milestone birthdays

Celebrate your loved ones with a fun, delicious milestone birthday party at any age. 

My favorite part of throwing birthday parties is bringing loved ones together for a joyful reason. No matter how old someone turns, celebrating birthdays are really about showing love and showing people you care. I love to go all out when planning birthday parties for family and friends, especially when it’s a milestone year. After all, you only turn 21 (or 30 or 40) once.

When you get into your 50s and 60s, birthdays are even more about being surrounded by loved ones and making memories. Whichever milestone birthday you’re celebrating, there are so many ways to make it a birthday to remember. Here are a few of my favorites.

Ask guests to send photos with the birthday guest of honor

Before the day of the celebration, ask everyone to send photos of themselves with the birthday guest of honor, especially photos from ten or more years ago. All the photos can be made into a collage to serve as backdrop for photos at the party. It even doubles as a walk down memory lane, letting the birthday guest and attendees reminisce about happy memories together.

A birthday mosaic made for Audrey Peters' 25th birthday party (@audreypeters)

Serve plenty of cupcakes for everyone to enjoy

These celebrations tend to be epic affairs, and Baked by Melissa makes it easy to buy desserts that will make everyone happy. If you have an extensive guest list, 100-packs of bite-size cupcakes make the best low-hassle dessert. You can also order no nut flavors, gluten-free and vegan options to make sure that all your guests can have something sweet.

Want a cupcake spread that’s even more special? Meet our unique cupcake mosaics. This edible art can be made in the shape of the milestone birthday age or a symbol from a favorite decade. How sweet would a peace sign cupcake mosaic be?! Just make sure to inquire about them 3-4 weeks before the party if you’re set on this dessert option.

Make a photo booth with fun, on-theme props 

Whether you create a photo wall or have a more traditional photo booth setup, taking photos is always more fun with props. For a milestone birthday, it just makes sense to include props related to the years the birthday guest experienced. Think cutouts of flip phones and CDs for the 2000s, peace signs and lava lamps for the ‘70s, or vinyls and milkshakes for the '50s. To get the perfect photo booth shots on a smartphone, I'm obsessed with this camera handle holder.

Create a decades playlist

Nothing sets the mood at a party like music! A milestone birthday party calls for songs from the last few decades, including ones your partygoers jammed along to as teens and into adulthood. Check out my birthday party playlist here.

Pair cupcakes with wine or signature drinks

Wine or a signature cocktail are the perfect complements to bite-size cupcakes, especially at a 21st birthday party. I’m no stranger to pairing wine with bite-size cupcakes and trust me, having different flavors of cupcakes to choose from means you’re more likely to have the perfect pairing for your favorite sip. 

Time to celebrate! Let us know your favorite milestone birthday memories by tagging @bakedbymelissa on Instagram or TikTok.