4 Things To Consider When Planning A Milestone Birthday Party

Every birthday is a special occasion, but milestone birthdays often take the cake, pardon the pun. There are no set guidelines to milestone birthdays - they can be whenever you’d like - but typically they are marked at 1, 13, 16, 18 and 21 then, as an adult, the milestones occur every decade from the age of 30. 

If you are in charge of planning a milestone birthday party for family or friends, then there are a number of different themes, ideas and approaches you can use, but are they suited to the person who’s birthday it is? The best milestone birthday parties capture the essence of the individual in a way which makes them feel appreciated and loved, so here are 4 things you should consider when planning a birthday party. 

Take a fun approach

When you are an adult, turning 30 is one of the biggest milestone birthdays. A lot of people feel older than they actually are when turning 30 and is more of a mental milestone than a physical one. If your birthday honoree has a good sense of humour, then it might be best to throw them a fun birthday party instead of a sit-down meal or a quieter affair. 

Choose a fun activity to have at the party, such as a rodeo bull or an inflatable obstacle course, so that people can remember it as a really fun occasion. 

Centre it around a hobby or interest

If you don’t think the person would like a fun party, then why not plan a milestone birthday party which takes their hobby or interest into consideration. For example, if you are throwing a milestone birthday party for someone who has a keen interest in gardening, then ask your guests to bring a packet of seeds or garden cuttings to share around. 

You could ask guests to wear gardening or floral clothes and order a cake with a floral theme, and serve dishes in edible or clay pots. This would be a great idea for an older milestone birthday. 

Family-friendly occasion

If the person who is approaching a milestone birthday is more family-orientated or has young children they would like to include in their celebrations, then try to organise a party which involves everyone. You could plan a mini music festival, complete with glitter makeup, music and BBQ food in the garden, or organise a trip to a theme park for all the family. 

Celebrate old times

Another way in which you can celebrate a milestone birthday is to make the party theme all about the life of the person who’s party it is. You could ask family and friends to contribute their favourite videos and photos to display around your party venue and allow guests to write down their favourite memories of the birthday honoree and put them in a nicely decorated post box. 

Another way you can use this theme is to create a historical theme for the milestone birthday. You could use activities and decor from each decade the birthday person has seen, or you could plan a theme which links to the decade which they are entering. For example, if the birthday milestone is 40, then you could host a 1940s party.