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80th surprise birthday ideas
Hello ladies! My aunt is planning a surprise birthday party for my grandmother in October and she has asked me for some ideas. As of right now all I know is that it will be held in their church reception hall. She is planning on serving cake, punch and finger foods (not sure what kind - ideas?). As far as activities go, my cousin is making a slide show and guests are going to be asked to share stories and pictures. My aunt said it will be a come and go type of party and isn't sure what other activities could be planned.
I have never planned a large party like this (usually small get togethers and showers) nor have I attended one. I'm not sure that I like the idea of not having a set "party time" and having guests come and go (especially because a lot of people would be coming from OOT). There is a ton of time to plan this. Any ideas would be great! TIA!
Re: 80th surprise birthday ideas
I recently went to a birthday party for an elderly lady and they had taken pictures of her growing up and throughout her life, glued them onto cardstock and had that mounted onto long sticks (dowel rods I guess). These sticks were stuck down in flower arrangements on each table. They did yellow daises because her favorite color is yellow. They also had yellow tablecloths and accents. You could play on your grandmother's favorite color or activity to decorate. I don't really think you need many activities, as people will be in and out and visiting.
Come and go events can work really well, especially since you are having the party in a public place instead of a home. Just make sure to keep food replenished and at the proper temps. You may want to enlist some help with this.
For food, I think meatballs in the crockpot, finger sandwiches, veggies and dip, fruit and dip, shrimp cocktail, stuffed mushrooms, maybe sliced ham with rolls and condiments, cheese and crackers.
We had an 80th birthday party for my grandpa a few years ago. It was also an "open house" but we still had a couple scheduled activities just to keep the party interesting. For awhile, everyone just mingled, looked at pictures, and got some food. Then at some point (about 1 hour into the party start time) we had the cake presentation with "Happy Birthday" singing. After everyone finished their cake, we had grandpa open his presents. This is kind of beside the point, but my sister and I bought him presents as if it were his 8th birthday instead of his 80th. Grandpa is a kid at heart and thought the gifts (yo-yo, GI Joe, whoopie cushion) were really funny.
Other activities might be a planned toast - given by someone special. Or a toast every fifteen minutes, given by different guests. Or a song or dance performed by some of the kids in the family.
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My great grandmother just turned 92, but we had a big party for her 90th. As PP said, we had an open house, but still had a couple scheduled events as well. For instance, we had a time when each of her children got up and shared some of their favorite stories growing up. Then we had a set time for cake. We also had finger foods out and drinks available the whole time. We kept decorations simple, mostly pics of grandma with great grandpa (who had passed a few years before).