Idea's for Grandma's Birthday Party...

It might be neat for everyone to bring memory/story they have about grandma written on a nice piece of paper and then at the party maybe they can share it or just give it to you and you can place them all in a binder and grandma will have a book full of memories!

Something we did for my Grandma's 90th birthday was make a big timeline out of butcher paper and stick it to the wall. Basically it started the year she was born and had a mark at the year of her 90th birthday (didn't want it to end then!), and everyone who came filled in big events along the way, like the years her kids, grandkids and great grandkids were born, the year she and Grandpa got married, the years everyone else got married, etc. It was really easy, everyone put in their own stuff with magic markers, and we all ended up having a ton of fun with it.
Hope the party is tons of fun!

I was away overseas when my grandmother's 80th was celebrated but my family went all out and video taped it. It was the most hysterical thing I'd ever seen. We all have quarks...well my aunt and cousins decided to act on it and put on skits about the funny things grandma did (wrapping her hairdo in toilet paper to keep it "fresh", eating (and offering EVERYONE) Little Debbie's and Diet Cokes, etc...) In fact, as a party favor, everyone left with a Little Debbie & a Diet Coke. During the filming and editing of the video they made it into a life story using the photos to tell a story of how the girl met the boy, got married, had kids, etc. and told all the funny stories that were handed down over the years throughout it. When they sent me the video I nearly peed my pants I was laughing so hard! My sides hurt for days after that! It's a lot of work, but boy did everyone have fun putting it together!

We bought her a new recylner and have her a huge party. I did a photo album afterwards. She loved it.

I know you said something about having everyone sign something...which isn't a bad idea. Buy a frame and mat and have everyone sign the mat and then take a family group picture or a group picture of everyone at the party, then get it printed big enough to fit the mat. Then she can see everyone who came to celebrate and read everyone's well wishes to her on her 80th. You can then hang it on a wall that she will see or pass by fequently. To reach 80 years, wow, isn't that awesome. Good luck and God Bless.

We did something kind of neat for my parents 50th - we asked everyone to send in (or bring) photo's and a short written piece about them (or her in this case) and then we created a scrap book for them. They really liked it.

Good Morning L.'s, I didn't look to see what others suggested so here is my idea. Get pictures from when she was young with her parents, siblings etc, and through the years till now. Put them in several assorted sized frames and have people write things they remember about your Gr. Mama to put into a memory book. Times you spent the weekend or went shopping, baked cookies, just little or long stories you remember personally. Stories she told you when she was growing up. I have a beautiful hand made memory book from my fathers Mothers 80th birthday, with a picture of her in the center of it. As Oldest gr child I was given it when she passed away. There are about 30-40 notes and letters with special pictures for some with the notes.

If someone is good with Computers, Attaching Pictures, adding music and video you could do a "This is your Life" DVD to show at the party.

God Bless and what ever you do for her she will adore it.
K. Nana of 5

On my Mom's 75th we all chipped in and got her a little diamond necklace that had a diamond for each of her kids and her grandkids, 7 in all. It was not terribly expensive. She and I were talking about BIG birthdays last night (she's 81 now) and she reminded me of it!!! So, it must have made an impression!

Good Luck!

On my parents 50th anniversary, they took all of their kids and grandkids on a cruise. On the day of their anniversary, we all showed up wearing shirts we had made with their wedding picture on them. They were speechless and both started crying. It was one of the best memories I have of that day. Maybe you can find a picture of her and make t-shirts with her picture that say, Happy Birthday, we love you or something to that effect.

Good luck.

When my Grandma celebrated her 80th many years ago, she had several elderly friends and relatives that lived out of state or couldn't attend due to health issues. I sent a note to each of them requesting that they write a note/letter which included past memories of their time spent together and return it to me. I had a HUGE response and I bought a special scrapbook to hold the notes/letter/cards and photos from the party. She thoroughly enjoyed reading and re-reading them for the next 13 years that she was alive. It was truly a gift that kept on giving.

For my grandmothers 80th we made her a small scrapbook that she keeps on her table. How many grand or great-grand children does she have, have a picture done with her and then make a gift with it, coffee mug or something like that. I know it all sounds cheesy, but think of it, what kind of memento would you like? This may help you make your choice.

my grandpa just had his 80th in january, and one thing we did was a video of everyone in the family saying something to the birthday boy. whether it was a shared memory or a simple "i love you", whatever came to mind. my aunt then took all the video clips and made a movie out of them, with music from my grandpa's collection and pictures of his family and friends. it seemed a little bit more "memorial service" than "birthday", at the time, but once we saw it all together and saw him watching it, it was priceless. he loved it. my grandma said he watched it again as soon as they got home. another idea we had (which we stole from oprah) was to put a box out on a table and have each person write a nice note. it's very similar to the video idea, which was why we didn't do both. but again, could be a shared memory, a thank you, a "you're great because..."...whatever. just a couple thoughts. good luck!

Instead of pictures why not have everyone dress in the fashions of grandma's life. 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's etc. Then you could tell a story from her life in each era. Or you could go for the changes in each era. From automobiles to electronics. Hope it works out. Tell grandma Happy Birthday.

Along the lines of having someone sign something - each family "branch" of the tree could make their own scrapbook page. That way she will have a completely unique scrapbook when they are all put together. You would be surprised at how creative some people can be when they only have to do one page!

I LOVE the flower idea too - maybe you could do both? The flowers for now, and the scrapbook will last forever.

You've got some really great ideas here so far! I hope you guys have a great time. I was just reminded of something, not at an 80th birthday party, but from my wedding that you might be interested in. I actually got the idea from my cousin's wedding. Anyway, in the inviations to the wedding shower, a small piece of white cloth was sent, in hopes of the recipient creating a piece that they could bring to the party and I could later take them all make them into a quilt. They could design them however they wanted. They either put pictures on there or wrote a nice message to us. That could be something that could be adapted to a birthday, if someone could help make the quilt once all the pieces were gathered...Best wishes!

Hey there...you could put together a "Memory Book." One of my fondest childhood memories was standing next to my Grandmother and being her little helper in the kitchen. When she passed away my mother gave me one of my grandmother's aprons. It will always remind me of her. So maybe you can have family members bring in items of a special event or memory that they shared with your Grandmother. In the book you would then write a description of the item and why it was included in the book and of course who brought it in. You could certainly adapt this and change it, this is just an idea. Good luck.

Since I am also a 58 year old grandma of 20 and great grandma of 11 I may have an idea for you. Several years ago my family gave me a tablecloth with all my children, grandchildren, and grandchildren handprints on it. They did this with fabric paint of some kind. I LOVE IT! You could also put the handprints on pillow cases too. Hope you get some good suggestions. Ale

For my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary, I made a poster board of events that happened the year that they were married. It actually was very easy to do and it really didn't take me that long, thanks to the internet. You wouldn't believe the number of people that stood there and stared at that poster, including them, and kept saying "I completely forgot about that" and "I didn't know that happened then". They still have it in their bedroom on their dresser displayed to remember not only the year that they were married, but their anniverary. That might be a good idea. The really good poster board was about $6 but the cheaper one was about $2 and it worked just as well, so there really wasn't that mush cost going into the project either. At the very end of the poster, I put "And last, but certainly not least, they started their life together as a couple, they have shared many memories, have made many great friends, they have had a wonderful family, and all of these continue to grow as their love for one another continues to grow." Which you could instead add that something to the effect of "And, of course, Grandma was born. A great woman that has given us so much wisdom, so much guidance, ..." Sorry, I was thinking of my grandma and coming up with the idea of what to say. I always like to do stuff that comes from the heart and from the brainstorming and hardwork, it seems like they appreciate it a little more. I hope this helps. I would be more than willing to help you with ideas for 1929 if you would like, free of charge. I like to learn about history and like to do the creative stuff.

We hired a limousine for my Grandma's 80th B-Day party. We had mainly family and a few of her lady friends from church invited. We stated on the invite that her friends should be dropped off at the party and a special ride would be provided for their return home. Towards the end of the party, we had a white limo show up and take Gram and her friends on a scenic ride around town and then dropped each lady off at home. There was still time left on our contracted time with the driver so he brought Gram back to the party and took the grandkids out for quick little rides until everyone had a turn. It was great fun and you should have seen the ladies faces when they saw the limo to take them home! Most had never been in one, or at least for an occasion other than a funeral! (we made sure it was a white car so it did not remind them of funerals)
Hope you have a fun time!

Ok, it may not be the best but have everyone bring a rose/flower with the goal of getting 80 flowers! Granted they won't last but we did this with my grandmother for her 70th several years ago an it actually was kinda cool to see 70 roses in vases all over at her party.

Good luck and give grandma a hug for me.

Lori K.
www.YourKitchenCoach.net

How about a plain white table cloth that everyone could write their names and a short message on. We did that for my FIL 80th.

I dont know how much lead time you have...or if this is strictly a family affair...but if you are contacting friends from your Grandmothers life...I am sure a lot of them live too far away to actually attend...but ask them to send you a letter...detailing their times together and wishing her a Happy Birthday. Can you sneak her address book out of the house and contact everyone in it??? Maybe you could put all of the letters and cards into a photo album, so they are all together and easy for her to look at.
I would also ask the grandchildren and great grandchildren to do something special. Whether it would be a Christmas Tree Ornament, a photo of themselves that they decorate a "frame" to....you could get some ideas from elementary school teachers for what they have their children do for Mothers Day or Christmas.
Bless you for making your Grandma's day special!!
R. Ann