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Top tips for organising a milestone party

Top tips for organising a milestone party

9 February 2018

Whether you’re planning your son or daughter’s 18th birthday, your partners 30th, 40th or 50th or even your granny’s 100th, we’ve put together some top tips for organising the ultimate birthday bash.

Firstly, book a good venue

Birthday parties at home are great, but a milestone birthday should be a special celebration. Take the stress out of all the preparations and leave all the housekeeping, cooking and dishwashing to someone else. By having the party at a venue, you don’t have to worry about parking, cooking, clearing up (or visiting the bottle bank with the recycling). Who wants to do all the dishes and tidying up afterwards anyway?

Secondly, consider the food

Food is an important aspect of your party so it’s crucial you get it right. Consider the style of party you would prefer, whether that’s a sit down three-course meal, a fork buffet menu, or an evening finger buffet. What would the person who is celebrating prefer?

You may wish to choose to theme the food from a different country, such as American style burgers and hot dogs; or Mexican fajitas and tacos.

Consider a theme

Whether you’re turning 21 or 80, you’re never too old for a themed party; it’s a great reason for all your guests to dress up and have fun! There are many themes to choose from: dress up as your favourite celebrity, have a 70’s party, or black and white theme, or even black tie. Whatever you’re interested in, it could make the celebrations extra special and memorable.

Entertain your guests

Whilst some people are happy playing music in the background, others may want to wow their guests with some other forms of entertainment. Depending on what you and the birthday person are interested in, you could hire a DJ for the evening, or invite a friend who sings and plays the guitar, or even have a local band at the celebrations. You might want to consider having a magician to amuse your guests, or even a giant Jenga or chess board. With so much choice, the hard part will be deciding what to do!

Guest list

Whether you’re throwing a surprise birthday party, small gathering, or planning on having the party of the century, you may want to take your time deciding who to invite. If you’re arranging a birthday celebration for a loved one, you may want to involve them to avoid any unwanted guests and ensure there’s no-one you’ve missed. However, if you’re organising a surprise gathering, hopefully you know them well enough to ensure no-one has accidentally been missed out.

Sending invitations can be fun; there are plenty of creative templates available or you could even use social media to send out your invites. Don’t forget to keep track of all the responses, so you can confirm numbers with your venue, which will help ensure there’s enough food for all.

If you’re looking to book a venue, the Mercure Glasgow City can help. With a choice of event rooms, for an intimate gathering to a larger celebration, we’re happy to help with ideas and suggestions to ensure the party is one to remember. Just call 0141 441 1022 option 3, or email events@mercureglasgow.co.uk.