birthday with people you don’t like – even if it seems impolite to leave people out.
The Invite
Choose an invitation that suits your friend/significant other/family member. This will get the invitees excited for the event and may even be something they’d like to keep as a memento. If your mom’s a real wise-ass, go to someecards.com and send a funny evite to all the guests. If she’s more traditional, get some proper invites and mail them out like they did in the old days, before Paris Hilton was old enough to get arrested for drunk driving. Either way, adding a personal touch always does the trick.
Food
Do your best to create a snack menu that includes a best hits assortment of your beloved’s favourite foods – this will absolutely delight the birthday girl or boy. If her favourite food is Chinese food, find a place that caters or try making some spring rolls and fried rice with your team of party planners. If your boyfriend is the birthday boy and his favourite meal is a tuna sandwich with barbecue potato chips sprinkled on top, make a bunch of miniature tuna-potato chip sandwiches for the crowd to enjoy. It might sound disgusting to you, but everything’s both easier to swallow and cuter to look at in small doses, and if you’ve used some quality ingredients (go for the fancy bread and the expensive potato chips), it may turn out to be tastier than you think. It’s not a bad idea to have a few things on the menu that have a broader appeal.
Music
Music is a very important player in the overall enjoyment factor of the party. Music will mask any kind of lull, and we all know how lame it is when suddenly all goes quiet at a party. No need to hear a pin drop, just crank up the tunes. And play your loved one’s favourites. You may not like the Bee-Gees, but it’s not your birthday, is it? It’s perfectly fine to throw some tunes in that you like, but remember, it’s her day.
Drinks
Again, stick with your loved one’s favourites. Her fave drink will be everyone’s by the end of the night. As with the food, it’s important to ensure there’s a little variety—not everyone likes a Rusty Nail. It’s also a good idea to appoint someone to serve drinks for the night. If you can, try to hire someone. That way no one will be bitter for having to stand around making chit-chat with Aunt Ramey about her goiter all night.
Remember: details, details, details
It’s all about the details and it’s the little things that count, especially on this big day. All the effort you put into the details of the party will mean more to your loved one because of the thought you put into it. And have some fun with it!
Written by: Sasha Bogin
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