Fun Birthday Party Ideas for Grown-Ups
Casino Night Party
For a big money theme, rent a hall or designate a large room in your home as the honorary casino. Plastic gold coins and paper money create the big-spenders atmosphere, scratch-off lottery tickets present the perfect party prize and black, red and white decorations, plastic cups and plates carry on the theme. Don’t forget the poker chips!
Decks of cards, dice and felt tablecloths (for blackjack, etc) provide some entertainment, but consider looking around for cheap slot machines, roulette wheels, and so forth (consider renting if buying is out of the question). Try to follow the theme for your musical selections and consider setting up a karaoke machine in case anyone is moved to tell jokes or sing songs. Give each guest an allotment of play money and offer additional tender if they agree to play dealer for a couple of rounds (if you can’t find people to sit in as dealers in the first place).
At the end of the night, give the birthday guest his or her presents and also present the casino tycoon with the most play money a present of his or her own. The fun and competitive nature of a casino should have your guests laughing for hours!
Cocktail Party
For an elegant reception, cook some hors d’oeuvres and appetizers and purchase some wines and liquors for your guests’ enjoyment. Define a dress code in the invitations and either obtain the services of a DJ or pay your teenager to play music man for the night. Clear out a space for dancing and set up some chairs / sofas for lounging and conversation. This fancy soiree will be the topic of conversation for months to come.
Be sure to set aside a special place for gifts to be given to the guest of honor. Or, if you know of a particular “larger” or more expensive item the birthday celebrant desires, collect money from the guests as a down payment!
Blast-from-the-Past Party – bring back the styles and fashions of your younger years! Have a specific “decade party” or leave it up to your guests to decide if they want to groove with the 70s or rock out with the 80s. Ask each guest / couple to make up a CD with hits from the decade they are representing and play those tunes at the party. After the festivities dwindle down, present the guest of honor with the CDs to enjoy for decades to come!
Give a prize for the best outfit, decorate the party location with articles from previous decades and if you are feeling exceptionally ornery, break out photo albums that include photos of the guests back in the day!
Surprise Party
What’s more fun than hiding 15-20 people in a small room for 45 minutes and jumping out in false alarm about 3 times before the guest of honor arrives? Surprise parties are fun for all ages from younger kids to middle age to grandmothers and grandfathers!
Be sure to have the party somewhere that guests can easily find hidden parking or at least a location that allows them to walk only a short distance from their car. Make or order a cake, get balloons, food and goodies and be sure to hide all traces of the party until the special guest has entered the surprise area. An excuse like asking the guest to check on your pet while you are away on vacation (and leaving a key under the doormat, etc) or having a friend or family member escort him or her to lunch is a good distraction to help keep the party a secret!
Simple Parties with Minimal Planning
Barbeque / Cookout Party
Quite possibly one of the easiest all-purpose party themes around, this one is a classic event that friends and family love to come back for year after year. Buy plenty of hotdogs, hamburgers, buns, ketchup, mustard, pickles, relish, cheese and paper plates and napkins. Make some fresh lemonade and iced tea and grab a couple of cases of beer. If you have a pool, make sure your guests remember their swimsuits and towels� and warn the birthday boy or girl that he or she just might get dunked!
Guest Bartender Night
Everyone brings a bottle of his or her favorite or newly discovered liquor and a mixer: soda, juice, tonic water, etc. The host or hostess should set up a bar area as accurately as possible if the home does not have a bar set-up already. Be sure to have lots of ice and clean glassware on hand. Depending on your budget, you can get really cute themed glassware and plastic tumblers to liven up the party!
Allow the guests to take turns behind the bar, each creating one special “signature drink” for the other guests at the party. At the end of the night, hold a vote for everyone’s favorite drink and present the winner with a prize! (You can pre-purchase a special prize, give a bottle of unopened liquor, or collect a dollar from everyone prior to the contest).
Be sure to treat the guest of honor with a toast from the guest bartender after all guests have received the signature drink. Of course presents and cards will be accepted and stowed away for opening at a later time!
Potluck Party
Have all guests bring a different main course, side dish or dessert and enjoy! This type of party can work especially well for those on a low budget because all of the guests will be contributing to the cause. Another great quality of this party type is that picnicking and outdoor parties thrive with potluck parties due to the abundance of food already contained in separate dishes-all you need is a picnic table or two to line up the food! If, after the arrival of all your guests, you end up with three dishes of lasagna and two baked hams, you know for next time that you should consider “assigning” recommended dishes!
