40 year old surprise birthday ideas. Please help.?!
Has anyone thrown a party or been to one that could help me out?
Thanks
Answers: I'm looking for a good idea for a surprise birthday party for a 40 year old african american male.
Has anyone thrown a party or been to one that could help me out?
Thanks
Honestly, if he's like most people, a ton of good food, good alcohol, and good friends are the most important parts of the party. I know a lot of people that age would not be particularly impressed by 'theme parties' but it really depends on their friends.
- Get some CD's of his favourite music and play it on the stereo in the background.
- Make a few trays of hors d'oeuvres or other finger foods for the party - things like crackers and cheese, crackers/baguette and hummus/bruschetta/baba ghanouj, various kinds of salsa and dip, fruit skewers with chocolate dip, quiche or tomato tarts or tartlets, nachos. It really depends on the fanciness of the party!
- Make or buy a cake. Try to find out his favourite flavour of cake. You could go for the 'over the hill' theme, but it can really get tasteless depending on who's at the party and the birthday boy's personality.
- If you and the company you keep drink alcohol, and you're providing it, estimate 2-3 bottles of beer or glasses of wine per person. Red wine, white wine, and a good microbrewery beer are fairly standard for parties.
- Make sure you have beverages for non-drinkers, and all the cutlery, napkins, etcetera.
gather friends coworkers and other people you might both know.
then tell him to meet you for lunch or something....friend wise say it is a gesture for his birthday. then all coworkers will meet there. it is also a good idea to meet somewhere public because he won`t be suspicious from all the cars.
good luck
You could have everyone dress in clothing from 1968....but do not do "Over The Hill" for a 40's party...it's devastating for some to turn this age and at 40 they are not over the hill (even though we sometimes feel like it!). Or you could do a luau...those are great fun! Make sure the birthday boy gets a special lei for the occasion.
When I turned 40, my family and best friends gave me a surprise party. The cake was hilarious. It was white frosting with black roses, a candle that looked like a tombstone and on it, it said, "Over the hill, RIP" it meant, say goodbye to the young years. The entire theme was like that. It was just for fun and I loved it. Balloons were black and white, napkins that said RIP, 30's. It was fun. Hope this helps. Now that I'm going to be 62 in April, I wish I was turning 40 again.
Here is a recipe for porcupine cake...
PORCUPINE / Fine vanilla ice cream covered in cake and chocolate.
Ingredients :
Ice cream:
1 ? cups of sugar (the granulated kind)
8 egg yolks
2 teaspoons of vanilla
2 cups of cream
2 ? cups of evaporated milk
1 tablespoon of butter
Cake:
6 eggs
2/3 cups of sugar
? cup of prepared cake flour (not sure if it refers to boxed cake mix, or sifted flour)
? cup of chu?o (potato starch)
? teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspooon of vanilla
3 tablespoons of melted butter (for cake)
3 tablespoons of melted butter (for greasing wax paper)
Chocolate Fudge:
1 ? cup of evaporated milk
1 can (397 g / 1 1/4 cup) condensed milk
? cup of chopped semi sweet chocolate
4 tablespoons of Hershey's powdered cocoa
1 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of butter
1 cup of slivered almonds, peeled and toasted
How to prepare it:
Ice cream:
Place the evaporated milk in a pot and heat until just warm. Beat the egg yolks until thickened and gradually add the sugar. Take the warmed milk and add it gradually to the egg yolk mix, beating all the time. Put the mixture back into the pot and heat at low flame. Stir until the foam disappears, Add the butter and mix. Take off the fire just before it boils (it must not boil). Pour into a bowl, let it cool and place in freezer. Allow it to freeze.
Beat the cream until thickened, like chantilly cream, and fold in the frozen ice cream mix, place back in the freezer for 8 hours.
Cake:
Lightly beat the egg whites, add the yolks and continue to beat. Add the sugar and beat for 20 minutes. Lower the speed and add the chu?o, the flour, the salt, the baking powder, melted butter and the vanilla. Mix well and pour on a baking sheet that has been previously covered with buttered and floured parchment paper. Bake at 400 °F (200 °C) for 12 to 15 min.
Take out of the oven, turn over onto a floured kitchen towel laid on a flat surface and remove the waxed paper.
Line a bowl with plastic film or aluminum foil, this is to make unmolding easier. Cut the cake and line the sides and base of the bowl. Fill the center with Ice cream and cover with cake. Press firmly and return to freezer.
Chocolate Fudge:
Melt the chocolate and mix it with the milks and the sugar. Dilute the powdered cocoa in in hot water and strain through a sieve. place everything in big pot and set to boil, stirring constantly, until thickened, and you can see the bottom of the pot. Add the butter, allow it to cool.
Two hours before serving, unmold the ice cream onto a round plate and cover it entirely with the chocolate fudge/
Stick the toasted almonds into the cake so it looks like a porcupine.
10 portions
http://www.yanuq.com/buscador.asp?idrece...
Notes-I'm not sure about the potato starch, but I guess you could use plain cornstarch for this as well.
Latin American nations to not have evaporated dry milk, so use canned.
The flour you need for the cake not to stick onto the kitchen towel so it will not stick onto it, like you would for jelly roll.
