Sixty candles won't fit on a cake. A single candle is more emblematic of this birthday and others to come
You made it past the big 3-0, 4-0 and 5-0 and all of the anguish that goes with those milestone birthdays. It's time to enjoy and celebrate who you have become over those years. Your family and friends now know you better than ever before and you appreciate them more than at any other time in the past. They plan a party that fits who you are and celebrates your life to date and future possibilities. Does this Spark an idea?
Family and Friends Potluck
Celebrate the life of the guest of honor by inviting as much family and as many friends as possible. Ask each guest to bring a dish of their favorite food and encourage them to eat early on and throughout the party. Have plenty of toys and activities to occupy the young ones. Grandchildren are encouraged to play and interact with the celebrant and the atmosphere of the party is likely to be a bit chaotic and full of energy. Take plenty of individual and group photos of the birthday celebrant with the guests and give a CD to the guest of honor. Play a photo show on a wall or screen--already put together on a CD--with as many photos as possible of the life of the celebrant, along with family and friends, and gives copies to the guests.
Nostalgia Party
Have a CD of the events of the decade the celebrant was born and post copies on the walls of the party room. Newspaper front pages are available at the library or from online sources. Post copies of photos of the guest of honor taken throughout his 60 years on the walls along with the newspaper headlines for that day. Put the celebrant on the spot by asking prepared trivia questions such as "what was the price of gas in (choose a year far in the past)", or who was president in (choose a year far in the past). Put together a list of questions and humorously rib the celebrant as he struggles to answer. Play a game of name that tune by playing brief snatches of songs from 50 years ago through the present day and encourage the entire group to attempt to identify the title.
Humorous
Prepare a throne for the celebrant--a large chair--with a blanket and shawl draped over it and place it center-stage in front of the group. Encourage the guests to prepare brief remembrances of a time in their life that the guest of honor played a part. These are humorous incidents, times when good advice or help was given and an interesting or meaningful event was shared between the guest and celebrant. Ask several of the guests to think back on more humorous events that occurred and that put the guest of honor on the spot. Continue to lighten up the party with a prepared list of top 10 things you don't want to hear after your 60th Birthday. Give the answers to different guests numbered one through 10. The speaker asks the question, "What you don't want to hear after retirement.", and the guest reads the answer, "Doesn't look like those adult diapers work every time, does it." Work down from question #10 through question #1.
Tags: guest honor, 60th Birthday, along with, choose year, choose year past, family friends, hear after