Anyone willing to share ideas for a 40th birthday party? I’m throwing it for my husband, and it’ll be in our backyard. There will be many kids underfoot, so we can’t go too outrageous, and we don’t want to do the whole doom and gloom over-the-hill type of party.
All suggestions welcome!
Scavenger hunt for the kids, with 40 items, at least 5 of which do not exist. [del]Suckers[/del] Volunteers to supervise that. Ice chest of beer, something to grill, and baseball on the radio for husband.
I’ve told this story before, I’m sure.
For Mr. S’s 40th, I had enough trouble just getting him to let me throw him a party; he hates being the center of attention, and especially receiving gifts. But I did get him to agree to a surprise theme.
The theme was this: He always said that he really liked being 4. Also, his family was pretty poor (and dysfunctional) when he was growing up, so he never had the usual birthday party with friends, cake, presents, games, etc. So I made his 40th a “4[del]0[/del]th birthday party” instead (with the zero ostentatiously crossed out).
I normally follow strict etiquette about not asking or specifying gifts, but this time it seemed to work: I asked guests, if they were choosing to bring a gift, to bring an inexpensive dime-store-type toy that would be appropriate for a four-year-old boy. So Mr. S received an ample supply of Silly Putty, crayons, coloring books, jacks, little plastic toys, inexpensive kites, rubber-band airplanes, etc.
He loved it! Plus he didn’t have to feel “guilty” about people spending a lot of money on him. And all the kids were jealous. 
Awww, Scarlett, that’s adorable!
Hedda, I say you throw an 80s costume party! Since he was a teen during the 80s and all. Get a few 80s mix CDs from the library for music. Give prizes for the best costumes. Decorate with Rubik’s cubes and … oh, jeez, I can’t think of anything else, but I bet there are tons of fun things you can do with that theme.
When my Dad turned 50, we threw a surprise party that genuinely knocked his socks off. He had ZERO idea what was going on until they rolled up at the hall we rented (the local Odd Fellows Hall, which was the obvious choice for a venue) and he spotted several cars he recognized. He said, “I smell a rat …” Really, Dad? The fact that we flew your best friend in from Minnesota for the weekend didn’t clue you in? Dur.
ANYway, we organized a roast, with a hilariously funny friend serving as roastmaster. We told him a bunch of facts about my Dad, and he came up with the most ridiculous lies and jokes and fake tales EVER. It was awesome.
I made up a trivia game and posted it on the wall. 25 questions all about him, from where he was born to how he got his nickname (trick question, nobody really knows), to what club he belonged to in HS (Future Farmers of America!), and a bunch of others I can’t remember.
For decorations, we copied and enlarged photos of him from many different ages, from toddler to teens to his Army days, to his 70s GINORMOUS SIDEBURNS OF DOOM phase. Even his HS senior portrait, with him looking like Buddy Holly’s twin.
Moved Cafe Society --> IMHO.
Now THAT sounds awesome! Hm . . . Mr. S wants to celebrate his 55th this fall (born in '55, turning 55). I was thinking some sort of “double nickel” theme and have everyone bring him two nickels or something, but your ideas intrigue me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
How timely! Two weekends ago friends threw me a 40th Birthday 80s Party!
It was fun. And child friendly (I don’t have kids but most of my friends do!)
If you want to go this route, let me know so I can unload all of my 80s ideas on you, and details of the party, food & decor!
Honestly, this was in '93, so my memory is really nebulous, but it wouldn’t have worked except for the fact that Lloyd is one of the wrongest, most screwed-in-the-head people I’ve ever met, and he just made it happen. He worked all the facts we told him into his narrative (that he was born “blue” because the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, Dad’s best friend’s name from HS, info about his service in the Army, stuff like that), but most of it was just total bullshittery that would have been funny no matter who was the subject of the roast.
Some of it was particularly funny because what he was saying were things that were so blatantly incomprehensible in relation to my Dad (i.e. "the first time he smoked pot and hallucinated he was being reborn, then woke up wrapped in a garden hose ", which was funny 'cause my Dad’s never done any drugs whatsoever), but most of it was just Lloyd being the crazy loon he is by nature.
If you don’t know anyone who is naturally funny and creative like that, maybe contact a local comedy club, see if you can find an aspiring stand-up who would do the gig? Could be really cool!
Too bad you don’t want doom and gloom. My family really took it to the limit when I turned 40. My sisters wanted to throw a party, but I said no, “at 40… I might as well be dead. What I need is a wake.”
I thought I had nixed the party until they surprised me with… a wake. Everyone dressed in black, my brother-in-law dressed as a minister, with robes, bible, and a prepared eulogy. Dirge music playing. Set up in the dining room was a REAL casket, filled with mementos of my youth (girl scout uniform, high school diploma, photos, etc, etc.)
At one point the doorbell rang and it was a singing telegram guy, themed as “Mortimer the mortician”. When he came into the room he thought someone was playing a bad joke, kept apologizing. We had to convince him it was ok, it wasn’t a real funeral.
It actually was a lot of fun, and certainly was a birthday to remember!
I went to Disneyland for my 40th last year. I wore the “It’s my birthday” button they give you and employees and other park guest kept wishing me a happy birthday all day long.
Thanks for the ideas! He’s decided on a “Fiesta” theme, so we’ll be investing in strings of chilli-pepper lights and fake sombreros in the near future.
Gracias!
Oriental Trading Co. is your source for cheapass stuff like that!
Totally, they are kinda crawling with it.
Bummer. I was hoping to offload some 80s decorative stuff.
Fiesta does sound fun, though, with many delightfully cheezy possibilities.
Do you really need to have all the kids there? Ugh!!!