Dos and Don’ts at the 80th Birthday Party for a Big Milestone Celebration
Planning an 80th birthday party for someone special? If so, you’re probably looking for ideas to commemorate this happy occasion in a big way. Here are some helpful tips with top tips and advice for celebrating this important milestone.
DO NOT throw a surprise party. One of the best places to get 80th birthday party ideas is from the guest of honor himself. Let him participate in planning this event. Of course, you don’t want the celebrant to do any of the work. But leave the important holiday details up to the birthday boy.
Find out what type of celebration you would like to have: formal or informal, large or small. Ask him to help you decide on the menu, entertainment, and date for the big party. And most important of all, let him do the guest list. After all, he or she is the only one who knows which people need to be there for this occasion to be especially meaningful.
Involve your guests. Give the people invited to the celebration the opportunity to contribute to honor the birthday boy. Ask everyone to email you their favorite memories of the guest of honor. Write each one on a small sheet of colored paper, place them in a glass jar. Then at the party, present the keepsake jar as a group gift to the celebrant. You can also ask your guests to donate photos to a scrapbook you are preparing for this special man or woman.
DO NOT schedule the party to run too late at night. You may be planning an 80th birthday party for a night owl who has more energy than the average teenager. But chances are, most of your friends aren’t that lively or vigorous. Instead, plan an earlier celebration, so everyone is in their prime.
USE lots of photos. The 80th birthday celebration is the perfect time to highlight all those years of memories with pictures. You can start with photo invitations that feature before and now snapshots. Another idea is to go with personalized photo birthday gifts, which are available in a variety of inexpensive items such as magnets, bookmarks, candy bars, notebooks, pocket mirrors, and key chains, to name just a few.
For party decorations, enlarge a few prints to poster size or combine multiple images into a large collage. You can make simple yet elegant centerpieces by simply grouping together several small framed photos. Make a slide or powerpoint presentation of snapshots of the man’s or woman’s life.
DO NOT forget your personality. What does this 80 year old special love? What makes it unique? Try to incorporate that into the celebration. Are you still an avid golfer? You could have a golf themed party. Is the celebrant a true dog or cat lover? Perhaps you can find a ceramic figurine of their favorite breed to put on the cake. Whether they like gardening, old movies, computer games, mystery novels, scrapbooking, fishing, or anything else, try to find a way to incorporate that into the holidays. It’s a great way to show that birthday boy that you appreciate the things that make him such an amazing person.
Include nostalgia. Put on CDs of the music you loved in your youth. Do your research and create a large poster that lists the events that occurred in the year this person was born. You can also find personalized party favors that include this information. Make up a trivia quiz for your guests, using little-known facts or events from the birthday boy’s life. Everyone will enjoy trying to find the answers. You might even have a small prize for the person who gets the most hits.
So, if you are looking for guidelines to create a memorable 80th birthday party, keep these tips in mind. Then use your imagination and be sure to give this special someone a wonderful milestone celebration.
