When I’m 64! 64th Birthday Party Ideas

When I’m 64 Themed Birthday Party: What better theme for someone turning 64 then the Beatles classic song? Decor ideas and menu ideas with a bistro feel.

Last night we got together with “some random person off the street” -who doesn’t want everyone to know she’s 64 😉 It seemed an obvious theme considering her age, to go with the Beatles fun song “When I’m 64!”  It’s such a timeless classic and the perfect way to celebrate this milestone birthday.

The Song

Listen to the song “When I’m 64” here -it’s the perfect theme to the night.

When I get older losing my hair
Many years from now
Will you still be sending me a Valentine
Birthday greetings bottle of wine

If I’d been out till quarter to three
Would you lock the door
Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I’m sixty-four

You’ll be older too
And if you say the word
I could stay with you

I could be handy, mending a fuse
When your lights have gone
You can knit a sweater by the fireside
Sunday mornings go for a ride
Doing the garden, digging the weeds
Who could ask for more

Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I’m sixty-four

Every summer we can rent a cottage
In the Isle of Wight, if it’s not too dear
We shall scrimp and save
Grandchildren on your knee
Vera, Chuck and Dave

Send me a postcard, drop me a line
Stating point of view
Indicate precisely what you mean to say
Yours sincerely, wasting away

Give me your answer, fill in a form
Mine for evermore
Will you still need me, will you still feed me
When I’m sixty-four

 

The Party Decor

To celebrate this special day we wanted to do a rustic and casual feel for the party decor.  I decided to use a table runner of brown craft paper, and that set the tone for the rest of the table and food. This is such an easy option for entertaining and gives a real bisto vibe.  After the party, no worry about washing linens, you just put it in the recycling bin.

I used cute little mini brown paper bags to hold everyone’s knife, fork and napkin, and made a little silver pom pom, and tied them to the end of skewers with twine for fun.  The paper bags went with the runner and were a fun detail to add to the table.

The bags were stamped with the number 64.  I used a set of stamps I already had.  Look for them at the craft store.

I saw these fun number balloons at new years, and tucked them away in my mind for the future. I thought they’d be great for the party. Unfortunately when I went to pick them up, they told me they had to order them in 🙁 so no number balloons for me, but if you were doing something similar they’d be great addition to the party decor.  I love how large these ones are.  They’re a real statement pieces.  They were also the inspiration for bringing silver into the table.

At each place setting, I printed the song lyrics out for everyone, with the menu on the back.This was a great place to include the song, so everyone could read the lyrics.

The Menu

I liked how the kraft paper created a bistro feel, and it inspired my menu for the night.

Birthday Celebration Menu

 

-Dinner-
French Dip Roast Beef
Sandwiches
Fresh Cut Fries
Homemade Onion Rings
Grandma’s Coleslaw

 

-Dessert-
Coconut Cupcakes
Vanilla Cupcake

French Dip Roast Beef Sandwiches

The French Dip Roast Beef sandwiches were a new recipe, and boy were they a hit. Like everyone oohing and aahing and over eating kind of a hit. I found the recipe over at Our Best Bites.

They were really easy. Like roast, beef stock and a couple envelopes of onion soup mix in the slow cooker all day, kind of easy. I love a recipe where the slow cooker does all the hard work for you.  You should try this recipe, it will improve the quality of your life.

I sautéd some onions and mushrooms to go on the sandwiches, along with a little Swiss cheese. I cut open some fresh buns, piled on the beef, onions, mushrooms and topped them off with the swiss cheese.  Then they went under the broiler for a few minutes to melt the cheese.  The dip was on the side in the ramekins.  They were so delicious.  And the perfect item for a casual dinner party.

Homemade Onion Rings and French Fries

I also made home made onion rings -find my recipe and instructions here. These are also so, so good.

And, while the deep fryer was out, I decided to make fresh cut fries.  

I used the double fry method, and they were crispy and delicious. The first frying is at 325 and is only about 3 min. They come out like this, not browned yet.

Then you turn the fryer up to 375 and finish them, frying until golden brown. They were delish.

Along with all the yummy fried up food, I also did a sweet-ish coleslaw, my Grandma’s recipe. It was perfect to balance everything out.  Sandwiches with fries and salad could seem like a pretty regular menu for a celebration, but by making our food all homemade including the fries and rings it felt like such a special menu and it was all so good!

Dessert

After dinner we had the best part -dessert, made from scratch cupcakes. They were so yummy, and the perfect size little treat after a big meal.

Coconut Cupcakes

The birthday girl’s favourite is The Barefoot Contessa’s Coconut Cupcakes. If you like coconut, you will love this recipe.  In recent years, it’s become a real family favorite for us.

I don’t really like coconut. 🙁

Vanilla Cupcakes

One day, while making these for the coconut lovers, I had a lick of the batter before adding in the coconut. I was thinking this is the best cupcake batter I ever tasted. And then the light bulb, what if I leave out the coconut.

The Barefoot Contessa’s Coconut Cupcakes (without coconut) are the best Vanilla cupcakes I ever had!

What I usually do is make half vanilla and half coconut. Just before adding the coconut, scoop out half the batter and fill about 15 cupcake tins. Half the original coconut and add to the rest of the batter to make the rest coconut.

I use the cream cheese frosting on the recipe for the coconut cupcakes, but only make a quarter of the original recipe, and I find it’s the perfect amount.

For the vanilla ones, I make a simple butter cream.

To coordinate the cupcakes with the rest of the party decor, I put the cupcakes in the same little paper bags that I used for the cutlery, just cut down a little. I made a fun little food pick with a toothpick and some more twine and silver ribbon.

I also used “64” sparkle candles.

Gifts

After dinner it was time to give her her amazing gift.  Her 64th birthday gift was something off of her wish list.  You can’t give any old gift for a milestone year like this.  Of course though, the best gifts are always spending a special night together with the people you love over great food!  The perfect gift is love.

We all had a great time, and the “random person of the street” seemed to enjoy herself as well! I guess it’s for sure then, we will still need you and we definitely will still feed you, when you’re 64! If you have someone special or a family member turning 64 this is the perfect party theme to kick off a new year. I really can’t think of a better way.  I hope all these great ideas for celebrating have inspired you.  Happy 64th birthday mom!

With a When I’m 64 Themed Birthday, life is really a party!

More Birthday Party Inspiration

You might also our Beer/Rootbeer Tasting Birthday Party here.

 

Also check out our Make Your Own Pasta Bar party here.

You might also enjoy our Toast Party here.