President Obama is Planning a Birthday Party; Ideas for Your Next Birthday Party or Other Celebration

On August 4 President Obama will celebrate his 50th birthday, which inspires me to recall my 50^th celebration. Maybe you can pick up some ideas for planning a birthday party or other upcoming special occasion.

Invitation

A fun invitation sets the tone for a fun party. I wrote a rhyming birthday party invitation that focused on my physical changes, as in this excerpt:

I moisturize with religiosity.

I'm awaiting hot flashes with morbid curiosity.

Octogenarian sex no longer sounds odd.

I'm turning fifty! Oh my God!

The invitation ended with this request:

Since my memory's practically shot,

Can you recount incidents I've forgot?

Some trouble I've caused—if you're inspired              

(Though I won't object to hearing what you've, ahem, admired).

Enclosed are all the details you could possibly desire. 

Enclosures

I illustrated each of these enclosures with a reading glasses motif:

• A sheet with when and where of the party and a map with directions to the small club I had rented for the evening in New York City's Soho district.
• Another sheet on which I printed along the top REMEMBER WHEN. . . and suggested guests write an anecdote or poem to read and/or put in my scap book. To help trigger ideas, I added, ". . . a reflection from school days, holidays, camp, beach, the single years, the neighborhood, etc."
• At the bottom I urged, a bit self-consciously, "Nothing would please me more than if, instead of a gift, you present me with a memory. That is not to suggest that if you can't produce a memory, you should bring a pound of almond bark. If you can't resist bringing something additional, perhaps you'll consider a charitable contribution instead."

Party Favors

Have fun with party favors.

My favors from just 15 years ago are already relics. I gave phone cards that allowed the caller to dial someone for 7 minutes. I was every bit the worrywart that I am now, so I had the card printed with, "Call to let me know you got home OK."

I also scattered cheap plastic magnifiers on each table, as most of my friends, like me, were approaching the age of nearsightedness.

Name Tags

Each of the nametags I made for my guests had four bullet points about the person. For example, the one of yours truly read:

• Voted friendliest girl in the 9^th grade
• Can floss 2 teeth at a time
• Phobias: Long Island Expressway and pickled herring
• Knows no limits

The Who's Who Poster

I displayed on a poster the names of each guest, along with the bullets I'd written on each name tag. That way my friends could find others of interest.

Information Sheet

The info sheet listed artifacts to look for, such as those on the "Archival Table," which held things like my Toni doll (ca. 1955) and my intact junior high school wallet (ca. 1959). It also called attention to the blow-ups I'd hung of snippets from my high school diary and a purity test (ca. 1960).

If this all sounds narcissistic, that's because it was (blush). Maybe you want to arrange a party like this for a spouse or a friend to make it less embarrassing than planning it yourself, as I did.

Photos, Video

I enlisted friends to take photos with disposable cameras and my brother-in –law made a video of the evening.

My Speech

Most people seem to know Americans fear public speaking more than they fear death. I was no exception, and it's hard to overstate how nervous I was about speaking in front of everyone.

Yet I was masochistically drawn to the idea of presenting the roast I'd written—which I rehearsed for months—of my then-husband Steve, our children and my parents.

For practice, I recorded my speech and then took long walks listening to it, alternating the speech tape with one of meditative deep breathing.

The Show Goes On

Steve emceed. First he called on me. Having gulped down a glass of wine, I felt calm.

I loved hearing my dad's hearty laugh when, of his optimism, I said, "If Dad sees a single sunbeam on an overcast day, he proclaims in his Philly accent, 'It's going to be a bee-oo-tee-ful day.'

"My parents are different that way. If Mom sees a cloud puff on a blue sky day, she gathers herself up and announces, 'Oy, it's going to pour.'"

Then Steve and our daughters sang one of the songs they'd written for me, after which Steve called on my friends to read the memories about my quirks and our friendships that they had prepared.

Lists

I made lists for everything from what my daughters would wear in their hair to who would pick up the disposable cameras after the party.

My Scrapbook and Thank you's

Afterwards I put photos from the evening as well as all the memories friends had written into a scrapbook.

I sent thank you notes to everyone for taking the time and trouble to write such great lasting memories.

How have you celebrated milestones? I'd love to hear from you in the comments.

For more on entertaining:

Pre-Party Checklist Helps You to Be More Organized and Less Stressed

Fun, Easy, Healthful Entertaining . . . When Guests Arrive, Preparation Begins

Delight Your Guests With my Mom's Party Games

7 Easy, Elegant, Crowd-Pleasing Appetizers