When planning a party for an elderly adult, you’ll want to consider having the guest of honour in on the planning. While surprise parties are fun, they can sometimes be “too much”. Only you know what your special person will be able to handle. An important consideration when planning a party is to schedule the party for a time of day that when the guest of honour will be at his or her best.
If a party will be “too much”, consider throwing a playing card party instead. It is a great way to remember the occasion, but without any stress for the guest of honour.
Some fun party ideas…
Before the party, ask guests to tell you something about the guest of honour – something they did, something they said, something funny…anything special that they remember. Compile these and add them to the slideshow presentation, or read them aloud and mount them in a memory book.
Have a sing-along! Try singing gold old-fashioned songs that everyone will know. This is something old folks did for entertainment before TV. Have sheets with the lyrics printed for younger guests. Songs like “Roll out the barrel”, “When you’re smiling”, “It’s a long way to tipperary ” and other similar songs will be fun for everyone to sing.
For easy games, use printable birthday games.
Show a movie. Pick something that is funny or entertaining (and a favourite of the birthday person). How about the Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Hope and Crosby, Red Skelton, Danny Kaye, Abbott and Costello, Lewis and Martin, etc. Classic TV shows, such as “I Love Lucy” are always a hit too, Project it on a wall, a sheet or on a large screen so that everyone can enjoy!
Sometimes it can be difficult to find birthday party games for elderly adults. If you are looking for a fun game that everyone from young to old can play, how about Birthday Bingo? To do this, create bingo cards where each square is something that is of interest him/her, such as “Crossword Puzzles”, “Golf”, “Nature”, etc. Have all the square possibilities written on slips of paper and placed in a bowl, then play like any traditional game of bingo.
Other fun games for older adults include playing trivia games (especially when playing them orally) and games such as Chess, Bridge, and Dominoes. (These are great fun for any party, not just a 100th birthday!)
