How to Celebrate Your Parents' Anniversary at Home

Planning a Party for Your Parents

Decide who you want to invite. Figuring out the guest list is one of the first things you should do so you can plan your celebration accordingly. Think about who your parents enjoy being around. You might consider family members, close friends of the family, and even coworkers. Also, think about the size of your house. You don't want to overload the house with too many people. In addition, think about how much money to spend. While you can throw a party on a budget, you do need to think about how many people you can reasonably invite. If the weather will be nice, consider having the party outside in your backyard or in a common area of your apartment complex. You may be able to invite more people than if you have it inside. Send out invitations 2 months in advance. If you want it to be a surprise, make sure you emphasize that in your invitation. Include the date, the time, and reason you're celebrating. If you want, you can use the internet to invite people. Just remember to make it a private event so your parents can't see it. You can make a simple invitation on the computer, or you can buy some from a craft store or an online store.

Plan the food. Most great parties have great food, but it doesn't need to be extravagant. For instance, you could just have sparkling grape juice or champagne and cake. Alternatively, you could throw a potluck. You could make something like pulled pork sandwiches, and then ask guests to bring a dish. Most people are more than happy to help. You could also cook one of your parents' favorite dishes. In fact, you can ask guests to bring a dish instead of bringing a gift! Make sure you provide food for people with dietary restrictions, so include a few vegetarian/vegan and gluten-free options. If you're planning a dinner party, remember that there's a possibility that someone will accidentally spill food or drinks on the tablecloth. Think carefully about what material you're putting down, especially if it's meaningful for your parents.

Pick music your parents will love. No party is complete without some music, so make up a playlist of music your parents enjoy. Play it over speakers for the party. However, don't make the music too loud, as you want your guests to be able to hear each other!

Decorate the house according to a theme. Each anniversary year has a traditional "gift" that matches the year. You can incorporate that into your decorations, as the traditional "gift" is a material, such as cotton or steel. For instance, year 10 is tin/aluminum. Other traditional gifts include silver for 25, pearl for 30, coral for 35, ruby for 40, sapphire for 45, and gold for 50 years. So for the 10th anniversary, tin/aluminum, you could include silvery aluminum decorations. Otherwise, consider things like blowing up pictures to place around, getting fresh flowers, hanging balloons and streamers, and/or hanging up a banner.

Add a game. If you want to liven things up, consider planning a game for the party. A game will help create a sense of togetherness at the party, and you can use the game to celebrate your parents. For instance, you could set up a trivia game with questions about the year your parents got married. You could also make a little trivia game about your parents. Write 10 to 20 fun questions about your parents, and print them out on sheets of paper. Have pens around so guests can fill them out. Award prizes for the most correct answers, as well as the funniest.

Use the event to create a memento. You are celebrating your parents, so why not use the party to help create something special for them? That way, your parents have something to remember the occasion. For instance, you could have a guest book where people write notes to your parents. You could also create a thumbprint tree, where guests leave a thumbprint on a canvas to create the leaves of the tree. Have them sign their thumbprint once it dries. Another option is using an instant printing camera to take photos, and then have guests write a little note to go with the photos.

Enjoying a Quiet Dinner at Home

Make your parents a dinner. Start by planning out a dinner you think your parents will like. Try to include a favorite of each of your parents. For instance, maybe one parent loves lasagna, while the other loves chocolate. You could have a lasagna main course and chocolate cake for dessert. If cooking isn't your thing, try ordering in from one of your parents' favorite restaurants. It can even be pizza or Chinese.

Break out the good china. If you have special occasion dinnerware, bring it out for your parents' special day. It will make it feel more special and fancy, and they'll appreciate your thoughtfulness. Just be sure to rinse it off if it's been sitting around, and make sure you're gentle with it.

Create an atmosphere with decorations and music. To make the dinner more special, add a few fun touches. For instance, you could make a bouquet of flowers from the yard or buy a few from the store. Add some soft music in the background and light some candles. You could even put up a few decorations. Just add a few nice touches to create an atmosphere. The flowers don't have to be expensive, just pretty. In fact, you could get creative and make a few paper flowers. Bonus points if you match them to your parents' wedding flowers.

Having Fun Together (For Kids)

Set up a scavenger hunt. A scavenger hunt is a fun way to make a celebration seem more special. Write a beginning clue to help your parents find the next clue. You can hide little gifts along the way, and then at the end, have a cake or a banner celebrating your parents' anniversary.

Make breakfast in bed for your parents. Your parents have done so much for you, and their anniversary is a good day for them to relax a bit. Surprise them by making a fancy breakfast and serving it to them in bed, so they can enjoy some time together. For instance, you could make French toast or try your hand at quiche Lorraine. For a simpler approach, make toast and heat up some frozen sausages. Add a few strawberries on the side.

Set up a paint night to create new memories. If you have a family who loves getting creative, try setting up a little paint night in your home. Buy or gather small canvasses, paint brushes, and paints. Cover a table in plastic or newspapers, set out some plastic cups with water, and use paper plates for palettes. Try painting some of your favorite family memories.

Plan a backyard picnic. Make fun picnic food, like sandwiches, potato salad, pasta salad, watermelon, and cookies. You could also make a fruit salad. Put some blankets down in the backyard, and include some pillows. Include a card or special memento for your parents.

Ask them to tell you about how they met. Your parents probably can't tell this story enough, so let them tell it again. They'll like talking about it, and it will help them remember why they fell in love in the first place, which is always good on an anniversary.