Celebrating a 100th Birthday (or 80th... or 90th...)

Great Ways to Celebrate your Senior!

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Whether your loved one is celebrating a 80th, 90th, or 100th Birthday, or somewhere in between (or more!) - an acknowledgement is necessary!

Here you’ll find fun party ideas, gift ideas, as well as some helpful hints.

When planning a party for an elderly adult, you’ll want to consider having the honoree in on the planning. While surprise parties are fun, they can be “too much”.

Only you know what your special person will be able to handle.

I know some people in this age range who are more spry than I am!

And others, unfortunately, who are not.

Plus, some will want a small event, others will love something big!

An important consideration when planning your party is to schedule the party for a time of day that when the honoree will be at his or her best.

If a party will be “too much”, consider throwing a card party instead. It is a great way to remember the occasion, but without any stress for the honoree.

First Class Ideas to Make the 80th thru 100th Birthday Celebration Extra Special…

Present a flag that has flown over the U.S. Capital! They can be ordered from http://www.usflag.org/capitalflag.html. You may even request that your flag be flown on a certain date!

Order a birthday greeting from the President of the United States (not just for a 100th birthday, but for anyone who is age 80 and older) by visiting the White House website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/index.html#, and selecting “Please follow these guidelines for information about greetings” in the Invitations and Greetings Section.

Make buttons of the birthday person for everyone to wear. Makes a great keepsake too!

Make sure you take a family photograph at the party!

Some fun party ideas…

Gather photographs and do a slideshow or video presentation with an overview of the honoree’s life. Include memorabilia from the past. To help with a timeline, visit the website www.frontiernet.net/~cdm/age1.html (or Google “Boy the Bear Age Gauge”). Type in the birthdate of the honoree and you’ll get a timeline which tell the age of the person during important world events. Consider doing a “hard copy” of the slideshow in a memory book so it can be enjoyed without the use of a computer, projector or TV.

Before the party, ask guests to tell you something about the honoree – something they did, something they said, something funny…anything special that they remember. Compile these and add them to the slideshow presentation, or read them aloud and mount them in a memory book.

Have a sing-along! Try singing gold old-fashioned songs that everyone will know. This is something folks did for entertainment before TV. Have sheets with the lyrics printed for younger guests. Hymns and songs such as “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”, “The Animal Fair”, “The Band Played On” and other similar songs will be fun for everyone to sing. I’ve been to a party where this was done and everyone – young and old – really enjoyed it! Your town may even have a “sing-along band” available to come to your party.

Games are fun for everyone! For easy games that work for ALL ages - and are inexpensive too - use printable birthday games.

Show a movie. Pick something that is funny or entertaining (and a favorite of the birthday person). How about the Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Hope and Crosby, Red Skelton, Danny Kaye, Abbott and Costello, Lewis and Martin, etc. Classic TV shows, such as “I Love Lucy” are always a hit too, Project it on a wall, a sheet or on a large screen (if a large TV isn’t available) so that everyone can enjoy!

More Games! Sometimes it can be difficult to find birthday party games for elderly adults. If you are looking for a fun game that everyone …from young to old…can play, how about Birthday Bingo? To do this, create bingo cards where each square is something that is of interest to the birthday guy or gal, such as “Crossword Puzzles”, “Bike Riding”, “Horror Movies”, etc. Have all the square possibilities written on slips of paper and placed in a bowl, then play like any traditional game of bingo.

Other fun games for older adults include playing trivia games (especially when playing them orally) and games such as Checkers, Bridge, and Dominoes. (These are great fun for any party, not just a 100th birthday!)

Celebrate with Party Themes

One of my favorite themes for an 80th birthday party for the person who likes to travel is an Around the World in 80 Years 80th Birthday Party.

Throw a This Is Your Life Party! Someone celebrating a 100th birthday will have a lot of remembrances!

Another great theme to explore is to do a throwback to a favorite decade!

20's Party

40's Party

50's Party

60's Party

70's Party

80's Party

A few more things to remember when planning your birthday party…

There are often wide age ranges at these celebrations, as they often include generations of family. Make sure that the youngest participants are entertained. Coloring sheets, playdough, for the littlest ones, and quiet games such as Button, Button, Who’s Got the Button, are great for older kids.

Those wide age ranges also affect diet. Keep in mind that any elderly guests may have special dietary requirements, and if serving a meal plan to have a wider variety, or better yet plan a pot-luck, with the younger family members providing the yummy dishes.

Make sure that you cut the cake, take photos, make any announcements, etc. early in the party so that the honoree, if tired, can depart. Also, don’t schedule a long party. A couple of hours can exhaust a young healthy person, much less those who are 80 and above!

If you wish – tell guests beforehand that a gift isn’t necessary – a card is often cherished much more, because it’s sentiment can be read over and over.

Have some great ideas of own that you'd like to share with our visitors for a 80th - 100th birthday, or have need of more a little more help from easy-party-ideas-and-games.com? Visit our adult birthday parties visitors page.

Good luck!

P.S. - You don't have to wait until the 80th...90th...or 100th birthday to celebrate! Any life lived well is worth celebrating!

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