An approaching birthday is not so much about pleasant expectations of surprises and gifts, but rather a painful puzzle: how to celebrate your birthday? where to celebrate? who to invite? and in general, is it worth celebrating your birthday? In this article, I propose to analyze these questions and together choose the most optimal option for celebrating a birthday. I also share my personal planning experience, my ideas and birthday celebration program.
Let's start with the last question - to celebrate or not to celebrate your birthday? If you believe in the magic of the day on which you were born, and deep down in your soul you expect special impressions and emotions on this day, then the answer is clear: of course, celebrate!
Should you expect a surprise or organize your own birthday party? You can, of course, let the situation take its course and expect surprises from family and friends. If your environment knows about your passion for surprises and is able to organize them, well, this is a great option! But if you wait for miracles for years, and they don’t happen, and you objectively understand that in your environment you are the most active and creative person, then there is only one way out - to organize your birthday yourself.
How to celebrate birthdays? Most often, in preparing for our birthday, we are guided by the expectations of others: colleagues, family, friends are waiting for a feast with gastronomic novelties and delicacies. But if you don’t feel like cooking and washing dishes on your holiday, or you’re just tired of indoor gatherings with food and drinks, allow yourself the luxury of spending your birthday the way you want, and not someone else.
On the Internet you will find many articles “How to mark your birthday” with similar ideas. You will be offered to go to an quest room, go to nature, go to a restaurant with your loved one, organize a fun party with friends or a family dinner, etc.
But, perhaps, the key question is what do you personally want on your birthday?! The answer to this question should determine the concept of the holiday and its preparation.
Let's think together. In fact, there are only a few basic options for how to conduct your DR.
Holiday theme
Why is choosing a topic important in the first place? It is on this choice that your entire flight of thought depends. Ideas for all the other points from my instructions immediately come up, so start with this.
If you don’t want to dedicate the holiday to just one character or one fairy tale, just choose a color! Well, let there be an orange party where everyone is in an orange mood. However, here are the main themes of children's parties, study the article and get inspired!
I also recommend studying the table with our programs for inspiration, because it contains the most popular topics that are most often ordered from us.
Selecting a location
If we are talking about an apartment, there is not much choice. It just needs to be the most spacious room with a minimum of furniture and sharp corners. It is better to separate the dining and play areas in the apartment. Let the program take place in one room, and the table with treats is in another. It's safer, and there's more space for active games.
But if you decide on a cafe or a children’s club, then it makes sense to choose a room taking into account the theme of the holiday. Agree, it’s strange if you’re holding a “Princess Birthday” and there are only Minions or Batman on the walls.
How to spend a birthday at home - the best ideas
Currently, there are a huge number of options for celebrating a birthday, but many people preparing for this holiday are still interested in how to celebrate a birthday at home.
It’s worth saying right away that this event is fraught with a significant number of difficulties, which begin from choosing a menu and ending with the organizational hassle of purchasing food and decorating the house. However, if everything is done right, the holiday will bring so much pleasure that all the difficulties experienced will irrevocably become a thing of the past.
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First you need to notify guests about the date and location of the holiday. Naturally, if a birthday is celebrated at home, they most likely know the address, but ethics nevertheless requires sending an invitation or communicating this information in a personal conversation.
2.
An equally important stage is decorating the room, since the surroundings are very important for creating a festive mood. To give your apartment a festive look, helium-inflated balloons, bright ribbons, garlands, congratulatory banners and tinsel are suitable. As an option, you can hang a large poster in front of the entrances to the house, putting guests in a cheerful mood.
3.
As for the menu, it makes the most sense to make it a buffet. A table with an abundance of food can turn a birthday into a boring, protracted “drinking party.” For a buffet table, small sandwiches - canapes, which can be either meat or fish, sweets and fruits, are best suited. It is also necessary to take care of a sufficient amount of alcoholic drinks and juice. It is best to use plastic, disposable dishes for such a holiday. This choice will make it easier for the owner to eliminate the consequences of the holiday.
4.
To entertain guests invited to celebrate a birthday at home, it is worth coming up with a number of competitions that will help them get to know each other better and relax. There should also be musical accompaniment throughout the evening. It is advisable to choose a selection of songs from different genres to satisfy the tastes of all those present.
Room decoration
For those who like to do everything with their own hands, I am happy to refer you to the article “7 ideas for decorating a room for a child’s birthday.” There are interesting techniques for decorating a room using scrap materials and ready-made paper decorative elements, which are sold nowadays in any city in Russia.
I also recommend studying the selection “Letters and numbers from different materials” and “Decorating a room with balloons.” You will receive a powerful charge of inspiration, I have no doubt.
Naturally, we stick to the chosen topic, but try not to overdo it. There is no need to use all design techniques at the same time. Everything should be beautiful and joyful.
Our decorators make beautiful decorations from balloons, here are the prices for the main elements.
The work of a decorator who makes handmade decorations (letters, numbers, candy bar) is amazing. Write, I will send you a link to view your portfolio.
How to make an anniversary unforgettable. bookmark 1
It’s not without reason that they say: “In retirement you get a second wind, and real life is just beginning!” So why not celebrate this beginning wildly and magnificently? And the main thing is to enjoy the holiday! We offer you 10 amazing ideas for this!
1. 60 as 1 or an original gift for 60 years
Retirement is the birth of a new person. Have you forgotten? So let's congratulate the “newborn”, give him a pack of diapers, a pacifier, a soft toy! Of course, all these things are unlikely to be useful to him in reality, but they will definitely cause a huge charge of positive emotions. And this is not so little!
2. Grandmother’s birthday – butterflies or butterfly festival
This idea was not born by chance. Remember the expression: “Through the mouth of a child the truth speaks”? So, little children, turning to their grandmothers (and at 60, most birthday girls already have grandchildren), often call them “baboska” (butterfly). Indeed, there is so much in common between a butterfly and a grandmother! They are affectionate, with sparkling eyes, and “flutter” over their grandchildren like light butterflies. And if your birthday girl is also in love with these charming bright creatures, she makes them all the time, creating a real miracle with her own hands - then this idea will suit you unconditionally!
Create a soft, fantastic atmosphere for the holiday. Candles, light wine, romantic gifts should certainly surround your birthday girl on this day!
3. A walk down memory lane or memorable moments for a 60th birthday
The essence of the idea is to recreate the most memorable, touching, happy milestones in the life of the birthday person. Of course, to put the idea into practice, you will have to work hard. First of all, invite the hero of the day to a frank conversation about life on the eve of the holiday. Let him talk about his childhood, youth, love, first kiss. Grandparents love to remember this, your task is only to win them over and listen carefully! And then - run to the library! You will need old archives of newspapers, magazines, etc. You need to stock up some rare furniture and clothing for the holiday. And then - create such a beautiful street.
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Decorate it with props from the era when your dear birthday boy was young, absolutely healthy and happy! Take him along this fabulous path, invite him to tell him about himself again to the thunderous applause of smiling guests. And even a treat can be arranged somewhere on the edge of “memory lane”. Light fruity milkshakes and cakes are exactly what you need!
Do not doubt, the hero of the day will be very grateful to you for such a surprise!
4. Family holiday for the 60th anniversary
Nowadays, it’s not very often that the whole family has the opportunity to get together. The anniversary of a loved one is a wonderful occasion for this! Especially if you come to your mother (father, uncle, etc.) without prior warning and organize the entire holiday yourself!
5. Surprise for the 60th anniversary
We continue to develop the theme of pleasant, unexpected surprises. Why not invite the birthday girl (birthday boy) to a restaurant? And do it not directly, but casually. Let’s say on your birthday you send them out for a walk with your grandchildren and say that at such and such a time you will be waiting for them there and there. Right at the entrance to the restaurant! And then there’s a surprise! Guests – family, friends, colleagues!
And also a pleasant classic atmosphere, everything is impeccable and elegant. Unobtrusive jazz is playing...
After light, beautifully presented snacks, it’s time to organize a dance master class for young people! The new generation, according to our grandparents, does not know how to dance at all! How often do we hear the phrase: “Is this dancing? That’s how we danced in our time!”? Let them prove it in practice!
6. Tickets to the country of dreams or celebrating 60 years abroad
And one more idea to continue the theme of surprises. Every person (and especially the older generation) has his own secret, unrealized dreams. Most often, our dear relatives want to visit somewhere. America, Mexico, Spain, France. Yes, simply - the shore of the nearest sea. Well, tell me, is it a bad idea to meet your honorary 60 somewhere in a bungalow under a palm tree? For family and friends, the only thing left to do is organize such a trip!
7. Chocolate celebration or 60th anniversary in chocolate style
Old people are like little, terrible sweet tooths! Don’t feed them bread, but don’t forget to give them candy for breakfast! For both lunch and dinner! So why not arrange a chocolate party for your loved one and his friends on his sixtieth birthday? With lots of sweets and quiet entertainment with an “edible” theme? For example, they can guess the types of chocolate, or the ingredients of a wonderful cake.
And the winners of such competitions can be awarded with such delicious prizes!
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8. Hobby party for a 60th birthday
An excellent holiday theme can be the favorite activity or hobby of the hero of the day. For example, if he likes to collect shells, you can bake a cake in the shape of a shell,
decorate the room in sea colors and “sail” with your guests on an imaginary journey! It is also important that each guest brings a gift to the theme.
Or, if, for example, the birthday person is inspired by horses, choose horse racing as the main theme of the holiday. And as a gift, give him a real horse ride.
The atmosphere of a hobby party should be light, homely and relaxed.
9. A bright holiday in the style of decadence or celebrating 60 years like a king
People of the older, post-war generation are accustomed to modest living. Post-war childhood and miserable youth only allowed us to dream about the beautiful life of princes and princesses. Current times give us the opportunity to realize that bright childhood dream and give the birthday boy a real, luxurious, royal holiday in honor of his anniversary.
Pink ostrich feathers, fine silks, pearls and precious stones. The undisguised luxury of the royal palace should touch your guests, invite them, encourage them to continue the theme, to play along.
And as a treat, guests can be offered good French wine and chocolate-covered strawberries - Queen Marie Antoinette's favorite dish.
10. Sports festival as a theme for a 60th birthday party
As a rule, the age of 60 obliges you to pay closer attention to your health. Therefore, the idea of a sports festival “plays” very well for the sixtieth anniversary. Football, volleyball, tennis, even checkers! And as a gift to the hero of the day, you can give, for example, 60 lottery tickets! What if you are lucky enough to get rich in your declining years?
sports festival for the 60th anniversary
Warm your family and friends with the warmth of your hearts, make them happy, give them happiness! And remember, an idea without a soul is just dry words!
Photozone
A photo zone is a must! Let it be something simple, but photographing children against the background of wallpaper and cabinets is offensive. To organize such a bright wall you need very little, believe me. Here are 15 ideas with examples of photo zones.
If you have chosen a character, print out pictures on the Internet and create a photo zone with Luntik and Fixiki. Beautiful photos from a child’s birthday are a wonderful memory and a source of positivity for many years.
How to celebrate a holiday in a small company for a birthday person over 55 years old
You should not think that fun is exclusively the lot of the young, because those over 50 also love noisy holidays, especially if they happen to celebrate with their close friends.
Funny ideas for adults
If the birthday boy and his guests are planning to have fun, then, of course, you should focus on all kinds of joke competitions.
Among the many possible options, it is worth highlighting:
- Cartoons . Remember how in “12 Chairs”, Kisa and Osya drew a welcome poster on the ship? Give your guests the opportunity to show off your artistic skills, even if they don't have them. The main thing is not to be offended, remembering the specifics of the art of cartoons.
- Youth karaoke. Believe me, it will be very funny to hear the songs of some conventional Antonov performed by our dear guests. And such competitions are especially relevant if the company is very diverse in age.
- Magic bag . A kind of comic fortune-telling, for which you need to prepare a bag with all sorts of small things. By pulling out one item, each guest will receive a symbolic prediction, which, of course, the whole table will have to solve.
Remember, it’s never too late to have fun, because fun prolongs life, while humor helps to overcome even the most serious challenges of fate.
Well, a birthday, in general, is sacred, because when else to have fun and enjoy life, if not on this bright holiday?
Age is not at all the limit when you need to give up holiday fun. Elderly people also want to relax, fortunately, and there are many leisure options for representatives of this age category
Silent games
If you don’t really want to be active or the company is not conducive to a reckless pastime, then some quiet competitions and games will help relieve the awkwardness.
Among them:
- According to the wave of my memory. Something like “Guess the melody”, only for the “50+” category. Collect a medley of popular backing tracks from your youth and let your guests guess them from the first, second or third note. You see, there will be topics for conversation, closely related to the most pleasant memories.
- Quiz . Painting, cinema, geography, interesting facts from the biography of famous personalities, historical events - for intellectually savvy people, such holiday leisure will be much more pleasant and useful than the banal bursting of balloons with the butt or rolling eggs from one pant leg to another.
- White dance. Have a dance, but this time without Antonov. Let it be quiet, pleasant music and the ladies invite the gentlemen to dance, maintaining pleasant small talk.
There are indeed a lot of options, as well as ways to translate them into reality. Exclusiveness is also welcome, because in the end only the guests know how to please the birthday boy, and the birthday boy knows how to please his guests and in what format to organize the holiday.
Who will take the photos?
This is an important question. Appoint someone responsible for reportage photography before the start of the holiday, because the preparation shots are also very interesting. How mom sets the table. How dad hangs balloons. How the whole family together cuts out petals for a giant flower.
Great!
If there will be a lot of volunteer photographers (for example, someone’s parents), ask everyone to collect photos on Yandex.Disk, so that later you can select the best shots and exchange “happy moments.”
Holiday printing, invitations and napkins
There is plenty of this stuff in stores. I remind you again! Do not buy napkins, tablecloths, caps until you decide on the theme of the holiday. Well, fairies look strange with a picture from the “Masha and the Bear” series on their foreheads. And this happened. And more than once.
There are fans of individual jewelry. There are many designers on the Internet who will create all this beauty with your child’s name. We have it too)).
And I can give you a selection (invitation, bonbonniere, cards for guests, cupcake decorations and chocolate packaging) in the style.
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However, you can create masterpieces from ordinary napkins. These are the beautiful boots, lilies and tuxedo shirts described in my master class.
Here's what I got
I also once made cards for guests in the shape of animals. It was simply killer! .
There are not only dogs there - there are many different animals and birds. They can not only be placed on plates, but also hung from a chandelier at different heights in the form of a mobile, or used as elements to decorate a photo zone.
Outdoor games
Children's activity never ceases to amaze adults. When children gather in a group, the energy goes through the roof, you need to direct it in a peaceful direction, organize the children, so that they do not have a single free minute! And when the child gets tired, he will simply disconnect from the game for a while, take a break and get back into motion again!
We select active games according to the age and number of children.
3 simple games, regardless of age and number of children:
- "Mousetrap". All children stand one after another (queue). The two presenters stand opposite each other, hold hands and imitate the door of a mousetrap. Each child takes turns going through the door, which can slam shut at any moment. Whoever gets caught joins hands with the leaders, the “mousetrap” gets bigger every time, we play until the last mouse, the fastest one is the winner! The game will be accompanied by musical accompaniment or a poem about mice.
- "Musical chair" Surely you all know the rules. Briefly: whoever had time sat down! This game is understood by children from 3 years old, and teenagers continue to love it.
- "Find the color." Children gather near the leader. You need to find a given color based on a signal within 5-10 seconds. The presenter says: “Find the red one!” and begins to count from 1 to 10. The task of each child is to find red anywhere in the room: walls, furniture, floor, curtains, another child, but not on himself!
Have a disco! Make a playlist of the birthday boy's favorite songs. Children's hits:
Think over a simple choreography that children can repeat, both at home and outdoors. The format will especially appeal to 10-year-olds, when they can not only dance 2-3 songs to set the tone, but also dance with the boys. Then the children themselves will have fun lighting it up. For order, appoint a responsible DJ.
Entertainment
This is a program in which children actively participate. If you feel the strength to organize such a holiday yourself, take ready-made scripts and selections of competitions, which I have generously shared with you for many years now.
Fortunately, since 2011 I began to collect all the selections of competitions in one convenient list:
- Here is a complete list of competitions for children from 1 to 13 years old.
- Free scripts for children's quests (all can be printed)
- Collection of prizes for participation in competitions
"Quests out of the box"
There are many ready-made scripts with brightly printed props on sale. The instructions describe everything in detail; children eventually find the gift you have hidden by completing a chain of tasks.
Here are examples of such quests:
If you are in Moscow, I am happy to offer professional programs, here again is the entire list of the most popular ones. It could be one, two or three leaders. It all depends on the scale of the celebration.
How to feed children Olivier salad
Cut all the ingredients and put them in different small containers (baby food jars work very well). You need to stick a label on each jar, and write on it the name that you will need to come up with. If children cannot read, the title can be a picture. The choice of name is up to you. If you have a birthday according to the Harry Potter scenario, then the jars will contain potions (polka dots are the eyes of a bad tail, eggs are chicken embryos); if you are looking for treasure, there will be treasures in jars, you will have to strain your brains.
You also need to prepare instructions, preferably encrypted - instead of letters there are numbers, puzzles, if children do not know how to read, you can draw diagrams by which they will look for notes with numbers - each number corresponds to a number on the bank. In Russian, your instructions should be deciphered as follows: take jar No. 1 - pour it into the cauldron (salad bowl), stir 5 times clockwise, 5 times counterclockwise, and so on all the jars in turn, translation of the last phrase - squeeze out half a pack of mayonnaise and mix. It’s better if one child guesses the first sentence, the second pours out the jar, the third mixes it, and so on, so that everyone takes part. According to my observation, almost everyone tries this salad.
A show where children are just spectators
You can have active fun for 1.5-2 hours. Then - that's it! The children are tired. You need to arrange a small snack and organize something where you don’t need to run around and answer questions. You can show kids a puppet theater, but older children need something more interesting - a science show, for example.
If nothing like this is planned, showing old recordings from previous holidays goes very well. I remember my daughter’s guests were delighted when I played them a recording of my 7th birthday in 7th grade. They saw themselves as small and funny, laughed a lot and were touched.
Children and adults - separately
A child is always more comfortable in the company of peers, and adults are unlikely to be interested in children's entertainment. Therefore, gatherings with relatives and a children's party with friends must be separated in time. For example, invite children to 15:00 and finish the fun until 18:00, and invite grandparents and other relatives to 18:30. 2-3 hours is enough for children. It’s better to stay a little short than to go too long, because it’s not so easy to gather a riotous and uncontrollable crowd of kids later. On the contrary, it will be more convenient for adults to come in the evening, after the end of the working day.
If you can’t invite adults and little guests at different times, then you need to give them a separate space - let the children eat and have fun in another room. This will make it more convenient and safer for everyone.
When inviting children to your home for a birthday, call their parents in advance - let them know where their child is going, and also agree that they pick up their baby at the agreed time.
Master classes
There is nothing complicated for handicraft moms! The website contains a description of master classes that you can conduct yourself:
Painting gingerbread cookies (and here is a separate “how to make icing” and “how to make dough”) Painting wooden blanks Making candies Painting stones How to make Kapitoshka Master class for mothers “TUTU Skirt” Fortune cookies
All materials for decoupage, painting and creating jewelry can be easily purchased in the online store. Children have fun painting T-shirts, making a “rainbow” in a bottle with colored sand, and decorating photo frames with a hot gun. Even boys are not against this activity!
As a souvenir, children take with them a souvenir that they made with their own hands.
We have many master classes, here is a partial list in this article.
Scientific and educational shows
Children explore the world, parents are their guides. You can introduce kids to science in a fun way with the help of science shows.
There are many types of representations, we will list just a few:
- With liquid nitrogen. This needs to be watched, not told;
- Lightning show. About the basics of electrical discharge;
- “The Nutty Professor” will be funny, exciting, even a little scary;
- Dry water show, she won't even get her hands wet!
- Cryo show;
- Show in the dark.
At the holiday, most parents watch children's scientific and educational shows with no less interest.
Prizes and gifts for guests
During competitions, I do not recommend giving prizes.
This is distracting and sometimes even leads to conflict. Something gets lost, falls, comes off, etc. all the time. children begin to change and beg each other for things. It is best to prepare gifts and give them away at the end of the holiday. Here's my selection of cute baby trinkets at a reasonable price.
You can prepare the most ordinary dishes and sandwiches, but try to decorate them in an unusual way. Here I have collected pictures for you on the Internet with decorations for children’s dishes. Something will definitely come in handy for you!
What to do with guests before and after the party
Children rarely come at the same time. Sometimes it takes 30-40 minutes to gather guests. During this time, the “first swallows” manage to get bored, so you need to take care of their leisure time. The easiest way, of course, is to turn on cartoons.
You can also hang up a large sheet of paper with some kind of design and give the children pencils so that they can participate in a joint congratulatory newspaper for the birthday boy.
Coloring houses you can “live” in
This is a fairly large structure (up to 1 meter high) that can be painted from all sides at once. Just don't give paint! Wax crayons and pencils are also good!
Here are two options for pirates and princesses (large cardboard “dwellings”)
Pirate's house (110 cm) buy here
Coloring book “Princess House” (110 cm) buy HERE.
The alphabet house is the most popular option, suitable for boys and girls. Sturdy, beautiful, height 110 cm.
Are we blowing? Together!
The most important thing, of course, is the cake! Or rather, not everyone likes candles on it, cakes either, although almost everyone wants a larger piece, in fact, most are only able to cope with a small one.
The availability of candles at home must be checked in advance.
so as not to run around looking for it at the last moment. The birthday boy blows out the candles, you can cut the cake. Wait! Children will have a lot of fun if you let everyone blow out the candles - just put candles for each one according to the number of his full years. It won't take long. Very rarely does anyone refuse; children love to blow out candles.
The birthday is coming to an end. Mothers, grandmothers and nannies come for the guests. Don't forget to let the hero of the occasion say goodbye to the guests and thank them for coming.
Now is the time to take a look around the apartment. Is there toilet paper lying around? It was supposed to be collected during a special competition “Who can collect the most.” You need to give the children at least two empty bags, each team will fill their own. The remains of the balls are removed quickly, but this could also be “pushed” onto the children. Just exchange three (four, five) pieces for a chocolate medal or a whole ball that your child will take home. A mountain of dishes? You had to feel sorry for yourself and buy disposable plates (2-4 per brother), then you will only have cups, a salad bowl and forks and spoons.
