If someone you love is turning fifty soon, you may want to know about these amazing surprise 50th birthday party ideas so that you can throw them a party worthy of this important milestone birthday. 50th birthday celebrations are a time to call all the closest friends and family members together to celebrate the special event in a fun way.
Quick Guide To A Surprise 50th Birthday Party
There are many different 50th birthday party themes for you to consider, but if you’re planning a surprise party, your planning may go a little differently. It’s a good idea to have someone very close to the guest of honor involved in the process because you want to do something they will really love while also still keeping it a secret. Someone close to them will know what they like and be able to answer questions on their behalf, without ruining the surprise.
When you want the birthday boy or girl to love the event but not find out about it until the big day, it’s going to take some careful planning to pull it all off. Surprise parties take a little extra planning and some secret-keeping. So if you are not good at keeping secrets it may be a better idea to get a helper to plan the party. Discretion is a MUST!
With all of that said, let’s go ahead and go over some basics and some ideas for the best surprise party. First, this unique celebration is going to need all the basics of any other party. The guest of honor’s favorite foods, some delicious birthday cake, party guests to share in the fun and have a good time, as well as some of their favorite things. For a 50th birthday party, you might also include a walk down memory lane with some photos or memories of past events of their lives.
You can include milestone events like graduations, marriage, having children, an exciting new job, or other fun events they may have done in their life. An adventurous person, for example, maybe has climbed mountains or gone skydiving, a traveler may have visited many different states or countries, and a lover of the arts may have experienced lived theater and other special shows. These are just of the things you might include in a walk down memory lane for their birthday party.
When you want the surprise party to be a big celebration, there is a lot of moving parts that have to take place in the background, all without the birthday person finding out about it.
Here are a few examples of 50th birthday ideas that make great surprise parties. The best way to choose the right one for you is to do some research and then compare it to the person you’re planning the party for. What will work best for them? What will be believable if you’re trying to keep a secret or trying to get them to arrive at the location for the party that they don’t know is a party?
Take a peek through and see if that perfect 50th birthday party idea for your surprise party pops out.
Ruse #1: The bait and switch
The “cover-up”: You have planned an evening at their favorite bar, just you and them – a nice quiet evening together.
Behind the scenes: Weeks before book a private area of the bar, or the whole bar if possible. Invite everyone they would love to have there. Arrange a date and time. Have all the guests get there before you and the guest of honor. Have the place decorated by the guests (or assign a decorator).
The big night: You will casually arrive at the bar. Don’t make it obvious that you need to be there at a set time. When you walk in, and surprise, all their closest friends and family are there. Use this great idea and party on!!!
Ruse # 2: make some noise
The “cover-up”: Book some form of appointment or outing for that person. Arrange for a spa afternoon, or send them out fishing with one friend.
Behind the scenes: Once this “outing” is scheduled, invite all the guests. While they are gone on that day, decorate the whole house and get everyone over. Get everyone to park out of sight. Make the exterior of the house look as normal as possible, just as when nothing is going on.
The big day: Have the person they are with, or a spotter, tell you when they are heading up the street. As they are about to pull up have everyone run out of their hiding places singing at the top of their lungs – holding banners and balloons, with noisemakers. Make sure it’s a real ruckus that the whole neighborhood can hear. If you know any musicians, include them for added effect!
Ruse # 3: the classic
The “cover-up”: Get the birthday person out of the house, by some means, for a couple of hours. Send them for groceries, to the movie store, etc.
Behind the scenes: Weeks before the appointed time, invite all your guests. While they are out of the house have everyone head over and decorate. Have everyone hide their cars out of sight.
The big day: When they arrive at the house, have all the lights off. Once the door is opened have everyone shout SURPRISE!! This is a classic 50th birthday party idea but nonetheless still a great idea.
Ruse # 4: fill it up
The “cover-up”: Whatever you need to tell them to get them out of the house for a couple of hours – without drawing suspicion. Maybe a friend could require their assistance with some problem.
Behind the scenes: Secretly invite all the guests. Order a ton (and I mean TON) of balloons. Decide the room you are having all your guests in, where the guest of honor will first go. Fill this room with balloons, and have all your guests hide in the balloons.
The big day: When they return home, they will come upon a room filled with balloons. As they venture through this room they will stumble upon all their friends that are hiding in the balloons.
Ruse # 5: kidnap
The “cover-up”: Nothing
Behind the scenes: Arrange for all your guests to be at one set location. Arrange for a group of kidnappers with a van, preferably. Have a spotter that will know the location of the guest of honor at a set time.
The big day: Go to the place where the guest of honor will be at a set time. Have the kidnappers wear clown suits. Get them to kidnap the guest of honor and get them blindfolded and into the vehicle. Drive them to the said location and carry them into the place, sit them on a chair in the middle of the room blindfolded and have everyone start singing happy birthday as you remove the blindfold.
A surprise party is a great way to giv a 50th birthday party celebration that the birthday guy or girl doesn’t know about beforehand. It’s a fun 50th birthday party idea that will completely catch them off guard. It’s also a creative idea and a way to make this milestone birthday an extra special event. You can do this for anyone you know who is turning 50.
For example, you might plan a surprise party for a parent, sibling, relative, best friend, or close neighbor who is turning fifty. But you might also do this for a co-worker.
Some other tips for a surprise 50th birthday party idea:
- Make sure the guest of honor enjoys surprises and has a good sense of humor.
- Be clear on the invitations that it is a surprise so no one gives away the secret.
- For RSVPs, supply a contact method the guest of honor does not have access to. Obviously, you don’t want a message in a shared email account or answering machine!
- Don’t forget cameras and video cameras for the big moment. The reaction will be priceless!
- Planning the party for a day just before the actual birth date can throw off suspicion. Guests must park out of sight.
- Make sure all guests have “pretend plans” for that day. So if the guest of honor were to ask them what they are doing, they have a set plan and don’t stumble for an excuse.
- If someone is bad at keeping secrets, try your best to have them avoid the guest of honor.
Some other ideas are to have a birthday scavenger hunt and the final clue leads them to their surprise party where all of the guests will be waiting for the special occasion. You could also do a dress code dinner party where everyone dresses up in their fanciest clothes. You could rent out a private room at a party venue and expand the guest list. Whatever you decide, it will be so much fun!
Surprise 50th Birthday Party Ideas – Conclusion
As you can see, there are a lot of ways to make this special day a success. Whether you are planning a big bash, or something small and intimate for the birthday girl or boy, you can pull it off without the birthday honoree ever finding out about it. It just takes some careful planning and some hard work behind the scenes to make all the pieces fall into place.
Remember that you’ll want some great food of all their favorite dishes, and some fun music or even a live DJ is a good option. You will want to plan ahead for 50th birthday gifts and you’ll also want some party favors. I love the idea of personalized party favors because you can get them designed with the guest of honor’s birthday and the event put on them. For example, “Angel’s 50th Birthday Bash” or “David’s 50th Birthday 2022”.
This is a golden milestone birthday and it deserves a little something extra to make it special. Your favorite people can all come together for a surprise birthday party they will never forget. Which of the ideas from this list do you think you’re going to try yourself?
