Nostalgia

• Go nostalgic by taking a walk down memory lane. Create a quiet dinner party and gather videos, pictures, items that spark a time or place, music, old clothing and old friends. Set aside a room that includes all of the items. Include the pictures from each decade of important events on one table. Place items, (if available) that have a connection to a picture, like a hat, scarf or jewelry. Play music from the teenage years. Try to invite as many friends from the past as possible. During the celebration, show videos from her life. If no videos are available, put together a scrapbook to read out loud.
  
  

Plan a Party

• Find a large place to hold a grand surprise party. Invite family and friends, old teachers, coaches, and military buddies. Acquire a few pictures from the past, create a huge collage and place it at the entrance of the hall. Arrange for a local bakery to scan a picture, and include it on the sheet cake. A disc jockey can play music all night and announce events as they take place during the party. Choose games that were popular during the 1960s, such as jacks and marbles, and set them out on all of the tables. Buy some CDs to give away during dance contests that include the Limbo, Twist or Locomotion. Write questions on slips of paper about the birthday boy and put them in a hat. Have people pull a question out of the hat and answer it, such as, "How old was 'Tom' when he learned how to swim?"
  
  

Gifts

• Celebrate a 50th birthday with special gifts such as a trip to the 50th state in the union, or collect 50 state quarters from family and friends. Take a trip back to the old neighborhood and pick up some baked goods, specialty foods like an Italian hoagie or soft pretzel, or whatever the cultural flavor is. The 50th birthday is a golden year, so choose something with gold: engraved gold watch, gold coin or medallion.
  
  

Activities

• Choose the birthday person's favorite activity and make a day of it. Plan a fishing trip, motorcycle run or golfing day with his buddies. For her, schedule an appointment at a local spa, shopping trip to the nearest large city, or tickets to the opera or ballet with a few friends.