Over the course of the past two weekends, I’ve realized something pretty important about the art of party throwing: It’s always better to throw a surprise.
Why a surprise? Well, besides the obvious “surprise” element –which is like getting a shot of adrenaline mixed with an entire bottle of let’s-get-loopy-and-not-know-what’s-happening wine — you reap the benefits of being surrounded by your most valued family and friends who have come together to selflessly plan and give you an experience that you neither requested nor expected.
Allow me to explain. Getting a surprise party is a lot like winning the lottery … without having to play a scratch off ticket.
We’ve all planned our own parties. We’ve even gone the step to co-plan them with other “birthday neighbors,” so that the stress of getting [insert crazy number of people here] to your birthday bash is relieved. Oh, and so you get those coveted bar specials thanks to attracting a large group of people.
But a bar birthday party? Or even a birthday party that you plan yourself? It’s all good fun, but what’s most fun is walking into a party that you had no control over — not even your attendance! It’s like the universe plotted a positive experience for you, giving you the equivalent of that Christmas excitement you felt as a child with a whole lot more shock factor involved.
Everyone deserves a surprise birthday party because everyone deserves to have a hands-free birthday celebratory experience. To quite literally walk into their party that the people who love them most invested time and energy to plan and prepare to perfection. There’s no stronger sense of love than to recognize that your [insert best friends/family here] reached out to YOUR friends, and thought of YOUR interests and tastes to create the party of your dreams … except with a surprise party, you weren’t even dreaming about it in the first place. It’s like a desert mirage that comes true.
So here’s the question: Do you have a friend’s birthday fast approaching? Are they refusing to plan their own party, or just gathering people at a ho-hum bar to toast to another year on this planet? Embrace the opportunity and plan a surprise party for them now!
Check out these two videos below for some serious inspiration — the first, highlighting the bewildered and befuddled look on my friend/roommate Jesse’s face when he enters a karaoke bar lobby to his surprise birthday bar.
The second video highlights my stepmother’s huge smile and eyes (note how both Jesse & Jes show hilarious emotion in their facial expressions!) when she realizes that a “dinner out with the girls” was really a ploy for her to walk into a 15-person plus celebration honoring her 40th birthday. The theme? Zombies — because she loves the undead — and because even at 40, she’s “more alive than ever.
Add it to your bucket list today: Plan someone’s surprise birthday party, and I promise, the universe will give you a surprise party in return.
Jesse North’s Surprise Birthday Party! // The Grand Entrance SURPRISE! from Sammy Davis on Vimeo.
Zombie Birthday Surprise // The SURPRISE! from Sammy Davis on Vimeo.
That’s a good point that a surprise party will be a good way to remove most of the stress from having a party from the person who you are celebrating. I have a friend who hates to plan parties and clean up after them. I’ll have to consider setting up a surprise party and activity we could do so they don’t have to worry about it at all.
I’ve seen several surprise parties go horribly wrong because the person it was being thrown for didn’t want it. These are a terrible idea and very old fashioned.
No, some people would be absolutely furious if they were surprised with a party for themselves. I am one of those people. I hate being the center of attention and I don’t host parties. People know not to invite me to parties because I never go. If someone did this to me, our relationship would be over. I’d leave the party, or (if it was at my home) I’d kick everyone out.