Anniversary Party ideas?

[withm]

This sounds lovely, and the brunch will be a nice opportunity for some of the guests to visit with your parents in a more intimate setting.

Only one thing though - I'd not have a cash bar. If people are coming from out of town, spending the weekend in motels, it's not so nice to make them pay for their drinks. Better to foot the bill for the drinks, or to reduce the offerings. You could limit it to beer, wine, & soft drinks. If the hall will allow you to bring in your own liquor you can control costs better that way, but do have a bartender - either a volunteer, or hired. Alternatively think about reducing the size of your guest list so that you can still have a gracious event and stay within your budget.

[limewave]

My parents are mid-sixties. They are pretty social. My mom is involved in lots of groups: bell choir at church, several card playing groups, and she has a group of friends she travels with. My dad is a talker If he has someone to listen to him, he's a happy guy.

I really wish we could afford to do an open bar . . . but we just can't. Perhaps we could provide the champagne for the toast at least? I'll look into it. That's why I thought a brunch the next morning might be a good idea.

[tulip]

An open bar can get pricey really quickly! I think a cash bar is fine. It sounds like a lovely, modest event; if I were invited to an event like that, I would not expect an open bar. I would make non-alcoholic drinks available for free, however.

Music from your parent's playlist would be good. Find out what music they had at their wedding, and what their first dance song was. They should be encouraged to dance to that song, alone, just like at the wedding.

Definitely have photos displayed of their wedding.

A toast would be good, but no games in my opinion. Games force people into participating, when some would rather observe. I always feel games are awkward and forced in these sorts of gatherings (showers and parties).

I wouldn't get too structured, since alot of the guests will probably enjoy catching up with each other and relaxing. Having a buffet dinner is a great idea, or at least heavy hors d'oevres with plenty of tables and seats. Walking around trying to talk and eat and balance a glass is never a good idea.

The brunch is also a lovely idea. A 30-minute drive is nothing these days; people drive that far to go to the grocery store. The people who want to come to that will; the others won't. It might be very nice for your parents to have an opportunity to connect with some of the guests more than they could at the larger gathering.

It's very thoughtful of you (and your siblings?) to celebrate with your parents.

[shootingstar]

Are you comfortable being a ham in front of an audience? You could build a fun skit around a hand of cards...where each card represents..a point in their married lives..

a prelude to the toast.

Just a thought, since your parents sound like wonderful, sociable people and would take that sort of thing well.

[Jones]

When we hosted my parents 50th we bought inexpensive mismatched but same color frames on line and used three framed photo's on each table and a small vase of fresh flowers as centerpieces.We let any guest who wanted a photo take one home. It was great for the grandkids to have a wedding photo of their grandparents.
We also made Italian wedding cookies and put them in clear cellophane bags with a photo sticker to hold the bag closed, each place setting was set with a bag of cookies.
My brothers friend acted as a DJ and we played my parents song and music from their era. there was some dancing. My oldest brother and several volunteers toasted but mostly people seemed to just enjoy socializing with old friends.
I hope this helps, have a great party.

[limewave]

That is very helpful! Thank you everyone. My parents have a lot of friends and they are all very gabby and social--you're right in that they don't need me to entertain them with games That makes me feel better.

I'm going to look into providing champagne on the tables for a toast. And I'm going to move forward with the brunch the next day.

This is going to be fun

[limewave]

Two weeks to the party and everything is starting to come together. Looks like we'll be able to afford Beer and Wine for everyone. I was able to get some inexpensive decorations from Hobby Lobby's 60% off sale.

My dad pulled me aside the other day just to let me know that their 40th anniversary is coming up and I should get them a card , you know, because mom is sensitive about this stuff.

Surprisingly, my brother is being very helpful. I feel like I'm planning a wedding except this is more stressful. My wedding was immediate family only with a pot-luck at my parents.