Coming up January 7, 2007
The question is … what, if anything, should I be doing about it?
I know it’s still about four months away but I was recently asked if I’d made any plans for the big five-oh and I realised that I hadn’t even thought about it. Should I be thinking about it? I admit I’m quite a lover of birthdays and enjoy doing something special to celebrate – not just my own but also friends. For my 40th birthday I had a big party and invited 40 people but I’m not really in the mood for that sort of thing this time round.
So, any tips on what I can do to celebrate becoming half a century old? Personally, I’d love a trip to Barcelona but our present financial situation just doesn’t include being able to take any trips in the foreseeable future. No big deal really – January isn’t usually the best time to visit places anyhow (Lisbon is also on my list).
I guess I’d really like to hear about how other people have celebrated their own landmark birthdays, anniversaries, etc to get a bit of inspiration.
Apparently I’m also supposed to be having a mid-life crisis any minute now … which I reckon is a bit optimistic as this would mean I’m planning to live till I’m 100. 😉
Anhoodle … any ideas?
casa azahar 
Nog has just reminded me that it was on his 50th birthday that he ‘met’ me on h2g2. I’d jumped in on the God Thread there and he came over to my PS to say hello … little did he know that his life was about to totally change 😉
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What a nice thing to have happened. I love stories like that. 🙂
I didn’t actually celebrate any of my ‘milestone’ birthdays, so I’m afraid I can’t help you. We didn’t treat them any differently than we did any other birthdays. No silly parties or special trips or anything like that.
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Oo, oo!! Any excuse for a party, is my philosphy. When I turned 50, we threw a huge party. Our social circle believes in the potluck party, everybody loves to show off their cooking and it makes it so easy for the party thrower. It means we have more get togethers, too, since the party is never horribly expensive for the thrower. And you never know what you are going to get: once we had a potluck that was almost totally mexican dips and chips. Another time we had a dessert party — there were NO main dishes whatsoever but nobody complained. Anyway, I digress.
Since there were two other people in our circle who share my birthday (June 11), and my son’s birthday is on the 18th, we had a four cake party. I was 50, Stan was 52, Rick was 48, and our son was 21. We had four cakes, all home made, each with the requisite number of candles, and you would not believe how long it takes to light that many birthday candles!
Rick’s cake was a ginger carrot cake with cream cheese frosting dusted with coconut flakes. We made the cardinal error of lighting his cake first, and when the candles burned down as we were lighting the other cakes, the coconut shreds near them began burning as well. First time I have ever lit a cake on fire! Anyway, when we blew it out the coconut was just nicely toasted all over the top of the cake. I would not recommend this method of toasting coconut, however.
I honestly do not remember the gifts, although I know there were some. But I remember that party!
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I made the mistake on my 40th birthday party of not asking people to not bring any gifts – that really wasn’t the point of it. I ended up with lots of presents that I later on ended up giving to other people who would enjoy them more. I also forgot that in Spain people aren’t in the habit of BYOB for a party … happily I did end up having enough to go around, but just barely. And some people did show up with a much needed bottle of wine. And there was plenty of food for all.
I’m thinking that turning 50 maybe requires a much more subtle sort of celebration. And I’m still not sure how to do that. But I do want it to be very very special.
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How cool that Nog met you on his birthday! I can’t think of a nicer “gift” than a love for a lifetime.
As far as birthday party ideas go, I am absolutely horrible about planning stuff like that. I’ve always assumed it’s because I would be absolutely mortified if anyone had one for me. Subtle celebration sounds more my thing. I’m glad there are four months ahead with which to come up with reasonable suggestions!
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Oh I’m always totally thrilled to celebrate my birthday – and anyone elses – because I really do love birthdays. What more important day to celebrate than the day you were born???
Anyhow, also didn’t want to sound like an ingrate when I talked about giving away most of the presents I’d received at my 40th birthday party … I really should have told people to just bring a bottle of wine.
Nog will tell you that I am probably the most impossible person to buy a gift for … as the usuals (chocolate, jewellery, clothing, etc) are verboten. Just because almost nobody ever gets it right and it’s always a real shame to see they’ve spent money on something I will never ever use or wear.
In any case, we’re not talking about gifts, but what sort of celebration should accompany turning 50 years old. Usually Nog and I go out to our usual (fabulous!) birthday restaurant for this sort of thing … maybe that would be okay but then again, you don’t turn 50 every day.
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A hot air balloon trip.
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I am going to be celebrating my 30th in a few weeks. I intend to make this my last big hurrah. I will drink far too much and then leave that part of my life behind.
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I remember my 30th … just a casual family dinner as I recall. Lots of kisses from my brothers and a cake. I liked that one a lot. 🙂
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Birthdays…If you feel like a big one – then have one :happy:
Here the 50th is the BIG one, you´re actually allowed the day off with full pay. I joke with my kids that we shall have dinner at the Fancy Restaurant, and that I´d better start saving money to be able to pay the bill, since none of them seem to be prepared to wash dishes for a month or so…
My 40th was a real downer. I wanted a big party but it wasn´t popular. My then husband didn´t even congratulate me. My best friend and her daughters came for dinner, so it was me, her, five kids and a long deep coversation after the kids left the table. When my friend and her kids left I started to pity myself and had too much wine. The following morning, a Saturday, was not one of my best.
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I don’t remember every birthday, but I do know that I have probably celebrated every single one, one way or another. J and I follow the philosophy that the more celebrations you have, the better. Fun is good. We met on April Fool’s Day. We always celebrate that. We got married once on June 19, we usually celbrate that. We got married again 3 years later on August 10 and we always celebrate that too. does it dilute the celebrations to do them so often? I don’t think so, I think it keeps reminding us of how fortunate we are to be alive and together and still in love after 24 years. I hope I never get so blase that I don’t want to celebrate the joy of existence and love.
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Thanks for the suggestion, Edward, but I don’t think a hot air balloon ride is the ideal choice for an agoraphobic with vertigo problems. 😉
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Last biggie for me was my 40th.
J and I went to Lisbon for a few days – and had a lovely time wandering about exploring museums, eating lovely meals and generally relaxing.
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Lisbon is also on my list, as I said before. Either Lisbon or Barcelona would do perfectly … but oh well, have to think of something else instead.
We went to Granada for my birthday two years ago and it was fabulous (though we didn’t have the digital camera yet) and we discovered arabic pastries which we have used for ‘birthday sweets’ instead of cake ever since. 🙂
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Tricky one here. Surprises. If a surprise is planned, how far ahead can it be announced and still be a surprise? Especially if normal schedules have to be disrupted.
Until I came to Sevilla I never really had any special birthday celebrations. For me even going out for a birthday meal is unusual. But I’d like to make az’s 50th something out of the ordinary.
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Perhaps you could start a new tradition – we will do this every year until you turn 60 at which time we will begin a 60’s birthday tradition. Something can be built on so it takes that long for a culmination. Don’t have a clue what that would be.
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Going out to a fabulous dinner at a favorite restaurant that has been in business for long enough that you can believe that it will be there for the next ten years for the tradition.
Or having a picnic in a favorite garden although I’m not sure how well that would work in January since I’m not sure what the weather is like.
Going to a really nifty bed and breakfast for a romantic two some.
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I found your comment 10 in SPAM, dragonqueen, and just put it up. Must remember to check there more often as this happens from time to time.
Anyhow, that’s very 😎 that you get the day off with pay on your 50th birthday.
Sorry to hear your 40th was so crap. To be honest, mine wasn’t so great either even though I had that big party. I guess mostly cause big parties aren’t really my thing (though it seemed like a good idea at the time). I ended up feeling a bit depressed the next day remembering how lonely I’d actually felt at my own party…
But not this year. 🙂
Coming up with a new ‘tradition’ sounds like a good idea, Hyp. Will have to think about that one.
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Our regular ‘birthday and anniversary’ restaurant here is one that is very well established, so no doubt it will be here for the next ten years at least.
In fact we took zoomer there for our ‘last meal’ in Sevilla while he was here … and bless him, he treated us to our lunch. He had the fresh salmon – special of the day – that he said was so amazing he would try cooking it the same way once he got home again. Huge praise coming from someone from Vancouver where wild Atlantic salmon is easy to get your mitts on.
We did try starting a birthday tradition when Nog first got here, of taking each other on a trip for our birthdays. The first year he took me to Granada and then I took him to Cádiz. But this past year we were too broke to do this, unfortunately. Though we still went to the birthday restaurant and shared a bottle of cava before going out … hic
Oh, I dunno. Maybe I shouldn’t make such a fuss about turning 50. Except I’ve always especially enjoyed those ‘decade-turning’ ones somehow. 🙂
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One of my students came back from her summer holidays waxing lyrical about Barcelona … though she said to NEVER go in summer. Which made me think January might be the perfect time to go (if it doesn’t rain).
So we checked out cheap flights to BCN and it would probably cost us 150 return for both of us. Then add on the price of a cheap pensión and meals out … probably not much more than a pair of Bulgari sunglasses. 😉
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You might try what my friend Trudy did — she went to a day-spa with a couple of her girlfriends and got totally pampered. She said she had to do something to make her feel pretty at 50.
Would you like to do a romantic day-spa kind of thing, one of the deals where you’re *both* pampered all day? Don’t know if you can get that there, or not. But it could be very nice. 🙂
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Well, we could go to the Baños Árabes together except this would require me to wear a bathing suit in public and I really can’t see that happening. 😉
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No, no, no. Not what I had in mind for you at all. It’s a private room, side by side massage tables, candles, soft music. Maybe some champagne…very juvenating!
Very nice, I’ve heard. At least, it sounds great to me!
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Well that certainly sounds better. Yeah, gotta do the baths in small groups and so even if I did squeeze my bulk into a bit of lycra I’d hardly want to be sitting next to HER or THEM! 😉
I’ll have to ask my friend Carmen where she and her husband once went for a morning of decandence. Some sort of body mudpacks, then special oils and massages. Like the candles and soft music idea too.
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On the 10th. of Jan. my mother will be 87. She’s having a late life crisis! But she is very independent and likes to do her own shopping with her friends.
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Pingback: 50th birthday! (update) « casa az
Simple….
Leave the husband.
Leave the kids.
Leave any grandkids.
Call out sick from work.
Take your girlfriends out to Outerbanks, NC.
It is beautiful and it can be as busy or as quiet as you want. If your husband is smart, he will have chilled champagne sent to where you are staying. If your kids are smart, they will leave you the hell alone.
Happy 50th Birthday and many more!!!!
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