My thirty-third birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks. I haven't given much thought to a party. In fact, I haven't had a real birthday party since the sixth grade. Then it was a punk-rock themed slumber party. It was the 80's, and I was 12. It was the best that I could come up with.Usually, I'm just happy if my family manages to sit around the dining room or a restaurant table without killing each other on my birthday. It's rare, but it occasionally happens, especially now that my sister tends to skip the event. Given her constant bad moods, her absence is the best present that she can give me.
That being said, I sometimes wonder what kind of party I would want to have if I ever did have one. I can't exactly throw punk-rock slumber parties anymore. Okay, maybe I can, but they would no way resemble the type of slumber parties that a 12-year-old would throw. Celebrations.com, a web site that has suggestions for all kinds of parties, from birthday to Super Bowl parties, has given me a few, less X-rated ideas on the subject.
For example, the site has this one idea for a birthday party called "You Only Live Once, Eat Dessert First" party. The site's authors actually recommend that you eat dessert first, middle, and last; that is, they recommend that dessert be the only food type present. However, they don't suggest that you limit the desserts to just one type, like chocolate birthday cake. Instead, you should diversify into other desserts, like cheesecake, pies, cookies, and berry-based dishes. The idea behind the party is that, for just one day, you're allowed to throw your diet and New Year's Resolutions out the window and just eat whatever you want. While I'm not currently on a diet, I know that there are plenty of people around me who are so I like the idea of not being the only person foregoing salad for something sweet and fattening.
For my 40th birthday, which is just a few short years down the road, Celebrations.com recommends celebrating the decade that I was born in, the 70's. I was born in 1976, so I don't remember that much about it, but luckily Celebrations.com does. They have suggestions for songs, decorations, and food for a 70's-themed party. I'd be happy with all of them, so long as get to wear a pair of white Go-Go boots and do my cheesiest Saturday Night Fever impression. "Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk, I'm a woman's man, no time to talk...Ah, ha, ha, ha. Stayin' alive. Stayin' alive..."
Seriously, though, what I really want is a "You Finally Got a Job" party for my birthday, complete with a nice, cushy, well-paying job that doesn't suck the life out of me like my last one, wrapped up in a big, red bow. A new Prius in the driveway with a matching bow would be nice, too. A girl can dream, right?
