Looking for Awesome Birthday Ideas? Here are Great Ideas For Big Birthdays

If you have a birthday ending in -0 approaching, you may have a little fear in your heart at jumping into a new decade or trepidation at the growing number of silver hairs sprouting from your hairline. But the way to beat any fear is to acknowledge it head on: in the case of a birthday this means celebrate outrageously.
Forget understated, this is the chance to go decadent. Here are six ideas to celebrate a big birthday in style.

Go to space
If you have £130,000 to spare and fancy going to somewhere completely out of this world, why not travel to space? Richard Branson’s much-awaited Virgin Galactic launches in 2014, and if you book a ticket you’ll rub shoulders with the A listers: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are believed to have signed up to the SpaceShipTwo aircraft, along with Richard Branson’s family.

Go on a retreat
They’re associated with hippies and escapists, but retreats are essentially a place to escape the world for a bit, indulge in some peace and quiet and get back in touch with your body and mind in the company of other folk who want to do the same. Yoga retreats are popular all over the world, and if you have the time, you can learn to become a yoga teacher.

Party like it’s 1999
There’s no better excuse than a birthday ending in -0 to party. The world’s party capital is Las Vegas, of course, a 24-hour cocktail of juices, restaurants, coffee points, clubs and pizza spots. Berlin, Ibiza and Budapest are close-to-home party favourites, while further afield Buenos Aires, Tel Aviv and Havana are known let-your-hair-down cities. If it’s a beach party you’re after, Thailand holds its infamous full moon parties each month, with the original in Haad Rin on the island of Ko Pha Ngan. Don’t forget your dancing shoes.

Go on a roadtrip
Forget flying into a city, exploring for a few days, then flying straight back home - the best way to travel in the USA is by touring. Alternative American holidays get you beyond the bright lights of the big cities to explore the incredible natural landscapes that are often missed by holidaymakers. A road trip is the classic way to travel, and America has some of the world’s most famous: The Pacific Coast Highway in California and Route 66 between Chicago and Arizona are two of the most famous.

Do what you love best
What really makes you tick? Music? Dancing? Food? Cycling? A big birthday is an excuse to do what you really want to. For some folk that might mean emulating Bradley Wiggins and signing up to holiday cycling the route of the Tour de France, for others, a more sedentary break discovering the wineries of the Dordogne in France might be in order. If you struggle to get your friends and family involved in what you love, now is a perfect excuse to get them to come along – or choose to go on a solo holiday and meet others who share your passion.

Learn something new
You’re never too old to learn, as the saying goes, and why not put it to the test and learn something new. It could be something you’ve been thinking about for years, something that will give you skills to change careers, or just something you enjoy. From massage to reflexology, web design to journalism, there are countless courses out there geared at adult learners, and who knows, a new skill might just open the door to a new chapter in your life.

Ideas For Celebrating Your Dog's Birthday - Great Ideas to Please Your Dog

If you're the type of person that loves to spoil your dog, throwing a birthday party for him on his special day is the perfect excuse to spoil him even more. This is a great way to let your dog know that you love him and to thank him for being your best friend. You’ll be able to pull all of your creativity together to make a party that can be celebrated with your dog, friends, family and even other canine playmates that he may have.

Organizing your birthday party
The things that you're going to have to think about to get this party organized include the following:
* The date of the party
* Invitations
* The guests
* Decorations
* The location
* The theme
* The food
* Entertainment
* Party favors

The date of the party
Figure out the date of the party early enough so that you can send out proper invitations. If your dog's birthday falls on a weekday, you may want to bump the party up to the following weekend or move it back to the weekend prior to the official birthday date.

Invitations
What type of invitations do you want to send out? If you're creative you can make your own easily by cutting out fancy paper into the shape of a bone. You can also find pre-made dog party invitations online at a reasonable price.

Celebrating 1st Birthday of Cute Puppy

The guests
Who would you like to invite to the party? You can either have a quiet family affair at home or invite a number of doggie guests over for a fun filled day of adventure surrounded by furry friends of all kinds.

Decorations
Ideas for decorations include:
* Dog party hats
* Dog balloons
* Tablecloth with a doggie print
* Pictures of your dog hung on the walls or placed on posters
* Any type of dog themed decorations that can be handmade, purchased online or discovered at the dollar store.

The location
Is this going to be an inside or an outside party? You may want to consider holding it outside if the weather is good - especially if you are expecting a lot of four-legged guests that will expect to have bathroom facilities available. If you don't have a yard or would prefer to hold the party elsewhere, think about a neighborhood dog park for the location.

The theme
It’s going to be a dog theme! You don't have to go any further than that to make this party exciting. In most cases you'll want to keep things as simple as possible since you'll have a lot of activity occurring at the party and what do you think these dogs and their owners will want the most? Dog stuff of course!

The food
There should be plenty of food available for all the fuzzy guests and all the humans as well. Set up a table that offers bowls of food for the human visitors and have a separate bowl set up on the table with doggie treats it. You should also have a lot of water bowls on the floor for the dogs to drink from between their party games.

Entertainment
Some of your entertainment choices include a talent show with humans showing off the talents of their dogs, contests for best tricks, obstacle courses, Frisbee chasing, ball catching etc. You could also fill up a small kiddie pool in the yard and pull out the hose to add some extra fun and to help keep the dogs cool.

Party favors
Every dog that attends the party should be given a goody bag to take home. Inside these bags you can include dog treats, toys and the party hat they were given at the party. Don’t forget to take photographs and share them with your guests, as a memento of a fun filled day.

The best recommendation here from BirthdayWords Blog is Dogtrainingcollars.com which will cover your almost all dog items. Worth visit!


Image: www.flickr.com/photos/romeoromeo/2048546111/

What Mum Really Wants For Her Birthday - Guide for Celebrating Mom's Birthday

If you start browsing websites for gifts for your Mum’s birthday or other event, you’ll be confronted with pages of boxes of chocolates, bunches of flowers or jewellery. All this is very nice, and nobody’s going to turn their nose up at a lovely box of handmade chocs, but with a bit more effort and the same budget, you can give your Mum a day she’ll remember and come up with something out of the ordinary.

Gifts for Mother on Birthday

Pamper Day

What mums want more than boxes of chocolates or bunches of flowers is a chance to relax and zone out from the everyday demands of looking after the family. Help her do this by getting Dad or another adult to clear the kids out of the house for an afternoon or evening and leave her with a hamper containing pamper products like bath bombs, nail varnish, pedicure kits and body lotion. Switch off her mobile and unplug the phone and leave her to relax and pamper for a while. You don’t have to buy expensive products, it’s the thought that counts and good quality bath bombs or nail varnishes can be bought along with the weekly shop.

Classes

If your Mum has always wanted to learn to knit, cook Thai food or salsa dance, then book her onto a course as a gift. If she’s the shy and retiring type, book two places on the course so she can take a friend with her. There are courses for almost anything, so get on the search engines and try to find out what is happening in your local area and see if there is anything which you think your Mum might enjoy. If she gets into her new hobby, you’re sorted with ideas for gifts for many birthdays and Christmases to come.

Birthday Meal Mom!

Meal

If all Mum wants to do after a hard day at work or looking after the kids is pull on her Eberjey pants, a comfy sweatshirt and slob around in front of the telly, going out for a meal might be too much of a hassle. Solve this problem by having a slap up meal at home, and your cooking skills don’t even have to be up to much. Many restaurants will offer a takeaway service, and many delicatessens are also offering a “dinner party at home” option which allows you to choose your menu a few days in advance and then all you do is pick up the food and reheat it in the oven. Zero effort, and much tastier than a normal pizza or Chinese takeaway.

Housework Vouchers

If your pocket is feeling the pinch and you really can’t afford to splash out on classes or meals, then make your Mum’s day with a booklet of housework vouchers. Get some paper and write a domestic chore on each, for example emptying the dishwasher, stripping the beds, washing the car or putting the bins out. Give the vouchers to your Mum with instructions that she cashes them in whenever she pleases. The key to making this present a success is no arguing when Mum asks you to do something on the voucher, however much you don’t want to do it.

Images:

•  License: Creative Commons image source 
•  License: Creative Commons image source

Know The Things You Should And Shouldn't Do At Child's Birthday Party

Planning a children's party doesn't have to be as difficult as a lot of parent's let it become as there are plenty of ways to make it manageable and even fun.

o    Plan
You need to get organised and you need to be organised early because if you try and book an entertainer at the last minute then you'll fail. The best entertainers are all booked up months in advance because they are the best so if you do manage to book someone really close to your child's party then you should ask yourself why they're available.

o    Consider merging your party with another child's birthday
If you know that there's another child in your little boy or girl's class that has either the same birthday or one that's very close then consider a joint party. Joint parties eliminate the choice for the other children and parents because if two children have a party on the same weekend then one of them will be left upset when less people attend. So to avoid having to race the other parents to get the invites out quickly join them and cut the cost of the party in half for both of you by inviting the entire class to the same party.

o    Guest listYou should never let the child decide who's coming to the party because there will always be people who are left out. Playground arguments are common and if you ask your child to decide who's invited to their party on the day they've fallen out with their best friend then they're unlikely to be invited which means upset later on when it's their party and your child's not invited. Up to the age of seven full class parties are a good idea or just invite their closest friends. Remember that although they might not want to invite everyone if they don't then they won't get invited to other parties which means tears later on.

o    Make sure you get all of the replies
You should always put an RSVP date on invites to children's parties because many parents will forget to respond unless they know they have to. A lot of them will forget anyway or they will never receive the invite so there's nothing wrong with a quick text, e-mail or phone call to any of the parents that haven't replied a couple of days before the RSVP date. There will be some parents that never respond but still show up to the party - there's always a few - so make sure you have enough food and party bags to cater for any unexpected guests.

o    Allergies
If you've invited a class full of primary school children to a party then you can guarantee that there'll be a few that can't eat certain things whether it's because they're a vegetarian, for religious reasons or they're allergic to certain foods such as dairy. In order to avoid upset children and parents that are disappointed that you didn't consider this, as soon as you receive a reply ask if their child has any specific dietary needs.


Sian Needham has a five year old son and when it got to his birthday she really struggled with ideas until one of her friends suggested she had a themed party and bought the supplies from perfectpartyuk.com

Read This Interesting Story of A Very Childish Adult Birthday Party

I have decided to organise a party for my Birthday. It is not that I actually want a party, in fact I really don’t want one at all and have gone to the lengths of arranging to be on holiday on my actual Birthday to avoid all of the fuss. My friends, however, are so determined to arrange one for me that they are planning all sorts of horrors for my return. The only way to head off their plans is to arrange my own event. The question is what should I do?

Age

The real problem here is age. I will be celebrating a significant birthday (50 but don’t tell anyone). Sadly many of my friends are a lot younger than me and my age is a constant source of humour for them. I could bore you forever on the endless stream of jokes that come my way. Unfortunately for me I worked with many of my good friends at a theme park which is a very public place in which the workers have the use of public address systems. On one occasion my best friend told the 1000 strong queue at a roller coaster that the staff at the park were organising a special collection to buy me a Motability vehicle and on another day he told them to all stand aside because an elderly person was coming through! Another friend told the guests that I was the oldest ride operator in the world. I also endured constant requests to turn on my hearing aid and was once refused access to a staff ride in case my pacemaker failed! To cap it all one colleague once asked me if I required the installation of a stair lift to enable me to access a ride console.

The Party

The truth is that I am an active person with a tendency to behave like I am still 20 and with a distinctly childish side. In revenge for the constant jokes about age I have decided to have an anti-age party which will be conducted exactly like a children’s party but with only adults present. I will choose a suitably childish theme like pirates or princesses and insist that all guests arrive dressed for the part. I will serve them all jelly and ice cream on paper plates and we can all play silly games before being entertained by a clown. The clown will be a fantastic addition to proceedings because the particular friend who is so fond of hearing aid jokes is also terrified of clowns. Oh sweet revenge.

Fine Details

The party can be topped off by the handing out of party bags and sweets and then insisting the guests are collected by their parents before 6 pm so I can enjoy the rest of my day in peace. The event will, in fact, be my fifth birthday revisited. The trouble is I have a horrible feeling that my friends might actually enjoy it!

Citations:

• Photograph by Alan Levine Via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Featured images:

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  License: Creative Commons image source 

We have found Gifts for Tweens an awesome place for kids party bag fillers. Good for kids' parties!