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Adult Birthday Party Planning Guide

Ideas, Invitations, Decorations, Games & Favors

1.      Is it a milestone birthday?  You know 21^st, 30^th, 40^th, 50^th, etc.  If so visit our Milestone Birthday Planning Guide and go from there.

2.      Does the birthday person have an overwhelming passion, interest or hobby?  If they do you should consider creating a theme party around that passion.  Some of our most popular birthday theme parties are:

• Celebrate Birthday - a great new theme with matching invitations, candy bar wrappers and more!

• Luau Birthday Party – Does spending your birthday on a beach sound perfect?  Then our Luau Planning Guide will help you create an unforgettable Birthday Beach Bash.

• Fiesta Birthday Party – Let’s see, Birthdays are fun.  Fiestas are fun. Won’t a birthday fiesta theme party be twice as much fun?  Makes sense to me. Don't forget to take pictures of everyone in their sombreros drinking that Mexican beer!

• Western Birthday Parties and BBQ Birthday Parties – Some people love to barbecue so why not have a Western barbecue? Decorate with cowboy hats, bandanas and hire a caller for a little bit of square dancing or line dancing!

• Mardi Gras Birthday Party - - Mardi Gras is a celebration, so it's the perfect party for any occasion. Think about a Mardi Gras Birthday Theme Party and masks and beads and hurricane glasses and King Cake for desert.  What fun!!

• 70s Birthday Party - The summer of love, the Doors, black light posters, Woodstock--this party is always a hit!

• Rock and Roll 50’s Birthday Party - It's Rock and Roll and I like it! Use a DJ, a band or a good old boom box and let people lip sync the night away with Elvis.  Great decorations for this and people always end up dancing

• Hollywood Birthday Party- We all want to be a star. Now it’s your turn to enjoy the spotlight and all the glitz and glamour of a Hollywood theme party.

• NASCAR Birthday Party - It's a race to the finish--the perfect theme for someone who's into fast cars and the fast lane!

• Sports Birthday Party - If they love football, baseball, soccer, tennis, basketball, all sports or even the Olympics--these themes work beautifully. You wouldn't believe the stuff that's available for these parties.

• Jimmy’s Birthday Party – A great party for guys.

Planning an Adult Birthday Theme Party…

The Basics.

We have come up with an approach that we think works for most adult birthday parties. If you do these seven things your birthday celebration will be a hit!

Pick a Location

When picking a location you really have four choices.

1.      Home – Inside.  Most of the people I know are most comfortable with this approach.  You know your house, you can decorate when you want (or when you have the time) and you “set the rules” for the party. 

2.      Home – Outside.  Same address but a whole different decorating approach and vibe to the party.  Lots of fun but make sure you have options if the weather doesn’t cooperate.

3.      Restaurant/Party Room.  Lots of the headaches go away.  But will you have privacy. Will you have enough time.  Does it fit your budget.

4.      The Moveable Feast. Often referred to as the pub crawl this can be great fun and friends can come and go as they see fit.  One of the best parties I ever attended went to a club for cocktails, a restaurant for appetizers, a different restaurant for dinner, a ball game, followed by a tavern for a nightcap.  Takes some planning and cooperation from the places you visit but you can “customize” an evening for the guest of honor by going to their favorite places.

Pick a Theme

We have listed a variety of options above. I think picking a theme makes decorating, menu planning and all party preparations much easier.  You don’t have to do this, but if you do go this way, select the theme as early as possible.

Choose Your Invitations

Once you have your theme, you’re ready to choose an invitation. Of course, the invitation is one of your most important decisions, because it lets the guests know in advance what a great party you’re planning and what a great time they will have.

Based on your theme (or lack of), we have something for everyone. It’s a special day for that special someone so why not really wow your guests and give your party that personal touch? Think about ordering our personalized birthday invitations or personalized ticket invitations.  Combine these with a matching personalized candy bar wrapper as a favor and you’ll have a party that’s remembered for a long time. 

Of course, if you are feeling ambitious you can make your own invitations. I think this is the most fun when you can get your child to help. Your invitations will certainly be original. All of our theme party ideas have suggestions.  Or go to your local party store where you’ll find an invitation that will work for you.

Decorate the Room

Visit Birthday Decorating411 for some fun and creative birthday party decorations!

Depending on where you are having the party (inside or out) and the time of day, you can go light or heavy on the décor. It helps to make the party more festive, but it’s your choice. Listed below are the items we propose for all of our birthday parties…but you can pick and choose.

Welcome sign - either a sign or a life-size cut-out of the celebrant with a speech bubble is the perfect thing to welcome your guests. The cut-out can be themed or just based on your photograph.

A sign in board or book—something for the celebrant to keep forevermore. Check out our 3-D sign in books—they’re fantastic!

Seating cards/favors—attach the table card with name and table number to a favor of some sort. Perhaps a personalized candy bar or something that goes with your theme!

Tabletop décor—centerpieces, confetti, napkin rings, votive candles, matching paper cups are a must! Be creative with any and all of these items, and your guests will be thrilled with the personal touches. You might also want to think about a single-use camera on each table and perhaps a program at each place.

Plus, think about using some of our themed paper goods with matching miscellaneous items. The old days of using china are gone… These fabulous party goods can make your table. Or at least consider using them for dessert!

Photo opportunity—depending on your theme, we can provide a back-drop or a cut-out for a wonderful photo opportunity—just ask us! 

Pick Memorable Favors

Personalized candy bars are very popular. Loot bags are always popular. A little bit of candy and other assorted goodies put in something easy to carry. It’s always fun to use something that fits your theme. For example if you are doing a Luau, or are having a beach party, use some plastic beach pails as your “bag”.

Plan Your Menu

This really depends on the type of party you are planning and how much work you want to do. You can have a formal dinner or just put some snacks out around the room. A popular standby is a potluck approach. If you are having a big crowd this is a good way to go.  I usually make a main course and ask my guests to bring complimentary foods.  My sister-in-law asks people with a name that begins A-L to bring an appetizer and M-Z to bring dessert. Here’s another place where picking a theme will help you.  You can easily find hundreds of recipes on the web for a luau, mardi gras, fiesta or western birthday party.  Just take a few minutes to search. It's fun!

Games and Activities

This really depends on the size and type of crowd you are expecting.  If you have a roomful of people you might find good conversation and plenty of enjoyment will be easy to find.  With smaller groups (that don’t know each other) you might need an icebreaker to get things started.  If you have all couples we have some suggestions.

Don’t forget it’s a birthday party so sharing a story about the guest of honor can be fun or playing a little “Do you remember?” where people give different, and often hilarious, versions of the same event.

• Drink Calculator

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Gift Ideas

• Candy Bar Wrapper - The perfect party favor.

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