I'm old ... SERIOUSLY

[Naomi]

It will be my 30th sooner than I care to think about, and DHs a few months after. I kind of think we should do something big and fun as we haven't had a big party since our wedding (1999). Doing a combined thing would be good as a) we'd only need to plan one event and b) most of our friends are 'both' our friends so we'd have the same invite list for both events so might as well just do one big one.

But honestly, I have no idea what to do. Any ideas?

(Oh, and no, not interested in having a surprise anything).

[Belldyl]

Well i'm not sure about what you should do, I guess it depends on what you both enjoy and can afford.

I'm a little concerned that you think 30 is old!!!!!!!:jump: :jump: :) :D :P :waves:

[drdolly]

this may sound a little morbid, but was hugely successful. ( my apologies in advance if this offends anyone... )

I had a funeral wake for my 30th, mourning the passing of my 20's.

All guests came dressed in black - ( specified on the invite) easy to do, because lets face it, who does not own black in their wardrobe???

my parnter and I then spent time creating tombstones out of black card for all our friends ( the trick is to write on it with with pencil or crayon so it stand outs, all shading on the tombstones was also in grey or white.)

Each tombstone had each guests name on it and what they 'died of' which was normally specific to something do with a well known character trait. ( as strange as it seems, this was hugely popular with people, looking for their own tombstones and those of others that they knew. lots of people got in on the act before the party and willingly gave ideas for for themselves or partners.) We also had blanks for last minute ring ins

I passed away due to over use of black hair dye...

My partner gave a eulogy using a data show and photos of myself and friends and family. Hoodoo gurus, 'like wow, like wipe out' was playing to the slide show. Everyone toasted to my misspent 20's and continued to party.

[MissieK]

DH is 30 this year & I'm 30 next year.

I'm thinking of throwing a "Favourite Things" party for DH & get everyone to dress up as one of his favourite things - beer, computers, music, etc, etc. I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun.

Melissa

[Naomi]

DrDolly, that's a fantastic idea, I don't think I could pull it off, but it sounds like a blast - what a great imagination to come up with that.

Belinda, it is old for me! I've never been 30 before :jump: No, I think it's just the psychological thing, and the anticipation of it rather than the actual event. I was at the Dr yesterday and she asked how old I was, I said "29. Oh, no - I'm thirty in a few weeks!" and she laughted at me, lol. So it's kind of on my mind now.

Melissa, Favourite Things sounds good, I was kind of thinking either a 70's (we were born in '76) or 80's (children of the 80s) party, but it seems a bit lame and unoriginal :dk:

[floria]

Naomi, I don't think 30 is old. Trev took me to Hawaii for my 30th.

I'm older, I took turning 40 ok but no one more birthdays now. The body is starting to fall to bits and the mind is going and the hair is greying :jump:

[jens]

Seeing as though your are soooooooooo old :Hehe:

I found this site http://www.party-oz.com.au/Birthday/milestone.htm with some themes that may suit.

A great theme for any adult birthday party is "Good Old Days" celebration, where memorabilia from childhood through adulthood is incorporated throughout the entire party.

Medieval Celebration
Computer-generated invitations are easy and inexpensive. There are lots of graphics are available on the Internet for designs, such as -- a castle, a moat, knight in armour, ladies in waiting, etc. Ask the guests to come in costume. Ask the male guest of honour to dress as the Knight in Shining Armour or the female guest of honour to dress as a Lady In Waiting for the party. Decorate the area with paper swords, shields, castle backgrounds, gold, and black tableware, streamers and balloons. No silverware… wasn't invented we are told until the 17th Century in France -- serve finger foods. Set the table with plastic goblets for serving drinks and serve red wine (or cranberry juice) for the toast. Lace doilies, elaborate settings, and plenty of candles will give the room the dramatic effect you're looking for. A very creative and attention-getting cake for this party is a three-dimension pig.

Golden Oldies
This theme is great for people that were teenagers in the 1950's… or wished they had been - it is not only simple, but easy to arrange, decorate and organize. Send invitations out shaped in the old black 45 record styles, with "Side One" listing the information and "Side 2" listing the directions to the party. Decorate with jukebox style decorations, 45 records, photos of poodle skirts, hula hoops, hot rods. Games can include Bazooka Bubble Blowing Contest, Hula Hoop and Limbo contests, dancing to the Twist and doing the Stroll.

Whatever you choose, I hope you have a ball!

[Belldyl]

Aaawww Naomi, good news.... I love my thirties....I love being thirty something so much more than twenty something....trust me you'll love it too...

Welcome to thirty something!!! :D :D :hug:

[drdolly]

no funerals eh?

how about the good old vicars and tarts?
or bride, bridemaids, grooms and groomsmen, vicar, priest.
it will give a people a chance to get out the glad rags from their past, and guess for some a chance to be bride....


I loved turing thirty, it embraced it... i decided that it freed me from doing things that i no longer wanted to do anymore...

eg queing in lines
eg staying a party or anywhere longer than i really wanted...
being a slave to tragic fashion trends...

[Patricia]

Ok now the old a decrepit 40 year old will have her say LMAO

Naomi I think a fancy dress party sounds like soooo much fun....will hubby be ok with that do you think? You know what men are like!

All you have to do now is come up with a theme! Let us know what you decide! :)

[Barbara]

Never say a 70's party is lame. I love them & had one about 2 years ago now for new years. Even made up our own 70's cd's so that they were all dance hits & no slow songs. We got all dressed up, played twister (ever played that drunk - hilarious LMAO ). I should find my photos & post one up :Hehe:

I think a double up party would be awesome & to have a theme to go with it, even better.

Let us know what you come up with.

[Supa]

Naomi I dreaded turning 30 to the point I nearly had a breakdown in the 6months leading up to it. Why I dont know & never will but man I was not looking forward to it. That was just over 2yrs ago & now I am fine with being 32. I think it was a physcological thing but man it did me no good. As to a party I love the wake idea that would be what I would do.

[MariaZen]

How about lawn bowls? This is cheap and you can other cater or just throw in a BBQ there. This is what I did for my 30th last year in November and it was fun!

Maria

[Alexa]

For my 30th I had a party where everyone came dressed as the 1930's it was a great night with hired staff and really I have no looked back...you just feel so much better about yourself (even when you end up divorced)

I am 32 and well my life is not great but that has nothing to do with age, just the choices and decisions one makes...the worst thing is worrying about time and how quickly it ticks...

[Naomi]

Hawaii sounds good to me!! Anyone want to babysit for a week? :D

Thanks for the ideas, will have to talk to DH and see what he thinks (somehow I don't think it will be Hawaii :( )

[Misha8]

Input from another 30 something person!

I stressed about turning thirty and once I got there, it really wasn't so bad.
I feel it puts you at that age where you really can make decisions and stand by them.

Although life should be one big party, once you hit your 30's you really start to think about your life and your choices like what you really want out of life, what you've done and what you haven't and then what you're gonna do about it!

Also, you start to party a little more responsibly, you realise the body needs to be nurtured if you're going to live a nice long life!

The worst thing about turning 30 for me was the pathetic person I was involved in who went out of his way to ruin everything for me so now that he's out of my life I'm looking forward to having a big celebration for my 40th to make up for it although it's a few years off yet!

I was going to suggest a theme party for you and seeing as you would like to combine it, have a "famous couples or duos" party.
Examples being Fred and Wilma, agent 86 and 99, Brad and Angelina, batman and robin, Sonny and Cher and the list goes on.....

[Patricia]

Ok I now think I am on AFW overload...I actually dreamt about this last night. Now how you can dream about somebody that you have never really met well I am not too sure.

Naomi you ended up having a Casino themed party...with the roulette wheel...poker table with the chips etc ...all the guests were dressed appropriately and were having a real blast!

Not sure if this helped or not :P:P

[Leigh]

LMAO.. Patric is having visions, looks like it's decided Naomi!

Jake is turning 30 this year, it still seems so strange just to say it. We're not that old yet? :faint: Lucky I have a few years to wait for myself, so can use him to ease into it.


Can't wait to see what you decided :)

[mel35]

Some great theme ideas there very creative.

I didn't have much of a party for my 30th as I was 7 months pregnant.

But I made up for it with my 35th, we had a cocktail party where everyone brought a different bottle of something instead of a present, dress was anything from casual to formal. hubby and I made up some mini posters with pictures of cocktails and the recipe to make it easier for everyone. My 3 older girls were the waitresses for the night, my eldest even made them all wear black pants and white blouses:D , serving food and cocktails and washing up glasses they loved doing it all and keep begging to have another one.By 5am in the morning there was about 5 of us left, very drunk sitting out the back singing old 70's & 80's songs. Poor neighbours.:P

[floria]

Naomi, I thought Trev was taking me to Tinaroo Dam so nearly fell over when he told me Hawaii. He and the travel agent worked things out and said that I was unable to sign the application for a travel visa because I had a broken hand.

I hope you think of something nice to do. I'll babysit Hugo for you, send him and Nik and Barney up to me. :)

[michelle_72]

I thought turning 30 was pretty good - actually the worst for me was 27 because at that stage I had to start thinking about being more responsible - as I could no longer use the excuse - well Im still young and can get away with it. Once I got over that hurdle every other birthday after that has been a cinch! :-)