A Guide to Throwing an [ Epic ] Birthday Party

Introduction

This is your Guide to Throwing an [ Epic ] Birthday Party. It is not your typical guide. There are no  glossy pages, and you will be encouraged to do  some thinking of your own as you dissect the question which has  led you here: “How am I going to host this birthday party?” There  is no need to get anxious. The answers will reveal themselves in  due course.

Before we delve into the matter, it is important to deal with the  concept of a “birthday”. I treat birthdays as sacred. They are  the most special day in a human being’s annual trek through the  beauty of life. If you are choosing to throw a birthday party for  a special someone, you are taking on the responsibility of  celebrating this person’s journey in a given year. Isn’t that  special? Many individuals discard the birthday as just “another  party”, and when given an evite or an email to such an event, go  for the “maybe I’ll show”, “depends what’s going on”. But listen  to yourself: you are choosing, on that special day, to place your  priorities over the life of a friend. Folks, when given the  chance to attend a birthday party, the answer needs to  overwhelmingly be yes. Everything else in life will thereafter  take care of itself.

Understanding the BHB

In the Introduction, I alluded to the sacredness of birthdays.  They document the Birth of a Human Being (the “BHB”). I find  terms such as “birthday boy” and “birthday girl” somewhat boring;  they do not connote any legendary status on such individuals. I  will therefore be referring to the birthday honouree as the “BHB”  throughout the remainder of this Guide.

Let us ask some questions:

• Who is the BHB?
• Who or what is important to the BHB?
• What age will the BHB be turning?
• How do you know the BHB?
• What does the BHB like to do?
• Is the BHB introverted or extroverted?
• Where does the BHB like to hang out?
• Where is the BHB at peace: inside or outside?
• What did the BHB do last year for his/her birthday?

Try and answer as many of those questions as you can. What you’ve  done is taken the time to understand the BHB and your  relationship to the BHB. This is an important step prior to  actually planning the event.
 

The Three Vs – Vibe, Venue, Very important people

Three essential Vs determine the success of a birthday party.  I’ve succeeded and I’ve failed because I haven’t covered one of  the Vs. It’s difficult to capture them all, because you may be  limited by time (you only found out it was your friend’s birthday  at the last minute), by budget, or by scheduling constraints. Do  your best! As host, this all you can do. The BHB will certainly  appreciate your efforts.
 

Vibe

“Vibe” describes the underlying feeling that permeates a given situation. A birthday with a positive vibe features smiling people who are comfortable in their surroundings. Note that vibe extends to EVERYONE’s feelings, not just yours or the BHB’s.  You need to consider how each attendee will like or dislike the activity you have planned for the birthday.

Now you’re probably thinking to yourself, “There’s no way I can please everyone!” And that’s probably true; it’s almost impossible make everyone happy when you choose “one” event to celebrate the BHB. So why not choose maybe two or three events to celebrate the BHB!

A multi-stage birthday party (where you’ve got two or three events in succession in a given day) is often a great solution to being inclusive of the various personalities which make up the BHB’s list of friends. Logistically, it’s more difficult, but it shows you’ve put a lot of time and effort into making the birthday a memorable occasion. Multi-stage events lead to great stories, and invariably positive vibes.

Venue

The venue for the birthday party is an essential factor in the birthday’s success. The venue might be chosen for its proximity to the BHB’s place of residence. It might alternatively be chosen for featuring an activity which the BHB is sure to love. The predominant venue among individuals who have reached the age of majority seems to be a restaurant or a bar, as this allows large groups of people to congregate, there’s no clean-up involved, and when strangers surround one’s table with positive cheer, it can only lead to the happiness.

The venue is where you can be most creative in your duties as host. Don’t be scared to try something new!

Very important people

The last V can often get overlooked: Very important people. You may have planned the perfect event with an ideal location, guaranteed positive vibe, but unless you’ve ensured the right people will be in attendance, it can be a miserable experience. Vips include the BHB’s significant other, key friends, but can also extend to co-workers, relatives, neighbours. You never know who the Vips are until you ask!

So go ahead, ask the BHB for a list of phone numbers or email addresses corresponding to the BHB’s Vips. Furthermore, ask the BHB to break this list down into multiple lists of priority, such as the top ten, top 30, etc. Your party may only be able to accommodate certain amounts of people, so you need to know from your BHB who needs to attend.

I wish you all success in your birthday throwing ambitions! Be [ Epic ].

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