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Ideas for Your 50th Birthday Party

Sonal Panse
When you attain 50 years of age, it is an important milestone, and the D-day needs to be celebrated very well. Here are some ideas for your 50th birthday party.
Turning 50 is a big event in anyone's life - so is turning 2 or 27 and all the numbers in and around for that matter, but we're talking about 50 here. You wake up one morning and realize that you have actually existed for half a century on the planet.
If you're the reflective sort, you lie in bed and think of all the things you did, all the people you knew, and all the changes and innovations that took place in this time.
Life may seem a lot easier fifty years onwards. You don't have to do a thing anymore - you have American dish-washers, German washing-machines, Italian jacuzzi, and Japanese toilets to do it all for you.
Sometimes, it feels like living in Charlie Chaplin's 'Modern Times'. Sometimes, it feels too darned complicated. So, if you are wondering what kind of a celebration you would want, here are some ideas for your 50th birthday party.

The Fifties Style

Throw a fifties style party. Ask all the guests to come dressed in clothes and hair-dos of the fifties era. Play music from the 1950s, and serve the kind of menu that was popular back then.

The Clone Style

Ask all the guests to dress exactly like the birthday guy/girl. Imitate their looks and mannerisms. At the party, talk about funny and warm stories of that person. Make sure the stories are not too embarrassing as you want to make your friend feel special.

The Favorite Thing Style

Pick a thing the person loves, and theme the function around it. If the person loves flowers, you can go dressed up as scented flowers. This plan is little tricky if the main passion is sky-diving.

The Games/Sports Style

Organize silly and fun games. The point is to have a ball, not win or lose or sit tight on your dignity. Have a lemon and spoon race, string up biscuits to be caught without using hands, a quiz, a darts game, play at spin the bottle, or a game of hide and seek.

The Sing-along Style

If the person loves music, you can organize a group sing-along party or the guests can give individual performances.

The 'Your Life As I See It' Style

Create an interesting list of questions about the life, personal traits, and career of the birthday person, and send it in advance to all the invited guests. Ask them to fill it up with their observations and bring it along with them, together with any special photos or mementos they may have.
Make copies of the photos, and put them all together with the questionnaires into a scrapbook. You can also ask the guests to view their observations on tape or video, and maybe show that at the event. Remember, the plan is to honor or amuse the birthday person, not to do a catty expose.

The 'World Events' Style

Create a list of the special world events that happened in the year the person was born. You can put up a banner or banners announcing these. You can play music that was popular in that year, show movies that were the rage back then, etc.

The 'Color Code' Style

Ask the guests to dress in the birthday person's favorite color. Take everyone out to the person's favorite restaurant. Have balloons, paper-hats, paper-whistles, and streamers in the same colors. Make up a funny song about the person and the color.
Avoid, unless there is no other alternative, the "over the hill" theme. It's not only a cliché, it's an overused cliché. At 50, you should be doing the 'King/Queen of the Hill' routine. Also, do not go for the 'This is your funeral' theme. This is a pretty rotten option even if the person has a sense of humor.