Planning A Retirement Party

7 Tips For Planning A Successful Retirement Party

Planning A Successful Retirement Party , retirement is a major milestone in life and it is only right that this event should be marked by a very special party. Planning a retirement party can a daunting prospect though, so here are 7 tips to help get your creative juices flowing:

1. Build the party around a theme which either looks back at something that the guest of honor is passionate about (the music of the 1970s or his annual trekking holidays in the foothills of the Himalayas) or which looks forward to his plans for the future (building a boat or buying an RV and driving around the country stopping to fish as many rivers and lakes as he can find).

2. Ensure that any theme chosen is, or can be expanded to be, a theme that the guests and, in particular, you yourself are going to enjoy. While the guest of honor should clearly be the focus of attention it is also vitally important that the guests get into the swing of the party if it is to go well.

3. Ask each guest to bring a small inexpensive gift that reflects the theme of the party and also to contribute to a fund so that you can purchase one main present. When it comes to buying a present put some thought into your gift and buy something that the guest of honor will really appreciate and enjoy. The tradition of buying a gold watch for a person who is entering a stage of their life when the last thing they often have to worry about is time really has had its day! An alternative to purchasing a gift might be to contribute the money collected to the guest of honor's favorite charity if this is something that is central to his life and that he is passionate about.

4. Choose a venue for the party that is away from the working environment and which will both allow you to accommodate the guests comfortably and also to decorate the room appropriately. Remember too that you will want to be able to arrange the room for the party so that the focus of attention falls on your honored guest.

5. Allow for at least one surprise element in your party. When my own father retired some years ago I was working overseas and had not been able to get home for over a year. His employer was kind enough to invite me to his retirement party and flew me back for the event as a surprise guest. My father was absolutely delighted and the fact that my appearance at the party was a complete surprise added greatly to the effect.

6. Create a permanent record of the honored guest's working life which he can take away with him. There are many things that can be done here including a video with snippets of friends and colleagues recalling their memories and giving their best wishes for the future or a scrapbook of photographs recalling the honored guest's years with the company. Another idea is to ask each guest to jot down a special memory and a message of good wishes and then to have them enter these into a book that is available at the party.

7. In addition to recording the guest of honor's years of employment it is also important to provide a record of the retirement party itself, so ensure that you have someone available to photograph or video the event. Another good idea is to give some or all of the guests disposable cameras and ask them to take photographs for you from which you can then assemble an album. These 7 tips for planning a retirement party are of course simply the tip of the iceberg and the possibilities are limited only by your imagination. Use these as a starting point and build upon them and you will surely come up with a great retirement party.