No matter how old you are chronologically, you're still as young as you feel. Cut loose with some friends and have the time of your lives with these adult birthday party ideas.
Party themes for adults
Whether you're at your place or you rent a room, add your own creative touches to make the night a shining success.
Blast-from-the-past party
Bring back the styles and fashions of years gone by. Either ask the guests to dress in their favorite gear from the decade of the birthday-boy's birth or dress as they were at the age he is now. As a bonus gift, have each guest send you the name of their favorite song from the year he was born , download them all from iTunes and burn them to a CD to present as a special gift at the end of the evening.
Just for fun, buy a silly prize for the man of the evening to award to the person he thinks has the best costume. If you're his mom , you can even break out his baby album!
Cocktail party
A cocktail party is an elegant and laid-back way to celebrate someone's big day without all the stress of a full-blown party. Cook or purchase appetizers and invest in a few quality bottles of wine. You could also serve a special cocktail as the drink of the evening and let guests BYOB on the rest.
No matter what type of cocktail party you want to have , you should also stick to these tips.
- Choose a theme. Not all cocktail parties have to be formal affairs. Yours can be a little bit country or a little bit rock and roll. No matter what, make sure your decorations, apps and drinks go with your theme.
- Tell your guests what the dress code is on the invitation -- some people see "cocktail party" and automatically think of a cocktail dress, which may not be appropriate for your Calvin Klein-esque theme.
- Clear out a space for dancing and/or set up special seating arrangements to facilitate mingling.
- Have music! Whether you hire a DJ or use your mp3 or CD player, music should be going at the right level to keep guests from feeling uncomfortable during those lulls in conversation, especially if your guests don't all know one another.
No matter what, don't forget that the reason you're all there is to celebrate someone's birthday. Even though this is a casual event, plan for a toast or two and set aside a table for gifts.
Love Harry Potter? Try these cocktails for your Hogwarts-themed cocktail party >>
![Friends playing poker]()
Casino night party
Casino night partyCreate a big-spenders atmosphere with a few simple decorations and a few rented props. You'll just need a larger room and some of the following fun games and items.
- Poker chips
- Decks of cards
- Dice
- Poker tables, roulette wheels, slot machines, craps tables
- Fun music
- Appetizers and fun cocktails served on or in red and black paper or plasticware
Guests can even literally purchase more chips by putting money in a tip jar that will later go to your birthday girl or her charity of choice. If the party is for you, you can even ask guests to bring items for you to auction off on eBay to support your nonprofit of choice.
Check out some of the great charities SheKnows found >>
At the end of the night, you should have a prize for the guest who ends with the most chips . It can be something gambling-themed like a batch of lottery scratch-offs, a nice bottle of vino or having the entire charitable donation you've collected be made in their name.
Guest bartender night
Send out invitations asking each guest to bring a bottle of his or her fave new liquor and a mixer like soda, juice, tonic, etc. The night of your soiree, set up a bar with a host of tumblers, shot glasses, rocks glasses and other cocktail glassware .
Allow each guest to take a turn behind the bar, explaining their new liquor and showing everyone how to make their signature drink. Give a prize, like a special bottle of wine, to the winner as chosen by the guest of honor. Then allow the winner to give the official birthday toast.
More about throwing parties for adults
Throw a chocolate-themed party
Sports-themed parties for adults
Harry Potter cocktail party for fans over 21