Over the Hill Party

A terrific Over the Hill party idea is to plan a roast for the guest of honor. A roast is when each guest makes a joke or tells a funny story about the guest of honor. Roasts can sometimes be a lot to handle because everyone makes fun of one person, so these parties are ideal for guests of honor who have thick skin and can laugh at themselves.

Here are some additional Over the Hill party ideas so you can start to plan a memorable party:

• Decorations: Fill the event space with Over the Hill party decorations, such as table names and centerpieces. Label each table at the party with names such as “Balding Boulevard,” “Wrinkly Way,” “Drooping Drive” and “Arthritic Avenue.” Visit your local party store to purchase centerpieces for each table. Place large foil centerpieces on each table that say either “Over the Hill” or display the age of the guest of honor.

• Cake: Purchase an Over the Hill cake from a local bakery or make one yourself. Consider an Over the Hill cake idea such as a grassy hill with a paved road down the middle. First, bake a square cake. Next, bake a smaller cake in a loaf pan or in a football-shaped pan, if you can find one. Use frosting to attach the smaller cake to the square cake to create a “hill.” Cover the entire cake in green, grass-colored fondant frosting. Place a strip of black fondant frosting down the middle of the cake for the “road.” It should begin at the base of the square cake and continue all the way over the hill. Use gum paste to create a white, broken line down the center of the road. Use a decorative frosting tip to make patches of grass along the sides of the road. Create signs (around 1x1) that say, “Speed Limit 40,” “Welcome to Over the Hill Ville” and “Happy Birthday” You can make these signs with white chocolate lollipops and edible markers.

• Games: Plan Over the Hill party games to keep guests entertained throughout the celebration. One idea for a game is Over the Hill Word Scramble. Brainstorm a list of 10 words that represent people, places or things from the decade in which the guest of honor was born. Keep a master list of these 10 words. Include the name of the President at the time, a music group, a popular movie and a TV show. Create a separate list of the scrambled words and hand out one copy to each party guest. Whoever unscrambles all of the words first wins the game!

• Favors: Send party guests home with nostalgic Over the Hill party favors, such as penny candy. Create a penny candy bar for the guests. Select candy that was popular when the guest of honor was a kid. Purchase glass vases and bowls form your local arts and crafts store. Place candy in the jars, such as gum, licorice pipes and candy dots. Label the gum as “denture glue,” the licorice pipes as “cigars,” candy dots as “miracle hair growth” and jellybeans as “pain pills.” Purchase clear cellophane bags that contain personalized Over the Hill stickers. Put the bags at each place setting or place multiple bags on the table of the candy bar station.

To tie everything together, consider a variety of Over the Hill party themes such as a roast, the guest of honor’s age or an Over the Hill gag theme. Check with the birthday boy or girl ahead of time to ensure that there are no hurt feelings when it comes to a roast or a gag theme.