45th Birthday Party Ideas

40s are the new 30s! Plan a bash you can go wild at with one of our amazing 45th birthday party ideas.

Wine Tasting Party
Kick back and celebrate 45 with some vino. If you live in an area with wineries, get a group together for a day out at the vineyard. Rent a party bus so no one has to worry about driving after the festivities. Check ahead of time for group rates for tasting rooms or if tour rates are available for visiting several wineries in the area. After your do take part in a tasting, purchase a bottle or two and enjoy a picnic! Bring picnic blankets and a basket full of goodies that pair well with white or red— cheese, charcuterie, fruit, and veggies. Don’t forget a baguette and some preserves! Instead of a birthday cake, bring cupcakes with a flavor based on the birthday boy or girl’s wine preference. For red drinkers, bring dark chocolate cupcakes with chocolate fudge frosting and a raspberry filling. For white drinkers, bring lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Purchase a bottle of wine and have everyone sign their name and a birthday message so the guest of honor can enjoy it at home.

40s Party
Honor your 40s with a vintage 1940s fete! Have everyone dress in their 40s best— midi dresses, head wraps, war uniforms, hats, you name it! Decorate the space with long blue curtains like an old stage, with red, white, and blue banners on the top. Hang Rosie the Riveter and Uncle Sam posters along with red, white, and blue balloons. Lay out a red tablecloth and use vintage suitcases to hold up snacks like tea sandwiches, a jello mold, and “ration” portions of meatloaf and mashed potatoes in mini cups. Opt for a simple cake “naked” style with vanilla frosting and fresh strawberries and blueberries on the inside. Kick this party up a notch by doing some swing dancing! Set up a dance floor and hire a swing dance instructor to come teach everyone some moves. Get a vintage radio or record player and dance the night away!

Birthday Brunch Party
Waffles, bacon, eggs— who doesn’t love brunch?! Throw this sophisticated affair for your 17 year old. Hold the party on Sunday morning and decorate with signs in frames like “Babes who Brunch” and “But first, Brunch.” Go with monochromatic decor and let the brunch goodies speak for themselves. Get a black and white striped tablecloth and use white serving trays and pedestals. Surround it with white balloons and add fresh flowers to drink vases for a chic spin. Instead of a cake, get a cake stand and arrange doughnuts on it to resemble a tiered cake! Serve chicken on mini waffle sandwiches, bacon, fresh fruit, and muffins. Set up a coffee bar as well as a “mimosa” station with fruit juices, champagne, and fresh berries for garnishes. Play a game of brunch trivia— ask the birthday boy or girl questions about their favorite foods and drinks and have everyone try and guess the answers. As favors, give everyone a gift set of waffle mix and maple syrup to bring the brunch home!

Costume Party
It doesn’t have to be Halloween to look out of this world! Go crazy with this fun costume party! Tell everyone to show up in their favorite costume. Set a theme if you’d like— animals, decades, TV characters, you name it! Create a treat table with a bright tablecloth and decorate it with cutouts based on the theme you choose like characters or animals. Serve simple snacks like chips and candy, along with cake pops and sugar cookies to complement your theme. Serve tasty cocktails in large punch bowls, or set up a cocktail station with fun glasses, paper straws, and garnishes. Get a tiered cake with costume party decor like masks, hats, and boas. Set up a dance floor and have everyone get moving! Hold a costume contest by choosing three people to act as judges. Give everyone a turn to strut their stuff across the floor, then announce the winner! Gift the winner with a gift card to a local costume store so they can kill it at the next great party, too!

Backyard Rodeo Party
Yeehaw! This rodeo bash is no bull. Tell everyone to arrive in cowboy and cowgirl attire— jeans, boots, plaid shirts, and cowboy hats! Transform your backyard into a barnyard by setting up hay barrels around the perimeter as seats, along with tables dressed in red checker print tablecloths. Get a cow-print cake and set up a table of treats with pigs in a blanket (lil hot doggies), pulled pork sliders, and wagon wheel pasta salad. Stack Rice Krispy treats to look like mini hay barrels and cut brownies into circles like cow pies! Serve “cactus juice” margaritas in pitchers along with moonshine sangria punch! Set up an outlaw photo booth with a wanted poster that everyone can stick their head into to take a shot. Set up a game of horseshoes along with an apple bobbing station! Go big and rent a mechanical bull to place in the middle of the party, but don’t forget safety measures like a padded platform. See who can tame the bull best!

Smooth Sailing Party
Sail away with this nautical celebration! Get a small group together and charter a boat to take you out on the ocean or a lake. Bring the party onboard and decorate with buoys and anchors. Give everyone a fun sailor hat when they arrive— you should be able to find sailor hats in bulk online or at your party store. Set up a table with a red or blue chevron tablecloth. Forgo the cake and bake blue velvet cupcakes with white cupcake wrappers. Use sticks and nautical paper cut into triangles as sails on top! Serve fruit in a watermelon boat, goldfish crackers, and sailboat-shaped cookies. Serve champagne or create a signature cocktail like a rum margarita with lime wedges. If it’s possible, have the captain give everyone a mini lesson or let them steer the wheel!

Luau Party
Mahalo! Bring the spirit of Hawaii to you with this luau celebration! Have everyone wear their favorite Hawaiian shirt or beach gear, and place a lei on all the guests as they arrive. For women, have a bucket of hair flowers, too! Create a tablescape with a blue tablecloth that’s adorned with palm tree leaves. Hang grass skirts behind the table along with pineapple balloons! Serve tacos, Hawaiian pizza, and slices of fresh fruit. Get a palm tree cake and accompany it with upside down cake pops decorated as pineapples! Create a drink station with liquors, bright colored juices, fruits, straws, and umbrellas, so everyone can make their own refreshing drink. Hire a hula instructor to come teach everyone a traditional dance. Don’t forget to hand out the grass skirts! You can even hire a ukulele player to come play songs and make it sound just like Hawaii! For favors, send everyone home with a mini ukulele to practice at home!

NYC Party
Does the birthday boy or girl love NYC? Bring the city to you with this cosmopolitan celebration. Decorate with paper cutouts of the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, or Freedom Tower. Create a treat table with a red tablecloth and city street signs, subway signs, and mini taxis. Serve NYC food like pepperoni pizza, bagels with cream cheese, and hot dogs. Get a Big Apple shaped cake, or a cake with the Statue of Liberty on top! Send everyone home with their own I <3 NYC t-shirt (check online for buying in bulk). If you live near NYC, bring the party downtown by renting a bus and taking everyone to famous spots like the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and Battery Park! Make a reservation for a delicious dinner in Little Italy or Chinatown. It may be the city that never sleeps, but we’re sure everyone will be tired after this busy bash!Fitness Party
Birthdays aren’t just about cake. Well, maybe they are, but they can be about staying in shape, too! Take your group to a fitness studio of the birthday boy or girl’s choosing. Spinning, Barre, or Cross Fit? Anything goes! Instead of bringing gifts, have everyone who attends pay their own admission to the fitness class. Or if you have the space, bring the workout to you! Set up a spot in your house or your backyard and hire a trainer to come give everyone a kick-butt workout. Give everyone a tank top to wear with fun sayings like “Get swole” or “Watch me lift, watch me whey whey.” After the class, bring the party home to re-energize. Set up a simple table with a veggie platter, hummus, caprese skewers, and veggie sushi rolls. Bake an angel food cake and decorate it with whipped cream frosting and fresh strawberries. Set up a drink station with dispensers filled with fruit-infused waters and Gatorade.

Detective Party
Do you love a good birthday mystery? Bring it to life with a detective party! From Carmen Sandiego to Nancy Drew, everyone can be a sleuth! When each guest arrives, make sure they get a pair of detective glasses and a cocktail with a mustache straw. Set up a mystery scene with footprints and caution tape, then lay out clues to help them solve the crime! Let everyone search solo, or break everyone into teams, to figure out the mystery. Have a cake with a mystery filling so the guest of honor doesn’t know what’s in it until it’s cut. You could even bake up some magnifying glass-shaped cookies or, thumbprint cookies! Decorate the table with magnifying glasses, and murder mystery decor like candlesticks, ropes, and wrenches. Serve food that’s easy to eat while on the hunt like deviled eggs, beef sliders, and “hot on the trail” mix.