Tips on planning a successful surprise birthday party

If you’re planning a surprise birthday party, there are a few things you need to know to make it successful. Most essential is that it indeed, be a surprise! You’d be amazed at how often the cat gets out of the bag long before the party. The surprise is perhaps the best feature, so don’t blow it.

One way to make sure the guest of honor is out of the loop until they walk in the door is to swear everyone to secrecy right from the start and let them know that all communications about details, planning, questions, answers in fact, anything pertaining to your surprise birthday party, must be conveyed through email. This locks up loose lips. Most surprise party plans get loose when the guest of honor overhears a couple guests talking, or is told by someone in a thoughtless remark. No talk at all!

Before you get started planning your surprise birthday party menu, you want to be sure they have no other plans for that day. This requires a bit of subterfuge and caginess to succeed. You can try this approach. Say, I’ve got a couple of tickets to (theatre event, new movie) for January 10th (plug in their birthday here). Are you free? Don’t mention anything about ‘your birthday’. If they say, Yeah, that sounds great! you can start planning. They know when their birthday is, so it’ll ring a bell right away. If they say, Oh wow, that’s my birthday and my family’s planning a ski trip, just say, I didn’t know that’s your birthday! Well, have a great trip!. Then regroup and find a new party date.

In this case, you’ll want to have another guest approach the guest of honor with the new date and a different proposal, to avoid any suspicion. If you’re throwing the party for your sister, she knows you know when her birthday is! Get your Mom or Aunt to help out here.

When planning your menu, consider a potluck, buffet style serving. This way, if your surprise birthday party is on a weeknight, it’s easy enough for everyone to bring a dish and just enjoy the fun.

Take a trip to a party supply store for your decorations and attractive heavy-duty paper plates. This way, glassware and silverware are all you’ll have in the way of cleanup.

Here’s another tip on throwing a successful surprise birthday party. Age related roasts should be avoided after the age of 30! Many people are sensitive to feeling ‘over the hill’, although they appear to enjoy the joke. Don’t take a chance here, unless you’re absolutely certain they will find it funny.

Getting the guest of honor to the party is easy. Depending on what your purported reason is going to the theatre or whatever you pick them up and then tell them, Oh, I’ve got to stop for a second at (party location) to pick up (whatever) before we go do you mind? Voila.

When you contemplate throwing a surprise birthday party, remember that shy or reclusive types may not enjoy opening a door, to be met with a large gathering of partyers, yelling Surprise! If your friend is a shrinking violet, give it some thought before proceeding!