Any ideas for my Dad's surprise 70th Birthday Party?

Question

I am looking for creative ideas for decorations, cake, cupcakes, something to get everyone to sign when they come so he can have a memory of the day. Suggestions??? Unique and yummy food suggestions would be cool too.

He is into installing satellite dishes for friends, salmon fishing, cutting wood for winter, quadding, he owns a motorhome for travel....loves sweets. I was also thinking of making a cd with music from his twenties...anyone familiar with tunes from this timeframe?? Heeelllpppp!!! Thanks in advance :)

Answer 1

In the craft store, they have what's called presentation boards, you can also get it at office supply stores.  They are 3 panels of foam board.  You can put a picture of your dad in the middle of the board, and then have everyone sign around it, on all 3 panels.  Then later he can get it framed if he likes or hang it up just like that!

For food, I would do whatever is his favorites. If that's chicken and rice serve that, if it's pizza do that, it's his birthday and his party, have the food that he loves and that is his favorite.  I'm not sure if you're having it at home or a hall, but you can always have food brought in, and make the foods he loves!  Whatever it is that's what should be served, even if it seems weird to others.  If it's Italian food, do that, if it's Mexican do that, etc.  

For decorations you can make each table about each different hobby he has.  Like the centerpiece be about what he likes.  Make one table have the centerpiece look like a motohome.  You can even get a toy motorhome at the toy store and get a little toy figure that looks like him and put it there. Then the next table, you can put a fish bowl with a fish in it, and do a figurine fishing on the top of it.  On the next one do something with a satellite dish, etc.

OR

Being he likes sweets, you can make the centerpieces revolve around that.  You can get clear vases and put jellybeans in them and then put those big lollipops in them, they would act as flowers.

OR

You can make cupcakes and buy those cupcake display pieces, they sell them everywhere now, even the crafts store by the baking aisle and have the different cupcakes be the centerpieces. You can decorate the cupcakes to match his hobbies.  One set of the cupcakes can be satellite dishes, one can be decorated like fish, one can be like firewood, and so on.  Then you can put them on the tables and that's the dessert for each table!!

For the music, do what was popular when he was growing up.  Whatever his favorite bands and singers were.  You can look through any collections he may have, or simply ask him what he listened to growing up.  To find the music, just do a search online and type in what you're looking for, it's that easy to find what was popular in the years you were looking for.  Just type in the year and music and you'll get the sites you need.

You get cluster balloons around the party area to add a festive feel.

For his chair, you can make it like he's fishing. Put a tackle box on one side and then a toolbox on the other and make it HIS chair at the party. You can put a fishing pole attatched to the chair with some ribbon, just tie it there, and decorate his chair to make it about him!

Being he loves sweet, for desserts, make a sweet bar.  You can do an ice cream, get chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream and some toppings.  Sprinkles, chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and marachino cherries and have everyone make their own sundaes.

You can then do a cookie section.

Then you have the cupcakes at the tables if you go with that.

Then you do a birthday cake.

Then you can do candy!

You can do napkins with licorce tied around them for napkin rings.  Or you can get those candies that are on white paper, they're round like little white buttons, you can tape them around the napkins and use them too.

You can fill clear glass containers with his favorite candies and decorate the tables and the party area with them.

You can put gumball machines around the party area and fill them with m&m's, skittles, gumballs, jellybeans, whatever your dad likes!

Being he's into sweets, you can also take a piece of foamboard and make him a tribute using candy.  I'm not sure if I'm confusing you, but you write out first on a piece of paper what you want to say, and then you fill it in when you can with the candy, then when you transfer it to the foamboard, you write what you can and then tape the candy to fill in certain words.  

This is an example:

You'll always mean more to me than a 100 Grand (and you'll tape a 100 Grand bar here).  You can look around grocery aisles, and candy stores and find candy that would help you write out things.  You can use any type of candy and write some and tape some to the foam board!

Some candy that works well with this are:

3 Musketeers

Snickers (you always can put me in sncikers)

100 Grand

starburst

Chunky

Mike and Ike

Baby Ruth

Hershy Kisses and Hershey Hugs

Charms pops

Tootsie rolls

Life Savers (You've always been my life saver)

Butterfinger

Kit Kat

You can make it meaningful, and funny, and serious, all at the same time, and you mix your words with the candy.  I'm sure there are SO many more that I just can't think of right now, but the more you walk up and down the candy aisle, the more you'll come up with.

I hope some of these ideas helped and I hope your dad has a great party and a very Happy Birthday!!

Answer 2

Make a CD of all his photos of family and friends and of him while he was growing up and old....  Play these on the TV during his party and present it to him so he can cherish it all the days of his life....  It will be the best gift of all...  of ever actually

Good Luck

Hot Doggggggggg