I need Retirement Party Ideas?

My siblings and I are having a retirement/birthday party for our dad. We're renting a restaurant for the evening and having around 80 guests. We're serving dinner and that's all lined up. I'm looking for ideas for decorating. However, what I really need are ideas for activities we can do to keep it lively and fun. Though we're not settled on a theme, we were thinking maybe Vegas or Gameshow (Dad loves gameshows). Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks!

Public Comments

1. well i would do like u said game shows like wheel of fortune or a really fun game show that u know he would love but dont go to over board were everythin goes out of control...; )
2. game show would be super fun! maybe call it The Price is Retirement! put on the invites "Come on Down- you are the next contestant on The Price is Retirement!" play games with guests where you pick a few names from a hat of everyone there- set it up like the game- make them guess the answer to a question about your dad or something-then they compete in game-show type events! watch the price is right for some ideas on games- have special prizes to the winners- cheap stuff, find whatever on clearance racks or dollar store. make a price is right cake picture cake, decorate in crazy colors. i just searched and they have a board game of it! http://www.educationallearninggames.com/party-games-family-games-5.asp
3. For a game show theme, you could have some "Price is Right" type games. You could also have Jeopardy questions about your dad and see who knows him best. Have prizes that are goofy and silly (and cheap). For Vegas, you can set up some game tables. You could also have a Vegas-style show. If there are enough outgoing and crazy people in your family, you could having singing, dancing, comedy skits, maybe involve the audience with some karaoke. Have silly, goofy (cheap) prizes for participation. Have fun and enjoy yourselves!
4. If you are doing trivia style games, have the questions be from his generation?
5. some suggested themes are: SPORTS – Sports Party TipZ Golf – "Teeing up for an awesome Retirement!", "Retirement suits you to a Tee!"- Golf Party TipZ Baseball – "A Grand Slam of a Career!", "Take me out to the Ballgame!"- Baseball Party TipZ Tennis – "Serving up wishes for an Ace Retirement" Fishing – "Casting Wishes for a "Reel" Great Retirement!' Sailing/Boating – "Bon Voyage", "Setting Sail for A Brighter Tomorrow", "Anchors Aweigh!" Sports Spectator/Couch Potato – "King of the Remote", "Sports Fanatic!", "Take me out to the Ball Game!" BOWLING - "Striking-up for a Ball of a Retirement" Racing – "Revved-up for Retirement", Race Day Theme Surfing – Cowabunga Surf's Up Theme BOAT BUILDING- "Building a Better Tomorrow", "Anchor's Away!", Cruise Ship Theme Tips TRAVELING- "A World of Wonder Awaits!" NATURE - Hiking/Camping – "The Great Outdoors awaits!" Environmentalist – "Rainforest Safari", Gardens & Parks Theme JIGSAW PUZZLES- "You've made this picture complete!" MUSIC- "Set the Night to Music", " In 30 Years You've never missed a Beat!" MOTORCYCLES/HARLEY DAVIDSON- "Hog Wild!" Theme PRO WRESTLING- "Stone Cold Steve (retiree's name) retires at the Peak of his Career!" WINE CONNOISSEUR- Wine Tasting party-"A Vintage Career!" GARDENING- "Everything's Coming up Roses" or "Time to Blossom", Gardens & Parks Theme, Roses Theme WOODWORKING/CRAFTING/SEWING- "Crafting a Brighter Tomorrow!" RODEO/SQUARE DANCING-"Wild Wild West!", "Bye-Bye Buckaroo!" FLYING/HOT AIR BALLOONING/SKYDIVING- "Flying High Into the Future!". MEDICAL - "Take Two Fun Pills po q PM & Join Us for John's Retirement Bash"! "It's Time to CLOSE a great career" ! " John was a Physician, Not a Magician", but join us now for a Magical close to a rewarding career"! By choosing a theme that fits the interest of the guest of honor, you will have made choosing the perfect gift easier for your other guests…they can purchase something that will be useful for the retiree as they pursue their interests, hobbies, goals or fantasies. We've only hit the tip of the iceberg here…have fun being creative! NOSTALGIA: If a trip down memory lane would appeal to your guest of honor, choose a theme with a nostalgic mood: "REMEMBER WHEN…" "ROAST AND TOAST!" "THIS IS YOUR LIFE!" "NOSTALGIA NIGHT!" Using a nostalgia theme is a wonderful way to hi-light the career and life of the individual you are honoring. Do as much research before the party as you possibly can. Decorate a special chair for the honoree to sit in while they are being toasted, shine a spotlight on him or her, and preserve as many mementos as possible. A thoughtful scrapbook can then be assembled at a later date. If you are including a "Roast", ask the roasters to balance the silly comments with flattering comments…this party should make the guest of honor feel good! Ask each guest to come up with his or her own toast, tribute or remembrance. This can take many different forms: A note of thanks, a tape recorded message, a video segment, a telegram, a singing telegram, a poem, song, or skit, a photo collage, slide presentation, or a homemade music video. If you think you may have reluctant presenters in your group, ask an outgoing guest to serve as MC for the evening, and put everyone at ease. There's a ham in every group! If the idea of spotlighting the life and career of your guest of honor doesn't appeal to you, but you'd still like to invoke a feeling of nostalgia, salute the era most appealing to the retiree, or the decade in which his/her career began. These themes are always a big hit: DECORATIONS: In the entryway place an enlarged picture of the Retiree on an easel and set up a guest Sign in Table with a guest book. Use theme decorations or mix and match Solid Color Tableware for a dramatic accent to your Retirement Party. Use plates, napkins, and cups that coordinate with the Retirees favorite colors. Sprinkle the tables with Confetti for a festive accent. No respectable party tabletop should be left without a sprinkling of confetti ! However, confetti isn't just for tables anymore! Try sprinkling confetti or sparkle powder in a color to match your theme on a dance floor, an outdoor pathway leading to your party location, in party invitations, or even inside balloons for a great, unique touch at a budget price. Hang a personalized retirement banner. Set up a "retirement scene" with a real hammock, their favorite novel, hat (fishing, beach sun visor, baseball & etc.), radio or CD Player, newspaper, pillow and don't forget the tropical or other type of drink. You might even want to stuff some clothes to create a retiree in effigy. Set out memorabilia from significant accomplishments on the job, such as a pictures of a project they worked on or a sample of a product he or she produced, plaques, trophies or awards they have received. Display pictures of the guest of honor as he or she appeared over the years. A nice touch for the evening would be to set up a photo backdrop area - either a balloon arch, columns, or a metallic Curtain so that the retiree can have his/her picture taken with either individuals or groupings of his choice. You will want to take plenty of photographs to document this important once-in-a-lifetime event! Decorating with Balloons, is an inexpensive but powerful way to transform your party area into a festive space in minutes. Attach Streamers to helium filled latex Balloons or Mylar Balloons in coordinating colors around the room. Balloon arches are ideal for photo backdrops, entryways, and to hi-light different areas around your party room and are easy to make. Make Balloon Clusters and hang or pin them to curtains and walls. Use three coordinating colors for the best effect. Make balloon flowers, balloon garlands , balloon columns or balloon arches, Curling Ribbon is a necessity when decorating! It can be used to anchor balloons, attach curling ribbon clusters to accent balloons. Make into curls and scattered over tabletops for an inexpensive and easy decorative touch. Curling Ribbon is available in a multitude of colors, and is easily "curled" with the blade of a pair of scissors. Make crepe rosettes and attach to the corners of the tables. Decorating with Streamers is fun, and it's an easy way to add a flourish of color to your party room with just a few simple steps. Instantly transform your room by draping 2" or 4" wide streamers in your theme colors from the ceiling's center to the room's sides, then attach a cluster of balloons to the ceiling where your streamers meet. For added effect, twist the streamers after they are anchored to a ceilings, walls or a table. To create colorful two-tone streamers, place two different colored streamers back-to-back, and twist for a unique look. Simply twist them as you walk toward the wall, or anywhere you think a good place to attach your streamers would be. You can also gather 6-8 streamers and attach them to your walls (mounting them in corners and on opposite-facing walls works well). Then, twist them and attach them to the ceiling in the center of the room. If a tent-like look is not your preference, they also look terrific hanging from doorframes, cascading vertically down walls or hanging horizontally across ceilings.Streamers can also be used to accent tabletops by making rosettes that can be attached to the corners of table, they can also be used to make bows for gifts. Light fixtures are a good place to attach your streamers, add a small cluster of balloons and some curling ribbon clusters for a marvelous effect. Gossamer is a beautiful, lightweight "fabric" that creates a stunning dreamlike setting for your party when it is draped or hung. You can create fabulous decorating touches for your party with gossamer and it is very reasonably priced and holds its shape beautifully. Gossamer is available in a multitude of colors and theme patterns, and there are different widths to fit any of your party decorating needs. You are in for a delightful surprise, if you have never used gossamer in the past for decorating. Discover the secrets of decorating with gossamer! This exclusive how-to book gives you complete instructions on how to decorate rooms, tables, ceilings, and much more! This is the solution for all your decorating needs! Gossamer can be used in a variety of ways when decorating. If you are decorating a large area, or want to make any area look more intimate and festive use gossamer. It is perfect for hiding the supports, corner posts and steel frame that often show inside of a tent if you will be using one. Hide unsightly walls, ceilings and doorframes with gossamer by draping, swagging, or covering just about anything. Wrap gossamer around columns, stair rails, or balloon arches in your theme colors. Twist or braid two colors together for a stunning look. Transform any room into fantasy location. Create a tent-like appearance in any room by gathering the gossamer at a central point in the ceiling and draping it to the walls. Use it to accent your table by swagging it at the top edge of your table skirting. Make bows out of gossamer streamers to hang on table-ends, chairs, doorways, stair rails or anywhere. Gossamer holds its shape beautifully and can be used at a fraction of the cost of wired ribbon. Use it to cover banquet or reception chairs. Drape a piece of 19" gossamer across the top of each chair back, and then tie a gossamer streamer bow around the back of the chair. The bows can be cut to any length, and even look lovely with tails trailing on the floor. If you have ever used chair bows you know how costly they can be, but gossamer is budget priced and very affordable. Cover a wall with seamless paper and allow guests to leave messages, clever doodles, or creative outlines of themselves for the guest of honor. A really fun keepsake! Start by creating a message of welcome or a greeting to the guest of honor on the sign prior to the party. Then you can clip the doodles and messages after the party and preserve them in a scrapbook! Transform any large room into a spectacular party place. Cover walls, doors, floors, and windows with rolls of Seamless Paper (9' X 36' roll), decorative flat paper (4' X 50' roll), or Poly Vinyl. The paper and the Poly Vinyl both come in a stunning array of colors, and patterns: stars, marble, brick, checkered, cobblestone, and water. Cover a floor with black & white check Poly Vinyl for a fabulous look for a 50's sock hop! Transform ceilings into a starry night sky with a star background paper in black or blue with gold or white stars! Corrugated paper can be used to "build" props and setting pieces like nothing else. Use it to make columns, faux staircases, structures (pirate ship, a fairy castle, a tiki hut, an enormous basketball. Let your imagination run wild), and to cut out shapes and 3-D designs to fit you. Huge geometric shapes are perfect for a general color theme. Corrugated paper can be cut or folded, stands without support, and comes in 17 basic colors, 7 metallic colors (wonderful reflective quality), and 31 different patterns. Checks, bricks, cobblestones, bamboo, lattice, shingles, marbled, you name it! columns provide an elegant decorating touch. Ready-made columns can be accented with gossamer, streamers, or garland, and topped with plants, balloons or corrugated cut outs. They also look sleek and sophisticated standing alone or grouped together. Columns provide a grand entry-way or a great photo backdrop, and also work well to section off a large room (food area, mingling area, etc.) Block off areas of a large room or hide the food service area with Curtains. Use shimmering fabric for a fantasy land feeling. Metallic, vinyl, star, holographic and cracked ice curtains in a dizzying array of colors provide an economical way to add dazzle to doorways, food areas, or photo backdrops. Order Napkins to match your color theme, and have them imprinted with a special message. Even without incorporating a theme in your decorating, you can still delight the guest with a message that lets them know how much you care. You can choose from a wide range of napkins and ink colors. Select a metallic foil, holographic foil, prismatic foil, or traditional ink imprint. The napkins will serve several purposes: great decorating in disguise, and a delightful memento for the guests. Add Twinkle lights to balloon arches, strands, columns or clouds, to gossamer swags and ceiling tents, table edges, around the perimeter of a room, and to hi-light signs, banners and corrugated cut-outs. If there are trees around (even indoors), add Twinkle lights to the trees or make twinkle light balls by wrapping the lights around Styrofoam balls and place them in the trees (with an extension cord). This makes a really unique round light effect. Twinkle lights look lovely when strands are placed down the center of a tabletop. While a white cord blends well with most color schemes, if you want to stick with your color theme, try this idea. Remove the bulbs from the light strand, and spray-paint the cord to match your theme color. Tape dangling light cords to the underside of the table or to the floor. Lots of oohs and aahs will follow! Garland is ideal to mold around centerpieces, outline the edges of tabletops, wrap around Candle bases and votives, garnish gift packages, twine through balloon bouquets and wind around columns. We offer garland to match any color theme, and it is available in metallic, fringe, ivy, and even an iridescent twist ribbon that resembles water. Luminaries provide an easy, very inexpensive tabletop decoration. The candlelight glows softly through the slits for a dreamy effect. Set three or four down the center of a table, with confetti scattered between them, or set one at each place setting. Line walkways, entry paths, room perimeters or stage fronts with these simple but popular decorations. Choose a pair of tropical drink or flamingo luminaries. For a stunning look, line your walkway or patio with our Metallic Star Luminaria. Use shred to fill favor bags, surround centerpieces, line gift baskets and add decorative accents. fOOD IDEAS:(even though you got that covered!) Built-your-own Tacos or Nachos Mini pizzas Burgers and hot dogs Giant deli sandwiches (Subway has a great 6' sandwich) Great staples for a buffet style finger food meal include: Chicken wings Chicken strips (offer 3 or 4 interesting dipping sauces) Meatballs (Swedish or BBQ) Mini egg rolls Whole water chestnuts wrapped in bacon Veggies and dip Assortment of sandwiches made on mini buns (about 3-4 bite size). Make everything ahead of time, and store hot items in a warming tray (can be rented from party rental companies), or in an oven set at 200 degrees until the feeding frenzy begins! Scatter several bowls of munchies around the areas where your guests will be mingling? Chips, pretzels, nuts, M&Ms, popcorn, and Chex Mix.