40th Birthday Celebration Ideas
Turning forty is not something that everyone looks forward to, so take the edge off the big day with some of these fun 40th birthday celebration ideas.
Think about having a 1970s theme since a forty year old is likely to remember a lot of fun times from that decade. Ask all the guests to dress up in bell-bottoms, mini skirts, or hippie outfits with love beads. There’s a lot of nostalgia with that era, and most people will enjoy dressing like that anyway! Decorate the house with lava lamps, disco bead curtains, bean bag chairs, disco balls, and a strobe or black light. These accessories should get everyone in the mood for celebrating!
Everyone loves memories of their youth, so have fun going through a unique 40th birthday gift of retro candy that forty year olds grew up with. There's penny candy and other things like Pop Rocks, Razzles, Fun Dip, and Bottle Caps to reminisce about.
A real fun and unique idea to get people in a crazy mood at a 40th birthday party is to play party games like you used to when you were a kid. No kidding! Everyone will be having a ball!
You can play musical chairs with tunes from the 1970s. Try the version where you set the chairs in a big circle, and everybody has to sit down when the music stops, but you’re not allowed to touch the floor with your feet when you sit. That’s because instead of eliminating a person, you eliminate a chair after each round. All the people will be piling into a few chairs toward the end. It makes it more challenging if you can’t touch the floor, and mostly everyone at this 40th birthday celebration will be laughing with hysterics.
Another game idea is Pin the Tail on the Donkey, where you blindfold the guests. The person who pins the tail the farthest away from where the tail is supposed to be is the winner! Instead of using the traditional donkey, you can use a depiction of the 40th birthday person for some added humor.
You can play clips of music from the '70s and divide the people into teams. Have them shout out the name of the song, and which ever group gets the most right, wins bragging rights.
Hot Potato is another fun game to play. Have everyone stand in a circle and toss a potato, small ball, or apple to each other while the music is playing. The person who has the "hot potato" last when the music stops is out of the game. You continue to play until only one person is left. Hot Potato can get very fast paced and be competitive. Reliving these games that you once played as kids are ideas that can make this 40th birthday a celebration to remember!
Think about having a 1970s theme since a forty year old is likely to remember a lot of fun times from that decade. Ask all the guests to dress up in bell-bottoms, mini skirts, or hippie outfits with love beads. There’s a lot of nostalgia with that era, and most people will enjoy dressing like that anyway! Decorate the house with lava lamps, disco bead curtains, bean bag chairs, disco balls, and a strobe or black light. These accessories should get everyone in the mood for celebrating!
Everyone loves memories of their youth, so have fun going through a unique 40th birthday gift of retro candy that forty year olds grew up with. There's penny candy and other things like Pop Rocks, Razzles, Fun Dip, and Bottle Caps to reminisce about.
A real fun and unique idea to get people in a crazy mood at a 40th birthday party is to play party games like you used to when you were a kid. No kidding! Everyone will be having a ball!
You can play musical chairs with tunes from the 1970s. Try the version where you set the chairs in a big circle, and everybody has to sit down when the music stops, but you’re not allowed to touch the floor with your feet when you sit. That’s because instead of eliminating a person, you eliminate a chair after each round. All the people will be piling into a few chairs toward the end. It makes it more challenging if you can’t touch the floor, and mostly everyone at this 40th birthday celebration will be laughing with hysterics.
Another game idea is Pin the Tail on the Donkey, where you blindfold the guests. The person who pins the tail the farthest away from where the tail is supposed to be is the winner! Instead of using the traditional donkey, you can use a depiction of the 40th birthday person for some added humor.
You can play clips of music from the '70s and divide the people into teams. Have them shout out the name of the song, and which ever group gets the most right, wins bragging rights.
Hot Potato is another fun game to play. Have everyone stand in a circle and toss a potato, small ball, or apple to each other while the music is playing. The person who has the "hot potato" last when the music stops is out of the game. You continue to play until only one person is left. Hot Potato can get very fast paced and be competitive. Reliving these games that you once played as kids are ideas that can make this 40th birthday a celebration to remember!
You might be interested in a box of retro candy for the party. Check these out: 40th birthday gift, Over the Hill - Happy Birthday Retro Candy & Toys, and 40th birthday gag gift idea.