After decades of living the 9-to-5 life, there's nothing like that last day of work. It's time to pack up the desk, turn in the key, and celebrate this final goodbye with a retirement bash. Just choose a theme based on the retiree's favorite hobby, passion or future goals, and the rest of the party will fall into place. Here are some easy ways to throw a memorable, but budget-friendly, retirement bash.
Invitations
Design a newspaper headline declaring the retirement day a national holiday. Include a photo of the retiree's face superimposed on the body of someone wearing a tourist getup or leisure outfit. Write newspaper columns listing the place, time, and date of the party, and then photocopy the newspaper for the guests and mail the invitations.
What to Wear
Ask the guests to come dressed as stereotypical retirees, in leisure suits, tourist outfits, fishing gear, housecoats, T-shirts, golf clothes, and beach togs. Hand out sunglasses as guests arrive.
Decorations
Set up a retirement scene with a hammock, straw hat, sunglasses, portable radio, tropical drink, tabloid newspaper, chocolates, and travel pillow. Stuff some clothes to create a retiree lying on the hammock. Place chaise lounges, rockers, hammocks, pillows, and other comfortable seating for the guests to relax. Attach helium-inflated balloon bouquets to the hammock, chairs and other seating areas for a festive look.
Hang travel posters from all over the world and set out brochures from retirement communities, cruise ships, distant ports of call, airlines, and railways. If the retiree is planning a special trip, use it as a theme for your decorations. Or display objects related to the retiree's hobby or interest, such as golf balls or mystery novels.
Decorate the party table with colorful paper products and tie balloons to the backs of the chairs. Cut out funny employment want ads or collect job applications from local stores, cover with clear contact paper, and use them as placemats for the guests or as part of the table centerpiece.
Games and Activities
Entertain your guests with some of these goofy games and activities.
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Pin the Hobby on the Retiree
Blow up a picture of the retiree in his or her work clothes and have it mounted on poster board. Draw or cut out pictures of some suntan lotion, a camera, a straw hat, an oversized bag, comfortable shoes, and other retiree items. Have the players take turns trying to pin the accessory onto the appropriate place on the poster. Give the decorated poster to the retiree as a memento.
- Office Trivia
Ask each guest to write down a question about the retiree's work, such as "When does the water cooler get filled?" "How many sick days are employees allowed?" "What does this company really do?" Find out the answer, then have guests take turns asking the questions to the retiree. If a player stumps the retiree, that player wins a prize.
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What Now?
Ask each player to write down a suggestion for a leisure-time activity. Most of your guests will probably write something funny such as, "Finally learn to program the VCR," "Return your neighbor's baking supplies," or "Write that romance novel—after you've had some real-life experiences," and so on.
- Life After Work
Have the guests write down predictions for the retiree's next career, and then read them aloud. For added fun, use the letters of the retiree's name and match them to jobs, such as "Baker," "Rapper," "Investigator," and "Entertainer," for "B-R-I-E."
Refreshments
Offer classic but simple fare to emphasize the retiree's new budget, such as pork ‘n' beans, hamburger helper, and bologna sandwiches. Serve the food on paper plates, with mismatched glasses.
If the retiree is planning a trip, serve food related to the destination, such as Mexican food for a trip to Mexico or Italian for a trip to Rome.
Serve champagne or sparkling cider to toast the retiree "good luck." Have a bakery make a special centerpiece cake, using work or leisure as a theme, such as in the shape of a house for a retiring architect, a cash register for a clerk, or a briefcase for a businessperson. If the theme is leisure, create a cake that looks like a golf course for a golf fanatic, an open book for an aspiring writer, or a boat for a sailing enthusiast.
Favors, Prizes, and Gifts
Give the guest of honor a retirement suit. Put together a mismatched outfit using items from a thrift store, such as a silky pajamas, a bathroom, a jogging outfit, mismatched socks, house slippers, a straw hat, and so on. Send the guests home with spare time fillers, such as paperback books, puzzle magazines, hobby supplies, deck of cards, retirement guides, or blank books for writing a novel or journal. Give antacids to those who are still working.
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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