30th birthday party ideas

[englishteacha]

So...someone is turning 30 in early June (cough, cough...).

I was thinking of reserving a function room at my favorite restaurant and inviting people to join us for dinner. Everyone would pay their own way. Is this rude? It's how a lot of my family functions are...either pot luck somewhere or at a restaurant with everyone paying their own way. We can't afford restaurant food for everyone. (My family would be cool with it, but I'm inviting friends, too) How would I word an invitation? I thought of having a party at the house with cake and stuff, but I'm working full time and going to school part time and don't have the energy to scrub the house and move the furniture. It always rains on my birthday (26 rainy, 3 sunny so far) so I don't dare plan anything outside. I know you shouldn't throw your own party (according to Emily Post), but if I don't do it, I won't have a party!

Thoughts?

 

[BuzzandAriel'smom]

For mine I had my mom and 5 or 6 of my closest friends go out to all my favorite places downtown. One place for appetizers, walk down to the gourmet pizza place for dinner, then up to the ice cream shop for desert. It was quite an event and lots of fun! Just a thought!

 

[5stljayhawks]

I would say, if you are inviting paying for the apps. you could say "Please join us for an evening of fun, blah blah. Wine(?) and Appitizers will be provided from 4-5. Dinner afterwards includes your choice of X,y,Z at $20.00 per person. " Talk with the rest. and see if you can work some sort of specail deal. Alot of rest. are still hurting for biz.

 

[rainydayplay]

Invite me!

I am also an English teacher with a 30th birthday in (late) June! (Maybe we should just have a special DIS meet. How many of us can there be?)

 

[Evi]

I wouldn't pay to rent a room. Your better off talking to a restaurant/ bar what have you. Ask if you can have a few tables in a certain area. Do appetizers and cocktails. Arrange to prepay for x number of drinks be it 1-2 per person and print up some kind of ticket so you can hand out tickets when people get there. If people want to order food it would be on them. You can also bring your own cake and cut it. Just be sure you semi spell it out on your invitation stating its a cocktail party with a birthday toast or something to this nature.

If that's out of the question I'd try to get someone to let you host a party in their home only ask those who are the closest family of individual, closest friends to help you cohost the party and help bring a few different foods/ alcohol etc. This way you are splitting the cost if it is to much but your not asking all your guests to bring food.

 

[englishteacha]

The restaurant provides the room for free if you order food. Everyone would pay for their own dinner, and I hope the restaurant would let me bring cake. It's not a birthday without cake!

My other thought, but maybe it's lame, is to rent our local grange hall for $50. We would provide birthday cake and sodas (the grange is alcohol free), maybe some other snack food, and have dancing and socializing, like from 7-10. I'd love to just do a backyard party, but I KNOW it will rain. We have an 800 sq. foot house and there isn't room for more than 5 extra people! Halls in our area that allow alcohol are more than $200 and you either need to pay a bartender or get a BYOB permit.

Would you think an alcohol free party is lame for a 30th birthday? (I don't drink, so it makes no difference to me!) The grange is a pretty nice space, with tables, chairs, and a sound system we could hook our iPod to for dancing. It's also within walking distance of our house.

 

[mom2travel]

The restaurant provides the room for free if you order food. Everyone would pay for their own dinner, and I hope the restaurant would let me bring cake. It's not a birthday without cake!

My other thought, but maybe it's lame, is to rent our local grange hall for $50. We would provide birthday cake and sodas (the grange is alcohol free), maybe some other snack food, and have dancing and socializing, like from 7-10. I'd love to just do a backyard party, but I KNOW it will rain. We have an 800 sq. foot house and there isn't room for more than 5 extra people! Halls in our area that allow alcohol are more than $200 and you either need to pay a bartender or get a BYOB permit.

Would you think an alcohol free party is lame for a 30th birthday? (I don't drink, so it makes no difference to me!) The grange is a pretty nice space, with tables, chairs, and a sound system we could hook our iPod to for dancing. It's also within walking distance of our house.

I think I like this idea at the grange better. Just a fun night celebrating with friends. Maybe some of your family would offer to help with finger food?

The restaurant idea isn't bad, but it could be awkward with the money thing. I wouldn't hesitate to pay my own way if it was a very close friend/family member, but beyond that I'm not so sure.

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

You can invite me too, I turn 30 at the end of this month (29th)! No plans at all but to go to my cousins graduation and pick up my step DDs to go to FL for another graduation the next day. Not much of a celebration for me!

 

[MichelleinMaine]

My other thought, but maybe it's lame, is to rent our local grange hall for $50. We would provide birthday cake and sodas (the grange is alcohol free), maybe some other snack food, and have dancing and socializing, like from 7-10. I'd love to just do a backyard party, but I KNOW it will rain. We have an 800 sq. foot house and there isn't room for more than 5 extra people! Halls in our area that allow alcohol are more than $200 and you either need to pay a bartender or get a BYOB permit.

I say rent the grange- that is the usual party time in our family. I don't drink anyway, but those in my family who do drink, aren't the sort who "have to" for it to be a party. (Well, excluding my cousin's wedding reception at the grange where the groomsmen kept going out to the car to "get soda"... hmmmm.)

 

[bootleg89]

What one of my friends did was just tell people that she was planning on going to a bar/grill for her birthday and told them they were more then welcome to come hang out with her. She had a huge show up and every one knew they were covering thier own food/drinks since it wasn't a party but rather just people hanging out together.

 

[Cooky]

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