After 20 years of marriage the challenge of coming up with a unique, fun and memorable way of celebrating my wife’s birthday doesn’t get any easier. But in all these years, a surprise birthday party never crossed my mind. That is, until this year. I decided to really go all out: track down old friends and relatives, ex-students and neighbors and put them all together for one huge blow-out. Easier said then done!
The biggest part of a surprise birthday party isn’t the party, it’s the surprise! That’s the challenge of a surprise birthday party. Whether it’s for an adult or a child, you need to think through your strategy for getting the guests and the guest-of-honor all together. So let’s go over some ideas for birthday party themes but most of all let’s recap some ideas that will make the “surprise” portion of a birthday party forever memorable! Whether or not this all worked for me will be revealed at the end of the article!
Like a visit from the taxman, birthdays come every year. How you decide to celebrate them is entirely up to you, but a surprise birthday party will certainly be one that won’t be soon forgotten.
The important issues to be determined are who to invite, when and where the party will be held, and how to get the guest-of-honor to the designated location without him or her knowing what’s going on. The surprise birthday party demands Rambo-like coordination if everything is going to occur according to plan. In no particular order then, let’s look at what it takes to throw the surprise birthday party.
When and where:
There is no set rule that dictates that the surprise birthday party needs to be held on the actual day of the birthday. Most party experts recommend thinking this one out. Consider if you want to reserve the actual date for a private function. Like maybe you want an intimate dinner for two that both you and your mate can enjoy. For this reason, it may be a good idea to have the surprise birthday party a few days ahead of time. There’s another good reason for this: the event will be more of a surprise if it’s not on the actual birth day. If your partner knows next Friday is his or her birthday then obviously they know some thing is up. If you have the surprise birthday party a few days early, then guess what – it really will be a surprise!
Guests and Location:
Who do you want to attend? Classmates from long ago? Current colleagues from the office? Just family? Depending on who you have in mind dictates how much lead time you need for a surprise birthday party. A surprise birthday party will be even more of a surprise depending on who attends. If its friends from school your partner hasn’t seen in 20 years, well that’s quite a surprise. If it’s all your partners ex-husbands/wives and lovers that will sure be an event that stops traffic as well.
The location is important in as much as you need to successfully get all the guests there on time. And then you need to get the guest of honor there without him or her suspecting anything. So what will it be? Surprise birthday ideas can be theme parties like a Hawaiian Luau or Cowboy Party, or more sit-down affairs like a dinner at a restaurant. If it’s at the home of a friend then it’s just a matter of finding an excuse to stop by with your partner. Surprise birthday ideas should take into consideration what your partner enjoys doing. Remember, you’re never too old to have a toga party!
Getting there:
Despite the best of intentions, guests tend to drop the ball. They either open there mouths because they can’t keep a secret. Or they show up late, invariably walking in the door at the same time as the guest-of-honor. Then you’re stuck with the fumbling through the question of, “what are YOU doing here?” Get guests in place at least a half hour in advance. Create a “recon” team. One person who coordinates all the guests at the designated location and who can be in contact with you while you’re with your partner. Or if you leave that responsibility to someone else, then make it’s someone who is indeed someone you can trust.
After following my own advice and planning this little shindig about a month in advance. I was ready. My sister-in-law would help me out. The location was an Italian restaurant (I live in Italy – what do you expect?). I convinced my wife to leave my daughter with her mother. We’d then spend the day together and have dinner later at this restaurant. When we entered – SURPRISE! Nearly 60 friends would yell and cheer and my wife would be thrilled (until we got the bill). At least that is how it looked on paper. I’d reviewed this plan with everyone for weeks. They all knew to arrive 45 minutes. I managed to excuse myself a few times to place a call to my sister-in-law. Everything was going according to plan. We’d be at the restaurant at approximately 3:00. So what happens? No less than half the guests decide to step outside and smoke a cigarette! My wife and I show up at the restaurant and all of a sudden it’s like old-home-week. Sure enough the big question was “What are YOU doing here?” was asked more times than I can remember. And then out of no where my 80-year old mothering-law teeters outside and joyfully exclaims, “This surprise birthday party was such a good idea!”
The sudden “thud” you just heard was me falling over.
Only in Italy.
Well – – we had a great time anyway. And it was STILL a surprise when we walked in the restaurant and saw the rest of the guests. You know, the ones that were smart enough to stay in their seats.
Which just goes to show you: even the best laid plans can go awry.
Next year I’ll be faced with the question of what to do on my wife’s birthday yet again. I think we’ll stay home and watch a movie.
