40th Birthday – You're Not Old – You're Like Fine Wine & Cheese – Better With Age

Having  reached my fortieth year (a milestone birthday), my sister threw me a great party. It was subdued, yet a fantastically wonderful party. My Sister invited my husband and a few of my dearest friends over to celebrate my birthday. The black ad white invitation arrived by mail, asking us to attend a wine and cheese party, and to dress in evening wear attire.

She decorated her home with flowers that coordinated with the wines we were going to taste. The serving table was decorated with flowers such as red roses behind a Merlot wine,  white roses for a Chardonnay wine. It was fragrant and beautiful, her home looked like a fine restaurant. The food was delicious yet simple, the rich cheese, the fresh fruits all served by a waiter dressed in a purple shirt with black pants (purple is my favorite color). The best part was the most decadent seven layer chocolate cake she served for desert.

My sister, always the best hostess, hired a wonderful singer/guitar player who softy played through out the night. As we drank the wines and sampled the cheeses, we swayed to the music even singing along occasionally.  This party is a relaxing way way to celebrate a 40^th birthday. 

Sometimes we think a milestone birthday party means big and grand, but big is not what every 40 year old wants. Some like a more subdued party that is rich in food, drink and close friends and family. My sister gave me what I needed a relaxing celebration of my birthday.  Keep this idea in mind you may have a friend or family member that wants to quietly celebrate their age. This allows you to celebrate their milestone without stressing them out with big party.

Let's start off with a little entertainment that doesn't take a lot of work to get planned. Children usually have a large imagination and just about anything will get their attention. The number one thing to add festivity to the air of a birthday party is music. Play kid-friendly songs, or have a musical DVD playing on a TV in the main party room. Besides the music , children's party activities always make a party a lot more fun for every child.

Here's a simple idea that doesn't cost much to do. You could set up a game room inside your home, or even outdoors. This game room could be arranged with a variety of homemade games that cost very little to do. You could then provide each child that completed or won the game with a "prize". This could be anything from candy bars to glow sticks, whatever you think would be fun for any child. A couple of homemade games you could set up are soda bottle bowling, or even mining for jewels. Sounds fun!

Need bigger entertainment ideas? One major hit at most children's parties is to book an entertainer. This could be a standard clown or magician. To change things up a bit, you could even book "character entertainers" who come as popular TV, movie, or story book characters. But before making your decision to hire an entertainer, you need to be sure of a couple of things. Try to see them in action performing before the party to determine if they are the right entertainer for your child's party. Another thing is to be sure and let your entertainer know ahead of time if your child is shy. This would prevent the entertainer from asking your child to participate in the show, if you know that's not what your child would have in mind.

Another entertainment idea that any child is for sure to enjoy is to rent out a "bounce gym" or also known as a bouncer. Kids love them! These bouncers usually tend to cost $150+ per day including delivery and setup. They also come in lots of fun themes. Not only do kids love them but these bounce gyms are even actually good for their bodies. They have fun while doing a little exercise. Talk about two for the price of one!

Regardless of which of these entertaintment ideas you use, your birthday party is sure to be well entertained. Just make sure to have back up plans in case one of your entertainment ideas ends up not being possible. Which is why planning ahead of time is always a good first choice!

Reply:

This can be a tricky situation. According to Emily Post, you can't ask guest to essentially pay to attend. It is suggested that you cut the guests list down or find a less expensive venue. However, I don't necessarily agree that a party can't be "dutch treat".

This is how I usually handle those "dutch treat" parties. I don't send formal invitations. Instead I do my invites by phone or even email. When I send the invitation by email it goes something like this:

Sally's birthday is Friday May 8th. I am taking her to Godsey's restaurant for dinner at 7pm. I thought it would be a nice surprise if some of her friends were there to surprise her. I thought you might want to join us. The restaurant is going to reserve an area for our "dutch-treat" get-together. The entrees run anywhere from $15.00-$30.00. Please let me know if you will be joining us.

The most important thing is to keep the tone informal and not to declare host status. If you must send a printed invitation, keep in mind it must still reflect an informal party tone. My suggest is to word the invitation something like this:

This party invitation wording keeps the occasion tone informal. Notice the status of host is not declared in this invitation. When a party is "Dutch treat", it does not have a host per say. If you feel the need to include the term "dutch treat" on invitation do it at the bottom of the invitation like this

I hope this information will help you plan a wonderful party for your sister. Please keep me posted.

Champagne fountains are a beautiful, innovative way to serve drinks without having to hire a wait staff or a bartender. She loved it, as did her guests! Even if I had decided to have the bar along side the champagne fountain, it would have been a great focal point for the food table and the drink of choice for at least most of the females.

No need to rush out and buy one either, although that is an option if you can use it again. You can find party supply vendors who rent champagne fountains for events. Some will even come and set it all up for you, which is quite pleasant, especially if you are not mechanically inclined. In fact, you can even rent crystal stemware for an added elegant touch. You might not think of these things as your standard birthday party supplies but they can really make a difference in your celebration.

So if your planning a 21st birthday party and you need a extraordinary party idea think about using a champagne fountain.

A New Twist On Birthday Or Theme Party Food Ideas

One of my go to places for unique food ideas and twists on old stand-bys is my local caterers. These guys and gals are pro's and extremely talent in the culinary arts. They have ways of creating delicious food combinations that I can't even begin to dream of putting together.  For example, I wanted to do a football themed party for my brother-in-law's birthday, but didn't want the standard subs sandwiches. So I hired a local caterer and they did a wonderful job on making unique sub-sandwiches with specialty cheeses. One sub had Gouda with pastrami, olives and grilled onions. My favorite was the smoked bologna with cheddar and jalapenos. I can still remember how good that bologna sub was and how the food made the day.

Party Food Ideas For Hosting A Shower

Sometimes old recipes make the best food and the only twist you need is how you present it. My International food bridal shower turned out to be the best party I have ever hosted. I set it up buffet style, with labels explaining the country of origin and recipes each guest could take home. I chose one or two dishes from countries such as Italy, Germany, France, and Greece. I also made sure the dishes were simple enough that they could be made at home. I was able to rent some beautiful china and crystal glass wear to enhance the elegance of the buffet style food table.  These little added touches made this bridal shower even more special and I have even seen a few of the recipes prepared at other parties.

Sweet Cocktail Party Food Idea

You don't always have to have a lot of food to make an party grand. Maybe your hosting a small cocktail party for your boss and you want to impress him with your hosting abilities. Of course savory finger foods are all ways a hit and an easy party food to serve. Try bumping it up a notch by hiring a bartender and staff to serve the drinks and the hor d'oeuvresie. Cocktail party food has so many options. One of the sweetest cocktail parts,have I attended was a small gathering that simply served deserts. The host worked with their local bakery to created pastries perfect for finger food service.  I have found that cheesecake bites, petit fours and gourmet cookies make fantastic cocktail foods by themselves or paired with savory treats.   By serving these deserts with some great desert wines you'll have a wonderful party … after all desert is one of the four main food groups … right?

Any of these party food ideas will wow your taste buds and impress your guests.  So party on and eat like king.

Quick Ideas For A 50th Birthday Party

• Renting out a restaurant is a simple way to fill a room with friends and family, have a nice dinner and socialize without having to play host and serve people.  Be sure to select a restaurant with a party trained bar & wait staff.
• Another great 50^th birthday party idea is to rent out a party room. This venue is allows for more than just food and catering.  With room for entertainment, you can kick it up a notch.  Make it a  dance party with a DJ or a band for entertainment or hire a comedian or magician to entertain the birthday honoree and guests.
• Turn your home in to a hot spot.  Rent extra tables and dining chairs, hire a caterer, set up a champagne fountain and turn your home into fabulous birthday gala destination.

50th Birthday Party Theme
A theme could be incorporated into all of above ideas as well especially an "Over the Hill" theme. Black seems to be the trend for "Over the Hill" parties and is always appropriate for this age. Black balloon bouquets, streamers and even black fabric draped from the ceiling are all great decorating ideas.  These decorating tools will help pull the "Over the Hill" party theme together.

Special Tribute For A 50th Birthday Party
Ask guests for only one gift: a few words. As guests arrive have them write something about the honoree. During the birthday toast read the guests' comments out loud. These words of kindness create a memorable moment for all to remember regardless of how comical or elegant the event.

Creating a memorable and fabulous 50th birthday party takes a little planning but in the end it will be well worth it.

Lay out all of the supplies for this birthday party before children arrive. Have tables ready with all the materials needed to make hand puppets. On each table place different colored felt, markers, different colored yarns, glitter and glue on eyes to make the hand puppets. Adults should be available to help the children to cut out their puppets if needed.

Use colorful balloon bouquets and streamers as decorations. Hire a children’s entertainer dressed in puppet costume. Have the entertainer incorporate the children’s puppets into their act. Instead of the usual cake serve a puppet shaped cake or individual cup cakes; let the children decorate those as well, with edible glitter and candies.

The main focus of this party is to give the children something creative to do. You can also have the children decorate a puppet stage by using cardboard and the leftover felt and glitter. The kids can take turns putting on puppet shows for one another. Let each kid take home their puppet as a reminder of the fun they had.

Princess theme party items were easy to find at our local party supply store. The store had matching princess plates, napkins and table cloths. We even found little princess themed purses at our party supply store. So we stuffed the purse with party favors, like candy, toys and also some costume jewelry. For our little princes we found some castle shaped boxes that we could use to put party favors in like sword shaped straws.

We had our local bakery make a cake; but what made the cake special was the airbrushed a picture of my niece dressed like a princess on the cake. My niece talked about this party for months.

Choose one or two favorite colors of the birthday man or women. Start with decorating with crepe paper. String crepe paper from each of the four corners of your room to make a crepe paper canopy. To the center of your crepe canopy add a huge bundle of balloons; continue the color theme by draping your tables with theme colored tablecloths.

To really add a splash of color and some extra fun to the party, send out surprise party invitations asking guests to wear clothing in the selected color(s).

A Sample Of A Color Me Surprised Party

The theme color is red and black. Choose black as the background color and red as the color splash. Your canopy is made with black crepe papers and the balloons are a mixture of red and black. Use black table linens and add the splash of red in the flower centerpiece arrangements.

To incorporate your guest into the party theme, ask them to come dressed in either black or red. Don’t forget the birthday cake; work with your bakery to incorporate the colors into the cake.

Now sit back and enjoy your party guests and honoree, as they are truly surprised at the abundance of fun and color.

The Cheeseburger in Paradise party theme for children is easy and takes minimal planning. Send kids party invitations in the shape of a cheeseburger. Before guests arrive, place a Welcome to Paradise sign in the front yard. Upon arrival give each child a cheeseburger-shaped goody bag that includes party favors; like sunglasses, novelty straws or water guns. Decorate the party area with streamers and colorful balloon decorations in the shape of sea creatures to create a tropical paradise theme. Serve the children cheeseburgers, chips and cheeseburger shaped cupcakes on colorful plates. If this is a kids birthday party serve a cheeseburger shaped birthday cake instead of the cupcakes. Rent a tropical theme inflatable game or use fish shaped piñatas as entertainment.

Cheeseburger in Paradise party theme for adults is a fun way to celebrate a birthday or just share the day. Send a party invitation with a hula girl holding a cheeseburger. Party decorations should be casual and a little on the humorous side. Use inflatable palm tree coolers, beach ball balloons, colorful tablecloths, flip flop coasters or any other tropical party supplies, as well as tropical flower arrangements for your party decorations. Don’t forget the party favors – beer charms are a great idea for this party. For the host and hostess who enjoy barbequing, wear hula girl aprons while you cook the cheeseburgers using an assortment of cheeses – American, cheddar, Swiss, pepper jack.

For a little extra fun pair the various cheeses with microbrewery beers. Another option is to hire a caterer who can create gourmet cheeseburgers – hamburgers stuffed with goat cheese, Gorgonzola, blue cheese, feta etc. For entertainment hire a calypso band or a dj with a karaoke machine. When you use this party theme for a milestone birthday party, hire a digital photographer to record the day’s events.