husband will be 50

witzend

Well-Known Member
In about 5 weeks. He's never actually had a birthday party. I'd like to do something away from home that will be fun, but I can't figure out how many people will or won't come. I was thinking of getting a DJ, and doing music from when we were younger. I have a friend who is the entertainment director at the local Elk's lodge, but it would hold 400 people, and I'd be surprised if we could get 40. I also am not thrilled about serving alcohol. My friend who just got married got insurance at her wedding to cover in case anything went wrong with the drinkers. She said it was only $25 - $50 or so. I'll have to ask. But I don't want to be responsible for serving and keeping track of who is and isn't drunk. My group, someone is usually drunk. And who knows who might be driving or not.

Any ideas? What worked for you guys? Do I do pot luck? (I'd like to!) Do I just do a really nice dinner out and invite good friends?
 

hearts and roses

Mind Reader
If you want to have a party/big bash: You could check and see if your local fire department has a club house. They often rent it out for cheap. They have a full facility (kitchen) that you can prepare food in, with fridges to keep things cold. You could ask people to bring things too. You could decorate it, hire a DJ, etc. When guest arrive, have them deposit their keys into a hat and perhaps you could even arrange a 'taxi' service with some teens you know for a few dollars. Or, arrange for some people to carpool.

If you want to keep it simple but celebratory: You could choose a fun restaurant, perhaps one that makes their own brews, and have a smaller dinner party in a private room.

And another idea is to ask if a friend would host it at their home. You could provide everything except the setting.

It really depends on what you want to spend and how BIG you want to go! Sounds like fun no matter what you choose.
 
M

ML

Guest
Jo had great ideas. I love the clubhouse and taxi service idea. That just might work!
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
I really like Jo's ideas. You could even print taxi service on the invites.

That alone...would make me come if I drank. Happy Birthday to husband.
 

hearts and roses

Mind Reader
I just want to add that you might be able to coordinate with your local HS to hire teens in their senior year for the evening and perhaps it would count as their community service project graduation! I would think the school might like this as a project because it's showing drinking responsibly (well, we hope!), Know what I mean?? on the other hand, they may frown upon teens driving drunkards around - lol!!! Just kidding.
 

Fran

Former desparate mom
Considering you don't know how many will join you, it would be tough to figure out a venue. Some restaurants have private rooms for parties. I'd have wine with meal(2 glass max for those who have no manners)No hard alcohol.

If you do a dj, dinner buffet and open bar, you have to have enough people. I probably wouldn't invite to a pot luck dinner but if anyone offered I would be prepared to delegate salads, side's etc to friends and family who wouldn't mind.

There are some nice sites that help you plan and organize parties for all sorts of occasions. It may give you some ideas.
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
What a nice thing to do, Witz!

When my husband turns 50, I'm having a surprise party for him at Chuck E. Cheese's!
:try2fly:
 

mstang67chic

Going Green
When I turned 30, husband made arrangements with a local restaurant for a special menu for a surprise party for me. We commandeered a section of the restaurant and the guests got to choose from the selections listed on the menu. Alcohol was not included in the menu but was available if anyone wanted it and was willing to pay for it themselves.

I never got explicit details on the deal but as I understand it, husband gave the restaurant an approximate number of attendees and tried to get as many firm RSVP's as possible from everyone.

That may be an option also and could be less of a cost to you than renting a hall, having a DJ, etc. Just an idea.

Also, we have had a lot of surprise parties at a friend's house. They love to host parties so everytime someone in the group has a milestone, their house is usually where the celebration is held. One party we rented a hot dog machine like you would see at a ball game and others brought side dishes.
 

klmno

Active Member
I like the idea of doing something at a restaurant in a private room- you don't have to clean up that way and aren't responsible if by chance someone does end up drinking too much. I'm wondering if you sent invites and asked for rsvp, would your friends reall let you know and commit to it then? Anyway, then you and husband can have a more, say...private party....when you get home.

And yes, it is very thoughtful and nice of you!
 

witzend

Well-Known Member
A restaurant would be nice, but I'm thinking of a budget around $400 - $500, and I won't do a "no host bar". So, we could do our favorite restaurant for about 10 that way. But then there's always someone who thinks that they can order a boatload of drinks, and I'd be ticked off. I've been searching the internet for "venues" "halls" etc., for the past few days. Still looking...
 

klmno

Active Member
Our local parks & recs have community centers that rent out "banquet halls" or large meeting rooms/kitchens. A lot of people rent them out for the recpetion after a wedding because they are so much less than places at hotels and so forth. Also, some churches might. I'm not very knowledgable about the various clubs, but I think some of them might have affordable rent space, too.
 

witzend

Well-Known Member
k - that's a really good idea. There's a hall at the parks and rec center not far from here. Not thrilled about the florescent lights, but maybe we could work something out.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Check local hotels, too. Many of them have very large enclosed lobbies that they will rent out for private parties. I don't see why you couldn't get a party catered by someone like Subway, Arby's or similar.
 
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