Parent's 25th anniversary on the cheap

HorizonXP

So my parents 25th is coming up on the 20th. Don't worry, we won't be celebrating it until my sister comes back on the 24th... even then, we're gonna wait til the 25th. We don't celebrate Christmas religiously.

Anyway, I just graduated from school, but don't have a job, so no money. I live with my parents, and they've been supporting me/paying my bills. I had ideas for sending them on a trip to the Caribbean, or doing a big party at a hall, but obviously with no money, this isn't an option.

I had these ideas a while ago. Recently, my parents have been nagging me about what I plan to do. I think they want me to do a hall thing. I've told them, no way, I have no money.

My sister said we could get a cake, balloons, decorations, hide it all at my gf's house (her family's out of town for christmas), and then bring it to our house on the 25th. Then invite our relatives that live nearby, and just have a christmas/anniversary get together.

Does anyone have any other ideas I could use to make this a more memorable event? I really wanted to go big on this, but I guess I'll make it up to them on their 26th, or 30th, or something.

SanderJK

It's sort of short notice now, but what we did for my mothers 50th birthday, is try to contact high school friends and such to come over. With the wedding, you could perhaps see if you can find out who attended it.

On second thought, with it being on christmas, you are going to have a lot of trouble getting people to come over. This is also an issue for planning stuff, since well.... a lot of things are going to be closed down or booked about 2 years ago.

musanman

what the hell do you have to do with your parents 25th, tell them to go on a cruise and leave your (no offense) dumbass behind

LewieP's Mummy

I don't understand why its your job to organise/pay for it. It was our 25th anniversary 2 years ago, we had a re-wedding, dinner, party in the evening and stayed in a hotel, it was fab. We paid for it all, Lewie and his sister helped with stuff, as did our friends, but we paid.

Why don't you just ask them what they want to do and what their budget is to do it? Let them know you'll help with the organising. Why on earth should you be expected to pay for it? Its their anniversary, not yours after all.

Or is this another example of same language: different culture? If its a traditional US tradition, I'm sorry, I didn't know! That's not what happens in the UK.

noir_blood

Yeah seriously, maybe you're wording it wrong, but reading your post, the first thing I thought is "why they hell should you have to make arrangements?" I mean, I understand it would be nice of them if their son/daughter did something special, but man, you're just out of high school, so I would imagine they know that (unless you're extraordinary), you aren't making that much money.

HorizonXP

Actually, I'm just out of university. And yeah, as to why they're expecting it of me, it's probably a cultural thing.

I've already decided I'm NOT doing an expensive hall-type party. I was just looking for suggestions for what to do for a party at home. A friend suggested flowers for my mom, and to get a cake. Anything along those lines would be helpful

Auntie Shibby

What I did was take my grandmother's photo album of my parents wedding, and copy/fix 25 photos I thought we were best. Their first kiss as married, cutting of the cake, getting ready, and a a few of a couple who are now deceased.

I was able to get an album that said '25th Anniversary' pretty cheap and put all the photos in to it.

My parents love it and display it on a book case as you walk into their home.

LewieP's Mummy

Why don't you invite a bunch of their friends and ask them all to bring a dish of their favourite food, together with something they like to drink: no costs to you=good food and drinks. Then, one of my friends did a This is your life for her mum for her 70th - she loved it, it wouldn't cost that much to do, all you'd need would be a big red file, and your parents' friends could all contribute with pictures and anecdotes about them both.

witch_ie

This all may be a little cheesy, but it will be memorable...

Try to get all the decorations to be silver...silver ballons, silver colored streamers, silver cake frosting (you could even throw some glitter on it and get some cheap silver rings (two)). If there are wine glasses, you could get some silver curling ribbon and put them on there (you get the idea). I would also suggest doing a slide show...maybe with one picture from each of their 25 years together, set to their song (if they have one). Also, see if you can set your house up so that there's some nice slow dancing to romantic music - maybe find out what played at their wedding.

If on top of the event, you want to get them an inexpensive gift, I would go for a silver picture frame with a romantic picture of them in it.

onceling

I'm with LewiePs Mummy, potluck is a really good idea for food on the don't-blow-the-bank end of the scale.

If your parents are the kind that like the hall idea, then its likely they want attention and people and food. That's pretty much what "huge hall" equates to. You can't easily turn that into a quiet family affair. They want their friends to be there to help them celebrate.

Music, picture slideshow, food. Thats basically it.

Can your sister afford something special as a gift for them? A day together somewhere?

Kate of Lokys

I know you said your family doesn't celebrate Christmas religiously, but I highly doubt the same can be said of most of the friends you're thinking of inviting. Pretty much everyone I know from my parents' generation spends Christmas Day just doing stuff with their families - opening presents in the morning, spending the afternoon playing with new toys or sledding or going for a walk in the snow, then sitting down in the evening to a traditional Christmas dinner. Socializing is for other days of the year.

There's also the fact that at this point, you're giving people less than a week's notice. That's not enough time. Even people who do socialize on Christmas Day are going to have other plans by now.

My advice: tell your parents "Hey, Mom and Dad, I really want your 25th anniversary to be the center of everyone's attention, so why don't we plan it for the third weekend in January? That will give me time to take care of the organization, and it will ensure that as many of your friends as possible can be there."