Planning an 80th birthday party for someone who is full of life? So don’t throw a typical, quiet, age-appropriate celebration for them. Instead, make this special occasion lively, fun, and memorable. Here are five unique ideas to consider.
1. Take a royal journey down memory lane. This party idea hits the streets to remember. Gather your guests in a rented limousine, rented bus, or car caravan and take a tour of important places in the life of the guest of honor. Start with the house you lived in as a child and travel to the places where you went to school, worked, lived, attended church, shopped, and socialized with friends.
Make a flyer with a map that highlights each of the stops. Include old photos of those places, if you can find them. Distribute copies to all attendees. Encourage the celebrant to share memories of these places. Arrange for the tour to end at a restaurant that means something special to the guest of honor for a dinner with all of their friends and loved ones.
2. Dance to their music. Most people have a soft spot for the music they grew up with. If the guest of honor is still humming tunes from his youth, then throw a retro birthday party. Whether you prefer big bands, ballads, or ’50s rock, play the songs from that era. Decorate to match the time frame. If you are energetic in your eighties, you may be able to persuade him to demonstrate some dance steps. Even for those who don’t dance, it’s still a lively atmosphere.
3. Make it about what you like. A gathering with balloons and cake is nice. But you can go beyond the generic and customize this 80th birthday party with their interests. If you’ve always liked to fish, plan a picnic by the lake, where you can fish with some of the guests. If you’re known for your culinary creations, hire a chef to do a cooking demonstration and ask everyone to bring you a cookbook as a gift. Do you love to travel to tropical places? Then have a luau. Are you a sports fan? Then decorate with their favorite team and play sports trivia.
You can base the party on your favorite TV show, hobby, place, beloved pets, or whatever grabs the attention and affection of the guest of honor. When you create a celebration around a theme, you have entertainment built in and it shows that you care about what interests them.
4. Get the old gang back. Locate missing persons from the celebrant’s life. Are there old friends, neighbors, and co-workers that the guest of honor has lost contact with over the years? Well, it’s easier than ever to find people who have drifted away.
If you can’t locate someone in the phone book or by asking those who might know the person, try the Internet. Check their name on Google and test websites like Classmates and Facebook for their presence. You can also try searching for a known relative. If you find someone related, you may be able to point them in the right direction. This 80th birthday party could be an enjoyable reunion that would reestablish some long-lost friendships.
5. Have an adventure. What did George HW Bush do to celebrate his 80th birthday? He jumped out of a plane! He also went skydiving to commemorate his 75 and 85 years. Although your guest of honor may not have that on their bucket list of things to do, there may be something else they would love to try. Ask him.
An adventure doesn’t have to be big and scary; simply something the celebrant wants to experience. It could be as simple as a trip to a new restaurant, a dinner cruise, tickets to a play, or a trip to the beach or the zoo. But it may surprise you. Find out if you have any unfulfilled dreams and see what you can do to make them happen.
So, go beyond the ordinary and traditional. Give your favorite octogenarian a unique celebration, designed to reflect his personality. Make it an 80th birthday party to remember!