How to organise a surprise 40th anniversary party for my parents?

by Sally-Ann Whillock
(Australia)

Hi Sally

First you need to think about the type of party your parents would enjoy - do they want a big get together with lots of family and friends or a more intimate family meal?

When you have decided it would be good to get some help! This way you cn share some of the tasks of pulling it together!

You will need to find a venue, decide on a date and get it booked. Have a chat with the key members of the party to make sure they can make the date before you book.

When you have your date and venue you will need to organise invitations and send them out, explain on the invite that it is a surprise and to have the replies sent to you.

Closer to the date you will have a better idea of numbers so you can confirm these to the venue if needed and organise the catering. You could even have everyone bring something for the food if you are catering the event yourself.

For decoration you can't go wrong with sticking with the 40th anniversary theme of ruby and have deep red balloons and flowers. You can of course get Happy 40th Anniversary banners and confetti from most party shops.

The tricky part will be to keep this all a surprise - good luck with that! You could tell your parents that you want to take them out for dinner on the date you have set for the party and then you know that they won't plan anything else. Have them picked up by yourself or add to the occasion with maybe a limousine or classic car.

Take a look at more 40th anniversary ideas here.

Don't forget to ask someone to take lots of photos, or arrange a photographer as you will probably be too busy to do this yourself and you don't want to miss anything.

Have fun with the plans

Suzanne and Simon