75th Birthday Party Ideas

Turning 75 is a milestone to celebrate! Whether your honoree would prefer a smaller gathering or a huge blow-out, you’re sure to find some great 75th birthday party ideas here.

Bingo!

A lively game of bingo is fun for all ages! You can either design and make your own bingo birthday party invitations or buy a kit from a party supply store. If you make your own invitations, you can feature the birthday honoree’s name as letters on the front of the invitation. To make Bingo party decorations, cut large circles of poster board (use a plate as a stencil) and write bingo letters and numbers on them. Paint, color, and decorate the cut-outs and hang them around the party area. You can also buy white mylar balloons and write bingo letters and numbers on both sides with a black permanent marker. Hand out colorful bingo daubers to each guest when they arrive at the party. (Order daubers online ahead of time as they can be hard to find in stores.) A sheet cake provides the perfect bingo-card shape and you (or your baker) will have fun decorating it with columns, letters and numbers. If your prefer cupcakes, then write bingo numbers and letters on ping pong balls to crown each cupcake. Everyone loves prizes, so set up a prize table from which each winner can choose their prize. This Bingo birthday party is sure to be a grand-prize winner!

Golf Party

If your birthday guy or gal is an avid golfer then they will certainly love a golfing par-tee! Plan well in advance by contacting your local golf course to make sure that they can book the tee times for your group and provide space for a swinging party after the golf game. Chances are there will be at least a few guests who are not as handy with a club, so make it a fun day for all by choosing a more-relaxed game format. Try playing Pink Ball— divide into teams of three or four and assign one player the pink ball. Add the pink ball score together with the best of the other three to count for each hole. The winner is the lowest aggregate score and the lowest pink ball score. But be careful, because if you lose the pink ball, you’re out! Or, you can play a game of Bingo, Bango, Bunco — which is a great format when players are of mixed ability because final scores don’t count! Instead, points are awarded for firsts— first player to reach the green, player closest to the hole, first player to putt out, etc. Decorate the party tables with golf-inspired centerpieces such as a glass hurricane vases filled with artificial grass and a tee’d up golf ball. Write happy birthday messages with permanent marker on the golf balls. Make a large sheet cake and frost it in green, grassy frosting. Decorate your cake to look like a colorful golf course with lots of edible mini-golf balls and a tee flag displaying the 75th hole, of course!

75 Years Ago Today

Step back in time to when your birthday king or queen was born. Do a little research to find the most popular trends back then as well as popular music, dance and dress. Feature the winning sports teams, the politics, and the news headlines of the era. Make a poster that lists pertinent facts such as the cost of a half gallon of milk, who was President, the most popular song, dance, and the size of the average American family. Everyone will have fun and gain a little history lesson at the same time. To take this a step further, ask everyone to dress in vintage attire and recreate the atmosphere of 75 years ago with the food, music, and dancing. Touch everyone’s heart by putting together a slide show featuring events that took place over the birthday honoree’s past 75 years.

Time for a Tea Party!

While this idea might be best suited for your birthday lady, you can substitute coffee or a favorite libation for your male birthday honoree. Create a cozy environment by keeping the guest list to around 10 or less guests so that the birthday lady can easily mingle with each of her guests. Cover a large table with a white linen tablecloth. Place the tea at one end of the table and make sure to leave plenty of room for yourself. Or set up several smaller tables that will seat up to four guests each. Place lemon, milk, honey, and sugar next to the tea, and the rest of the food at the other end of the table. It’s normal at tea parties for the guests to serve the food themselves while the hostess serves the tea. Tea parties are semi-casual affairs, but don’t be afraid to get a bit dressier than you would for a normal gathering with friends. Wear a pretty hat that you’d wear to carnivals, summer festivals, or any elegant event, such as a wedding or anniversary party. Choose a variety of teas, such as orange rind, lemon, green, chamomile, peppermint, berry, and peach. Typical foods include mini-sandwiches, scones, crumpets, biscuits, cookies, fresh fruit, cheese and crackers, or quiches. Decorate with fresh flowers in pretty vases and ornate doilies. Whether you choose to have an “afternoon tea” between the hours of 3 pm and 5 pm, or “high tea” between the hours of 5 pm and 7 pm, you and your guests will be delighted!

Wine and Cheese Please!

If you’re on a budget, assign a particular country to each guest and ask them to bring a bottle of wine specific to that region and a type of cheese that pairs well with it. You supply the venue, wine glasses, breads, and fruit. Crackers are another great option to serve with the wine and cheese. Choose either a casual buffet or a more formal table setting by placing the cheese and wine on separate tables that are dressed in elegant linen. Give each guest a unique wine glass charm when they arrive. Give your guests an elegant “thank you” gift as a token that will remind them of this special birthday. Some options are a cheese spreader, personalized wine glass, wine charm, mini cheese grater, or wine stopper. Remind your birthday guy or gal that they get better with age— just like a fine wine!

Who am I?

Here’s a fun idea that is sure to get everyone mingling! Write the names of famous people (or infamous— the funnier the better!) on note cards. Choose well-known people who are relevant to your guest of honor. When each guest arrives, pin a note card to the back of their clothing. Have them circulate the room while asking everyone questions about who they “are”. Only YES or NO answers are allowed. Provide relevant accessories so everyone can dress up as their famous person for a photo op afterward. Make a Hollywood style backdrop on a large wall for photo ops. Print the photos out so guests can take home a memento of the best 75th birthday party ever!

Movie Night

If you or someone you know has a home movie theater with enough room for all of your guests, you’ve got the perfect venue for this special movie night! If that’s not an option, check into renting out a small local theater or rent a projector and show your movie on a large wall or outdoors on the side of your house. Surprise the birthday guy or gal by finding video footage, slides, and photos of their life by creating a life’s highlights reel. Such a sentimental gift with be irresistible and a great piece of family history for generations to come. Decorate your space like a real cinema by adding some red carpet to welcome everyone. Serve traditional movie food: pop corn, sodas, chili dogs, and boxed movie theater candy. This is a birthday they’ll never forget!

75 Reasons Why I Love You

If you’re looking for a sentimental 75th birthday idea, ask family and friends to write down several reasons why they love your guest of honor. Better yet, send a blank sheet of card stock along with the invitation. Encourage them to include pictures, illustrations, and memories about the guest of honor. Make sure you give them plenty of time to send them back so you can bind them in a 75-page book as a gift. For decorations, use photos of the birthday person through the years (childhood, high school, wedding, birthday parties from years past). Everyone will enjoy the display. Have some tissues on hand for the waterworks that are sure to erupt when you present this touching gift.

50’s Party

Relive the happy days with a 50s themed birthday party. From juke boxes to drive-ins, you can set the scene for good old-fashioned fun. Have your guests wear bobby socks, poodle skirts, rolled-up jeans, and leather jackets. Play 50’s music and have a sock hop. Serve ice cream in parfait glasses, but don’t forget the whipped cream and cherry on top! For your tables, layer a checkered and clear table cover. In between the two, put a bunch of “Back to the Fifties” cutouts. Guests will love the themed diner-style tables, and the clear tablecloth keeps everything from getting messy! Jukebox pinatas make great centerpieces at a 50s theme party! Just add some metallic music note balloons to each table. This rock n’ roll party is sure to get a big thumbs up!

Fishing Party

If your 75-year-old birthday honoree LOVES to fish, but might not be able to get out on the water as easily these days, plan a fishing trip with him (or her) and a group of their favorite fishing buddies. Plan ahead to make sure that he/she’s up for it and prepared for the adventure. Enlist the help of other guests to choose an easily accessible fishing hole or body of water. Provide comfortable transportation and plenty of sunscreen and shade for everyone. Plan to grill the catch of the day when you all return from your fishing adventure. Make a cake in the form of a tackle box with lots of colorful lures and fishing bait like gummy worms Swedish fish. This fishing party is sure to be a “reel” success!

Barbecue

Everyone loves an outdoor cook-out, especially when the weather is nice and warm! Make your barbecue stand out by choosing a theme such as Hawaiian luau, a clambake, surf and turf, or even just deciding on a color scheme. Choosing a theme will help you to design your invitations and narrow down menu options. Consider sending digital e-vites, which makes it easy for guests to respond. Include the basic details like time and place, but also whether kids are welcome and if guests should bring a side dish, dessert, or beverage. Ask about any food allergies or restrictions too. As the sun goes down, you’ll want to add lighting such as citronella candles and strings of lights draped over the party area. Sure, you can throw some beers in a cooler and call it a day. But to make your barbecue memorable, select a signature drink to serve guests. Consider spiking the classic lemonade or making a batch of refreshing sangria the night before the party. Create a playlist beforehand so guests can listen to good music. Classic backyard games like horseshoes, badminton, corn hole, or trivia can liven up your party and keep guests entertained. If there will be children at your party, offer activities that will keep them busy such as a slip and slide, water balloons, or water guns. An arts and crafts table is also a fun option for kid-friendly parties!

Family Tree

Get everyone involved in your family’s history by making a family tree yourself! Cover a large blank wall with thick paper or poster board and draw the base and branches of a large tree on it. Or, if your 75th birthday party will be outdoors, use a partition or standing board and paint the tree trunk and branches. Have each family bring pictures and names to serve as the leaves on the tree and place them on each branch. For some extra fun, have each guest research a little family history trivia to share with everyone at the party. You are sure to discover fun and interesting family facts that you’d have never known otherwise! Prepare and serve your family’s favorite dishes or have each guest bring a family dish that’s been passed down for generations. For an extra-special keepsake, compile a booklet of favorite family recipes and hand them out to guests.

Casino Night

Bring Las Vegas to life by creating a casino in your home! Ask friends or family who are familiar with casino games to be the card dealers and print the basic rules of each game for all of the guests. Rent casino equipment if the budget allows. Blackjack and poker tables are relatively inexpensive, whereas a craps table or a roulette wheel may cost a little more. But while poker and blackjack tables will only fit six to eight players at once, a craps table can accommodate as many as 12 to 15 players at a time. For a well-rounded party, try to offer at least three to four different game options. Consider decorating your gaming room like Caesar’s Palace, one of the most famous casinos, with lots of ancient Rome decor. Place several playing dice in the bottom of a clear vase of flowers to make table centerpieces while adding an elegant casino touch. A simple food idea is to shape cream cheese into a rectangle and dot it to look like a domino with blueberries— just serve with crackers and jam! Decorate the birthday cake to look like a playing card and set out a large bowl of 100 Grand candy bars for a fun flair.