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It’s important to celebrate milestones in people’s lives – whether it’s one of those birthdays that end in “0” or a special anniversary. Milestones are a great time to celebrate a special person or couple. Honor their life, achievement and friendships with a fun retro party.
Invitations
Search the Internet to find out what happened on the day the guest of honor was born, and then use it as the lead for a mini-newspaper-type invitation. Include the party details in the story. Or grab a great old photo of the guest of honor from the party theme era and use it to create a customized invitation. Don't forget to invite guests to dress in the party's theme era. For a 70s party, expect to see floral print dresses, paisley shirts and bell bottoms.
Decorations
- Decorate in the era the guest of honor was born, spent childhood, was a teenager, or when the couple was married. If you choose the 60s, hang up posters of Jim Morrison and the Beatles, set out love beads and incense, and turn on music to match. For a 70s party, hang up a disco ball, tack up posters of John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever," and turn up the music of Donna Summer and the Bee Gees.
- Fill the room with festive decorations-balloons, confetti, streamers, lights, and so on. Make a special throne for the honoree, covered with crepe paper streamers and framed by helium-filled balloons in silver or gold. Or, you can re-create that "prom look" from your high school gymnasium by filling the ceiling with balloons and streamers.
- Put together a timeline of the guest of honor's life from birth to present-and perhaps some predictions for the future-and tape it to the wall. Add appropriate photos for each time period. You can also ask guests to bring old photos of the honoree to decorate your party tables.
- Hang up pictures of stars and singers of the chosen decade, set out memorabilia, and play music popular at the time.
Games & Activities
- Retro Board Games
Go back in time to games that were popular when the guest of honor was growing up, such as Twister, Monopoly, Operation, or Pong. You can also find games specific to the decade, such as The 70's Game, The 80's Game, as well as decade-related Trivial Pursuit. - Decade Trivia
Make up your own trivia game. Do a little research using an Almanac or the Internet, write down some interesting facts, and ask the players questions - everything from popular songs of the time to movies, famous people, and infamous events from the honoree's childhood or adolescence. -
Guess Who's Turning 40?
If you're celebrating a milestone birthday, search the Internet to find out which famous people were born the same year as the birthday person. Mix them up with other famous people who weren't born the same year and have the players guess the correct ones. It's always a surprise to find out who else is also turning 40, 50, 60, and up.
- What Happened the Year You Were Born or Married?
Look up events that occurred the year of the birthday person's birth or when the couple was married and write them on index cards. Have the honoree-or the guests-try to put them in chronological order.
- Ten Years From Now
Have the players make up predictions for the guest of honor 10 years from now, such as "You will have traveled the world," "You will be grandparents," or "You'll own your own company."
- Remember When...
Have guests write down a fond or funny memory of the honoree on an index card. Collect the cards, mix them up, and place them in a bowl. Read one memory at a time and have the honoree guess who wrote it. Then let him or her add to the memory with more details.
Refreshments
Serve classic dishes from the honoree's birth decade, such as Tuna Casserole for the 50s, Salad Bar for the 60s and Chocolate Fondue for the 70s. Likewise with drinks-Cherry Cokes, martinis, and Jolt Cola.
Favors
Give the guests tokens from the decade, such as Slinkies from the 50s, Beatle CDs from the 60s, Disco beads from the 70s, and so on. For gifts, suggest they bring retro items from childhood that will bring back memories, such as a vintage Barbie Doll, a game of Chinese Checkers, or a Hula Hoop.
Penny Warner has more than 25 years of experience as an author and party planner. She has published more than 50 books, including 16 specific to parties. Additionally, Warner writes a weekly newspaper column on family life, penned a column for Sesame Street Parents magazine and has appeared on several regional and national TV morning programs. Her latest book, HOW TO HOST A KILLER PARTY, debuted in February 2010 from NAL/Penguin.
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