If you or someone you know is turning 40, you should definitely celebrate the occasion! These are some 40th birthday themes, party supplies, favors, and gifts that go with the themes that would be good to use to plan your party.
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What to keep in mind for a 40th birthday.
40 is a milestone birthday for women the same way that 50 is for men. A lot of women think of turning 40 as being the end of their “youth” for a variety of reasons, so it’s a big one for a lot of people.
Make the 40th birthday fun and uplifting, don’t go with the “death is coming” kind of themes that everyone except the birthday girl thinks are funny. We’re here to have a good time, not to make people depressed!
Emphasize her hobbies and things that she likes doing, and arrange something that she’ll enjoy. This list of different options has something for everyone, whether you’re someone who wants to paint the town red or just stay home and relax.
A minimalist theme.
You don’t have to have a specific theme, just choose a nice and elegant card that will fit any kind of get-together. This black and gold version would work with any number of party locations and guest lists.
Fabulous at Forty.
This is a fun theme, and there are a lot of supplies and themed items available that you can use for it. This collection of party supplies would be great for this theme, and you can personalize them on Zazzle.
For activities, you can ask people to send a photo of themselves with the birthday girl and add a memory of the time they took the photo, then put together a gallery of memories for guests to look at. If you have access to an actual Polaroid camera, guests can take photos of themselves and write a message that can be put in an album that the honoree can keep at the end of the evening.
A nice gift for this theme would be personalized jewelry that can be hand-stamped with a custom message. Tell her how fabulous she is with a necklace or bracelet that’s made custom for her.
Pink and gold glam night.
For this theme you can do champagne tastings using pink champagne as guests come in, or set up a signature cocktail bar. Add edible gold luster dust from Monagasque
(ad) for a glittery effect on the treats and drinks that you serve. It comes in a lot of colors, so you can do both pink and gold, or different combinations of other colors. Here’s a video showing how to use it:
For this theme you could get the honoree some customized champagne glasses like the ones from Dreamin Bohemian. These are painted with flowers, but she has multiple types of designs to choose from.
For gift wrapping paper options that are unique, click here.
40 and thriving wellness theme.
Not every party theme has to be about partying…You can have a group activity like a hike or a visit to a local rock climbing gym, then go out for a healthy meal. This kind of party will go over better for some crowds, so keep your friends in mind when you’re planning your theme.
For the party itself, you can do an outdoor activity, a class on rock climbing or another type of active game or skill, or a spa day if you’re looking for something more relaxing.
For a gift or party favors, you could get a gift set with luxury bath and beauty items, or get individual bars of handmade soap as favors. You can find a lot of options for luxury bath and body products on Etsy.
For gifts for someone who loves the color purple, click here.
80’s throwback.
For this theme you can have people dress in their best neon colors, decorate with the same, and serve things like cookies that are shaped like a floppy disc. This theme can also be music-related for the soundtrack that you play at the party, so have a dance floor ready.
For a gift for this theme, give her some jewelry that has neon elements in it. Or go full throttle and give her something that’s completely 80’s themed if she’s into wearing funny earrings. You can find a bunch of choices on Etsy.
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Wine and cheese night.
A wine and cheese themed party can be fun if you have a friend who likes to try new combinations. Set up a nice arrangement of different types of wine with custom labels to hide the real ones (you can get them printed on Zazzle) and do a taste test contest for everyone. Or go to a winery and rent the space for a private tour and a wine tasting there.
For a gift for this theme, get them a membership from Nocking Point Wines. They’ll receive shipments of specialty wines a few times a year, and they’ll be able to serve new wines all year, plus other benefits like discounts on additional purchases from their website.
A surprise party.
I was reluctant to even include this one, because not everyone wants a surprise party, myself included. Some people would really like them (probably extroverts) but some people would hate every moment of it. Make sure that you know your friend really well before planning this for them, because they might not enjoy it if you judge them wrong.
The good thing about a surprise party is that you don’t really need to have a theme, the surprise is the theme. So everyone yells surprise, then they mingle or eat dinner. It doesn’t have to be more than that, and it’s probably better for the birthday girl if she isn’t forced to play games on top of being surprised with a social gathering.
Get surprise party invitations on Zazzle.
Garden party brunch.
For a garden theme, you can set up your party outside in a real flower garden, or just do a lot of florals for an indoor celebration. This would be a good theme for the winter months when everyone is wishing for warmer weather, too. Have a flower arranging activity set up, or see if there’s a local florist who teaches classes in their shop.
For this theme, you can give your friend some gardening tools, or a floral tote bag that she can use for the gym or as an overnight bag.
Red carpet.
The red carpet is a fun way to celebrate because it gives people a reason to dress up. You can get themed invitations that you can edit on Etsy to set the tone, and set up an actual red carpet that leads into the party.
Get a backdrop that’s themed to a 40th birthday and let guests pose in front of it for paparazzi shots. There are also some cities where you can hire people to act like photographers and take paparazzi photos of people as they enter the party. If you can arrange that (or get some of your kids’ friends to do it) they can take digital photos that you can display later during the party.
For this theme, get a luxury gift like a pair of expensive sunglasses, or real gemstone jewelry.
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Tropical luau.
A tropical themed party is a lot of fun, especially in the summer if you can arrange to have it on the beach or at a local pool. Set up a limbo contest, tiki torches, and drinks with umbrellas in them to set the mood. Start with a colorful invitation, and give guests Hawaiian leis as they arrive.
A good gift for this party theme would be a personalized beach towel and tote bag combo, with sunscreen, sunglasses, and a water bottle that she can take to the beach or pool.
You could also get a tropical themed cake from a local baker who can make something fun.
Death to my 30’s.
A tongue-in-cheek theme for someone with a good sense of humor, the “Death To My 30’s” party is fun for someone who isn’t sensitive about her age, or who has a birthday around Halloween. You can decorate the party room with black and have a guest book that you have people write their best memory of the birthday girl’s 30th decade in so that she can take it home to read it later.
Serve food that have a skull and bones theme, and play up the funeral idea in playful ways. Obviously, DO NOT use this theme if there’s been a death in the family for someone closely associates with the party, because they might not appreciate making light of the death theme. This is a dark humor situation, but it can be fun.
Boy bands and grunge.
For someone who was born in the 80’s, the kind of music they remember listening to will probably be from the late 80’s or 90’s. Boy bands were at the height of their popularity then, and if they’re more into the grunge scene that fits, too.
Set up a dance floor and play music from the 80’s and 90’s, and encourage guests to wear the kind of thing they wore when they were kids. Give out prizes for the most authentic look, and if people want to bring a photo of themselves from the era and recreate that outfit, they get extra points!
For this party theme, give a gift of some kind of sound system, or a subscription to an audio streaming service. The birthday girl will be able to listen to her favorites any time if she has everything on streaming.
Birthday brunch.
This is a nice, low key event theme that would be good for people who aren’t into drinking and the disco. You can set up a Breakfast At Tiffany’s kind of feeling with fancy finger sandwiches and brunch food, serve mimosas, and basically relax with your friends over a good meal.
For this theme, give her a pearl necklace or another pearl accessory. Pearls are a classic choice and you can always find an occasion to wear them. (Read about choosing pearl accessories here.)
Paris in (fill in your month)
For a Paris theme, you can set up a cute dessert buffet to recreate a Parisian Patisserie, have a macaron baking class activity during the party, and serve champagne and latte to your guests.
For a gift for this theme, give her a vintage French designer scarf. You can find them on Etsy at all different price points, and it will be a unique gift that she won’t get from anyone else!
Pajamas and popcorn.
For people who just want to relax, a chick flick and popcorn night (pajamas can be optional) probably sounds like a perfect evening. Have the party at someone’s house who has a big-screen tv, and choose any movie that you can think of that’s either a guilty pleasure or a classic that everyone loves. Get personalized favor boxes that you can use for popcorn.
A gift for this theme would be something like a fluffy robe that she can wear while lounging.
Casino night.
If your friend likes to gamble, have a casino night. Rent blackjack and roulette tables from a party supply store in your area, or set up poker tables where people can play. Use the playing card symbols to decorate and encourage guests to wear their best James-Bond-At-Monte-Carlo attire.
Get personalized playing cards or poker chips for the event, or send people home with their own pack of playing cards.
Vintage tea party.
A vintage tea party theme is another relaxed event that can take place during the day, and that can be alcohol-free if you want to go that route. Serve a variety or pastries, coffee, and tea, or host it at a local restaurant that has a tea room where guests can choose their own menu items.
A pretty vintage tea set would be a nice gift for this party theme. You can find a lot of unusual patterns on Etsy, or if she has a pattern that she collects, buy some pieces to add to her collection.
Retro festival party.
For someone who likes a festival atmosphere or going to live concerts, a party in a park with live music would be a fun theme. If you can’t set that up, a backyard festival would also work! Set up music, hire a food truck to show up, and serve drinks from a cooler to keep it casual.
A fun gift for this would be some kind of crossbody or sling bag that she can use later for actual festivals or concerts that she goes to.
Cooking class party.
If your friend likes to cook, arrange for your group to go to a cooking class for a type of food that she’s not an expert in. She’ll be interested in learning a new menu and skills, and everyone can cook dinner then eat it together later.
For a really nice gift for this theme, get her a stand mixer, some nice cookware, or some kind of cooking pan that’s specific to the type of food you’re making during the class! A nice set of mixing bowls like these Pyrex ones that I use all the time are also good for any kind of cooking or baking:
Paint and sip night.
Painting is a fun activity for people, and you can get kits to set up your own party on Etsy. Some of them are paint by number and some have blank canvases, and you can even get personalized designs!
Gifts or party supplies for this party theme could include art supplies or wine glasses, or maybe a bottle of wine with a personalized label.
Scavenger hunt.
There are a bunch of scavenger hunt templates that you can get on Etsy, and it’s a fun idea for a 40th birthday party.
You can do a city-wide scavenger hunt, limit it to certain areas, or just set things up inside the party location. Sometimes these take the form of a sheet of things that people get dared to do, but that might not be right for every crowd. You can also make the things that people have to find things about the birthday girl so that you can make it more personal.
For this party theme, you can get your friend a customized map of your city, or a word cloud with things from the scavenger hunt plus other words and phrases that represent her.
See word clouds from Susan Newberry Designs here.