SURPRISE BIRTHDAYS
HERE'S HOW YOU DO IT
No no, don't worry, I'm not going to give a long speech again about why I love birthdays so much, we've discussed that enough here. But I do want to stay on the theme of birthdays because there is a specific kind of birthday that is even more fun than a ‘regular’ birthday, and that is the surprise birthday.
Last year I wanted to eat with friends at Buffet van Odette, but because that damned World Cup was on and the Netherlands had to play on my birthday, I canceled everything because I thought people would just go to the pub and cheer. But Jet thought that was nonsense, so she emailed everyone with the instruction to just come at the original time and place – and I knew nothing. With a strange excuse, I was lured to the Buffet by another friend, and when I arrived on my bike, the first thing I said was, “hey what a coincidence, my dad is there! Oh and him too. And that one! Huh?” It really took me a ridiculously long time to realize what was going on, and in the end, it turned out to be the best evening ever, which I repeated last birthday.
Then last Sunday, my dad turned 70 and celebrated it with his dearest friends on the terrace of a restaurant he loves. He organized everything himself, but my sister Barbara and I took over a bit. We asked photographer Emma Peijnenburg to take photos (and they turned out beautiful by the way) and emailed his friends asking if they could send a photo and a story that evokes a cherished memory of their relationship with our dad. I had all those memories bound into a little book that we gave him during lunch, and later they will be included with Emma's photos in a large photo book.
In short, I love surprises so let me give you some ideas to make someone else's birthday even more fun than it already is.
Make a movie Have all the guests answer a few of the same questions (what is the worst trait of the birthday person, what is your favorite memory of him or her, what does no one know about him or her, etc.) and edit everything together by question. You really don't need to be a montage wizard for this; with iMovie, you can get quite far. I did this once for my sister's 18th birthday, and the result might seem very clumsy in the eyes of a pro, but for us, it was perfect and amazing.
Write a song Yes, this sounds really cheesy, but trust me, it's a lot of fun. When I turned 21, my best friends wrote a song to the melody of one of my favorite songs and performed it at my party. Everyone present got a sheet of paper with the lyrics, everyone sang along, and I laughed my head off with happiness and joy.
Make a book For that same 21st birthday, those same friends made a scrapbook full of photos of boy bands with their heads glued on. You should know, I was and still am quite fond of boy bands. The book also contained all sorts of fun stories from my friends, and during the evening, the book was passed around so everyone could write a little something in it. It's really fun forever.
A joint gift is handy for several reasons, but mainly because you can give a larger and more expensive gift. A dear friend wanted a Marc Jacobs bag for as long as God knows, and for her birthday, everyone pooled money together so we could buy that bag. It was a total surprise and really a thousand times more fun than 40 little trinkets that you ultimately don't need at all.
