While I love sharing gorgeous parties with you, I also wanted to share some birthday party ideas for those times when it’s more than just a typical dinner party! More specifically, birthday party ideas for the adults (gals this time, but head here for birthday ideas for the guys)! If you’re not celebrating at a restaurant or other venue for your birthday, then jazz up your table at home with a festive birthday party tablescape! The bright pinks and oranges in this design make it the perfect birthday party idea for you, your mom, best friend, etc.! You could obviously recreate this with any color scheme, I just happen to love the bright hues! You’re never too old for pink! Or celebrate one of your favorite girlfriend’s by surprising her with a birthday dinner party!
When it comes to adult birthday party ideas, you want to blend the “birthday” fun of party hats and party horns with real dishes and glassware. It’s a bit like taking a kid’s birthday party and giving it a fancy twist. You still have all the celebratory aspects but with a bit more upscale “feel” so pop the champagne and don’t be afraid to scatter your table with party hats. If you’ve seen the cover of my new book, you know what I’m talking about!
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Party food for the adults can still be delicious! While I love sophisticated canapes, sometimes you can please the crowd by serving some Southern favorites like mini chicken and waffles. If you want to serve them “Nashville-style”, then bring the heat and serve spicy chicken bites on top of the mini waffles. Drizzle with syrup or honey and serve! Or serve your favorite dips in little phyllo cups (I love to use spinach artichoke dip or chicken salad).
Here is a great resource list for some of my favorite party appetizers!
- 7 Gluten-Free Party Appetizers
- Shrimp Tostada Bites
- Caramelized Onion & Pear Tarts
- Bourbon-Infused Cranberry & Goat Cheese Bites
- 18 Skinny Appetizers
- How to Set Up a Cheese Board
For dessert, I simply took a chocolate cake and gave it a lot of pizzazz with fresh peonies and tall, pink birthday candles for added drama! It’s these little details that truly make a “wow” statement. You can use any flower you like (or get faux flowers from a craft store) to jazz up a birthday cake or cupcakes. It’s a simple and inexpensive way to decorate a cake!
Adult Birthday Party Ideas
If you’ve read my blog for any length of time, you’ve likely seen me rave about this set of dishes. I love them, and highly recommend them as a great set for year-round entertaining. You can swap color schemes or holiday themes with a simple set of white dishes, and I love the sophisticated gold rim. The flatware is actually from Amazon (the prices changes so click here to see the current price). I love the mix of white and gold, and it’s quickly becoming a favorite set of mine!
For the printed menu, are you ready for a trick? Use Canva.com! I just grab a fun template and enter my menu items, print, and cut. It’s that simple. I love that you can adjust the colors to match your palette! Certainly you don’t have to have a printed menu, but part of what makes a birthday different than a typical weekend dinner party are these special touches. So I like to add in lots of “special” throughout! Life is short!
You can easily use an online invitation service, but if you’re looking for a printed invite or not interested in designing your own – I love Minted.com! Just a tip: it’s easier to match a color scheme to a printed invite than try to find a printed invite that matches a party you’ve already designed!
I hope you’re inspired to throw an “adult birthday party” because frankly, adults can have some birthday fun too! I’m not sure why parties seem to dwindle down after 16, but I’m taking it on as my personal mission to celebrate BIG every single year.
If you love this idea, check out my book, there are over 50 new recipes and 13 tablescapes (including a birthday for the girls and a birthday for the guys)! I’m so proud that’s been in the #1 spot for it’s category on Amazon almost daily since it went up for pre-order in January 2017! It’s also a great Christmas gift for friends who love to entertain and cook.
What an adorable idea! Thank you
I will be using all of these ideas for my Mom’s birthday on November 2. It was so lovely to meet you in Dallas at Draper James – thanks for putting us as a stop on your book tour! Cheers!
So beautiful! Thank you for sharing the birthday ideas! That glass is so great, I want to buy them.
It’s easier to match a color scheme to a printed invite than try to find a printed invite that matches a party you’ve already designed! me too