Retirement Party Ideas - A Simple Guide To Retirement Party

Retirement Party Ideas - A Simple Guide To Retirement Party
Planning
By AJ Yeakel

Planning a fun and memorable retirement party can seem like a
huge chore if you don’t have a game plan for the party already
in place. To help get you on your way, we’ve created a basic
guideline that is intended to make your job easier and spark
your creativity. For organizational purposes, the guideline is
broken down into seven major categories: 

Venue

Selecting the right venue for a retirement party plays a
critical role in determining how much time and effort you will
have to put into planning the party. In general, parties held in
the workplace demand more planning time and effort because they
require you to supply your own food and beverages, decorations,
and other party supplies. A restaurant can be an easy venue
option for many reasons. To name a few, holding the party at a
restaurant minimizes your setup and cleanup times, it eliminates
the need for food shopping and preparation, and it reduces the
need for party decorations. If holding the party at a restaurant
isn’t an option, consider where exactly in your workplace you
want to hold the party. The kitchen or break room isn’t always
the best option! 

Day and Time

Choose a day and time for the party when everyone will be in
the office and will not be in a rush to get back to work or
their home immediately after. We recommend hosting the party on
a Thursday afternoon during work hours (4 to 5 p.m. works well).
By holding the party during work hours, you will get a far
better turnout. 

Theme 

Choosing a theme for a retirement party is not essential, but
it can add an extra element of fun to the occasion, especially
if you are holding the party at your workplace. In choosing a
theme, consider where the person might be moving after retiring
or if they have a favorite hobby that they will be pursuing in
their retirement. For example, if the person is moving to
Hawaii, you could throw and island-themed party. If they love to
play golf, that could be a theme as well. If the person has a
noteworthy trait, you can also make that a theme for the party
(i.e. if they

always wear blue shirts to work, you could inform
the guests to wear blue shirts). 

Decorations

Decorations for the party can be simple as long as they are
creative. If you choose not to have a theme for the party, you
can always hang framed portraits or pictures of the person that
is retiring. If the person who is retiring has a good sense of
humor, you can doctor the images in Adobe Photoshop to get a
rise out of the guests. 

Food and Beverage

Serve hors d'oeuvres and drinks to stay within budget and keep
the preparations manageable. If you are holding the party in a
restaurant, make sure to prearrange which hors d'oeuvres will be
served. If the person retiring has a favorite food or beverage,
serve it if it fits in with your theme. Be sure to consult your
company’s alcohol policy if you plan to serve any alcoholic
beverages. 

Activities

Party activities should be fun but not overwhelming. Your
guests will want to chat and have the opportunity to give their
best to the person who is retiring. Slideshows and roasts are
two popular retirement party activities. A slide show can either
be played in the background during the party, or it can be
narrated with a story. A video roast can be another good option.
To organize the video roast, send out an email to the person’s
friends and colleagues asking them for stories that you can
videotape. Employ a funny and well-liked person to serve as the
roast master. The roast master can introduce the video with a
funny story and also conclude the roast with a few upbeat, witty
remarks. 

Invitations

Invitations for the party can be done in a number of easy ways:
send an email, post flyers in the office, and place formal
invitations in work mailboxes. A reminder email is always
helpful the morning of the party to ensure maximum attendance.

About the Author: A.J. Yeakel is a writer for
http://afteriretire.com.

Source: http://www.isnare.com

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