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If You're 40, You Must Be Over the Hill

This kind of party can be great fun as long as you keep it light. I mean the usual things are expected and will always work: black balloons, RIP tombstones as centerpieces, tombstone confetti, Over-the Hill invitations, and the appropriate tableware are all parts of the puzzle but you can add some special touches to make your party unforgettable.

Invitations and Welcome

Have a caricature invitation made of the soon to be ancient celebrant. A caricature invitation not only creates a great caricature you can use several times during your event but it will also let you feature hobbies and character traits that can help theme your party. For example if the birthday person is a golfer you can make some of your gag gifts golf items (a giant tee, sharpened pencil, exploding golf balls, etc.)

The caricature can become a life-sized cutout that will greet guests at the front door. These are always a hit and are a great souvenir for the guest of honor. Another option is getting a Grim Reaper to greet guests. You'll be able to use this for other events, especially Halloween.

Activities

You almost have to have a roast. Make sure your guests know your plan, and ask them to bring a favorite story to tell. You can do a celebrity roast format where a variety of guests get "on stage" to poke fun at the star of the show. We don't want to hurt anyone's feelings (at least not too much), so use this approach only if you know the guests and are sure they won't "cross the line." The other option is to have a single person do the roasting. Best friends are perfect for this. They know all the secret little stories, but they also know where to draw the line.

"This is your Life" is another format for the roast. Have mom and dad tell stories from the early years (a very long time ago), and grab a life-long friend or a teacher for the school years. A co-worker can recount famous (or infamous) moments at the office. You get the idea. Put together a CD with pictures from the corresponding years, and this can be a really fun hour or so. This approach can, and should, be funny, but it also lends itself to many touching moments and memories.

If you have a smaller group, think about renting a hearse (amazingly this isn't that hard to do) and tour some of the old neighborhood hangouts. This is a blast, and provides fabulous photo opportunities.

Food

Some people think all the food should be black (olives, licorice, etc.) but that's not much fun. I would go with the standard party fare, and maybe a side dish of oatmeal and some prune juice for humor value (and maybe the birthday boy will really need it). You certainly should have some fun with the cake. The Over the Hill cake is hilarious, but you can't eat it. Tying the Over the Hill theme in with a seasonal event or hobby is always good. When my spouse turned 40, three days after Halloween, I had a cake made with all sorts of goblins, ghosts and spider webs on it. The message? "Turning 40 is pretty scary." Not too original, but it was a big hit. Your golfer could have a golf flag with "Pretty soon, you'll finally shoot your age!" For the boater..."The Old Man and the Sea." Be creative. Any decent cake decorator can do almost anything you ask.

Favors

Here's where that caricature comes in again. Use it on a personalized candy bar for all your guests to take home. Or simply, order our "Over the Hill" candy bar for an unusual and fun favor.

If you are creating a CD to commemorate the event, create a personalized CD case with a copy of the CD for all your guests. Truly a special gift.

Well, there a few ideas for an Over the Hill party that's a little out of the ordinary. For more ideas, contact the PartyGirl. For an unbelievable selection of custom products, contact the Custom Queen.

Some Unusual Products

• Over the Hill Birthday Cake
• Over the Hill Kit n Kaboodle
• Grim Reaper
• Over the Hill Birthday Hat
• Over the Hill Tombstone
• The Big 4-0 Mylar Balloon
• Mid Life Crisis Crown

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