You don’t turn 65, 80, or 100 every day! When your friends and family – or you – hit these and other milestone birthdays, you need to mark the occasion with festivities and fanfare. Of course, birthdays provide opportunities to make people of all ages feel special, but longevity gives extra reasons to celebrate.
Whether the birthday celebrant is still living at home or in a retirement community, you can find a way to make their day memorable. Senior living communities thrive on making residents feel special and happy, so they can help provide a welcome setting for the festivities, from a room for gathering to a boatload of guests to make the birthday person feel celebrated and loved.
Five ideas for milestone birthdays
These milestone birthday ideas are sure to please the birthday guy or gal and make joyful new memories (to be surpassed only by the next happy celebration).
1. Play with the number.
When Joann turned 70, her friends and family bought her 70 lottery tickets, several $70 gift cards to her favorite stores and restaurants, and 70 bottles of her preferred flavored seltzer. Bob’s friends and family created a poster with 100 circles to represent his 100 years and filled these circles with all the reasons they love him. At a party for Debbie’s 50th, each of the 25 guests were assigned two years in her life and asked to find one memorable incident (whether for Debbie personally or historically) that happened in those years. Her friends and family then read those landmark events at the party.
2. Document the years.
Another milestone birthday idea for someone you’ve known for years is to create a scrapbook of photos representing your relationship. When Barb’s younger sister, Pam, turned 65, Barb had fun digging through all the old childhood photos her mom had passed down and blending them with images she had taken herself, along with funny captions, to tell the story of their life together as sisters. This book was a touching walk down memory lane for her little sister!
3. Recreate a favorite time.
Maybe your friend has talked about how much she enjoyed visiting Germany in her 20s. Try to recreate that experience for her, with bratwurst and steins of beer and posters of German castles and half-timbered houses. The guests (or those who are good sports) can wear lederhosen and dirndls.
If your uncle has fond memories of that convertible ’57 Chevy he used to drive, try to find an old Chevy to rent. Local car groups may be able to put you in touch with someone who owns the classic car and would be willing to chauffeur you and your uncle for an afternoon. Put the top down and take him for a spin. Play some Frankie Avalon and Elvis Presley tunes while your uncle reminisces about drag racing and all the pretty girls who snuggled up beside him in the front seat.
Related: 8 Gifts for Seniors Living in a Community
4. Throw a virtual party.
Maybe your loved one’s friends and family are scattered around the country, making it difficult to plan a big in-person gathering. Plan a Zoom call with the important people in their life instead, requesting that they wear their best birthday regalia for the virtual event.
You can even compile videos and images into a slide show to show at the virtual party. Ask friends and family to record a video singing “happy birthday” to the man or woman of the hour or share a favorite memory or their well wishes or send along meaningful pictures. Compile these videos and images into a slide show for the honored person to view with guests, complemented by cake and ice cream and optional gifts.
5. Give yourself a gift.
If you’re the one having the milestone birthday, you can give yourself a physical gift or an experience. For her 60th birthday, Becky compiled a list of 60 goals she wanted to achieve that year. Goals can be large and small – from writing your memoir and sky diving to just trying new restaurants. Each time you mark something off your list, record the experience in a journal or post about your accomplishments on social media.
Don’t let milestone birthdays pass without recognition and a whole lot of merriment!
If one of these ideas isn’t right for you and your birthday pal, maybe it will at least inspire a great idea of your own. The goal is to make that person feel special. The rest is just icing on the birthday cake!