I love celebrating my birthday with friends, but I recently realized that I end up throwing the same small celebration every year. Usually, I invite friends over to my home with minimal decoration and no activities prepared, which now seems repetitive and boring. Since I’m entering my 20s soon, I decided to search for new celebrations to keep my birthdays remarkable as a young adult. Here are some ideas I came up with to switch things up next year:
- Picnic
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A picnic is a cute option for a daytime or afternoon celebration, especially if you want something more intimate with fewer friends. For food, there could be sandwiches, a charcuterie board, fruits, and pastries.
A picnic blanket, basket, and floral decorations look cute with pastel colors, and aesthetic photos can be taken to update your Instagram. As for activities, you could play card games or paint canvas panels. If the park has enough space, some people can even play sports.
- Beach Day
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For summer birthdays, a beach day would be fun. It works for both big and small friend groups since there’s unlimited space and easy entertainment. This one is a simpler celebration idea that doesn’t really involve decorations, other than setting up umbrellas, towels, and possibly beach chairs.
Beach activities, like swimming, playing volleyball or soccer, and tanning in the sun, are the focus of the day. For food, a cooler with drinks, chips, wraps, and popsicles works well.
- Pool Party
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If you have a pool at home, a pool party is a fun twist to the typical birthday party, and it’s ideal for hot days and larger friend groups. Pool floats and an inflatable ball add to the entertainment and decoration.
Especially if you’re at home, pool parties allow for many decorations, like a themed sign and a table with palm trees, flowers, and pineapples. A Hawaiian tropical theme matches the pool vibes, but the options are endless. For food, there could be hamburgers, chips with guacamole, fruits, and juices.
- Game Night
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Another idea I absolutely love is hosting a game night because I really like playing card and board games. A game night is cozy and intimate, making it ideal for smaller groups and colder weather.
There are so many great options to choose from, from funny social games like Cards Against Humanity to meaningful conversation games like We’re Not Really Strangers (which I’m dying to play). A custom Jenga with truths or dares and a custom Guess Who board with people you know in real life are also very fun and chaotic.
This celebration doesn’t require much decoration, but you can have a table and a sign like the pool party decorations. For food, pizza, cookies, and snacks that you can eat while playing are great!
- Dinner Party
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Dinner parties at a restaurant are a classic for my friend group. Not only are you enjoying the company of your friends, but you’re also eating some of your favorite meals. At a restaurant, you get to celebrate your birthday without worrying about decorating, cooking, or cleaning afterward.
The downside is that you can’t decorate a restaurant to match a theme if you really enjoy doing that. This option works especially well for winter birthdays, but is great all year round.
I hope these ideas inspire you to get creative and try something new for your next birthday celebration. No matter how many friends you’re inviting or what the weather will be like, there are always innovative birthday ideas that could work for you.
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