If party means gathering, we are gonna need to gather soon. Covid-19 means a lot of serious things but it shouldn’t take away every opportunity to celebrate the big important stuff. And what’s bigger stuff than a milestone birthday?
Turning 40 is fabulous. Celebrating 40 is even more so. Just because our world looks a little different doesn’t mean things aren’t better than ever. Not the wrinkles. But in all the most important ways.
Scoop has done some idea gathering of our own. Here’s how to make a 40th Birthday Celebration everything it should be. In Charlotte, of course.
We love a good backyard powwow — elevated. Invite a few of your most enthusiastic movie buffs for a night celebrating 1980 cinematic greatness. The Empire Strikes Back or Fame? Friday the 13th, Fast Times or Urban Cowboy? The Blue Lagoon or American Gigolo?
Whatever you’re into…just add cocktails.
There are beverages. And then there are monumental cocktails. Liberate Your Palate’s Cosmo En Blanc:
Yields 1 cocktail:
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Vodka
- 1 oz Pavan Liqueur (most ABC stores)
- 1 oz White Cranberry Juice
- ½ part Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
- sugared grape garnish
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker, add ice and shake until chilled. Garnish with green grapes rolled in sugar and placed on a cocktail pick.
We strongly encourage a tray of these in time to see Princess Leia and Han Solo escape in the Millennium Falcon.
Serve an unforgettable birthday cake without Sixteen Candles. Save your breath. Never stop wishing, though.
Desperately Seeking balloons? Imagine this balloon arch as we enter that next decade. Serious wow-factor in a time when we need it. We will never be too old for balloons.
Feeling low-key Pretty in Pink? Babe & Butcher’s party boxes will bring you back to those high school dance feels. Pretty party vibes…no serving required. Or unnecessary dances with boys.
via Black Moth Bars 
Pull the booze right up to the scene of the crime with Black Moth Bars. If you aren’t all rainbows about the big day at least embrace that vibe. Throw Jason masks around and when he starts slashing go back for another shot of the hard stuff.
Set the tone. Oysters show out this time of year. Have the dockside kits from Little Fête delivered. Done. Oh yes. Get buttered up and find out if Brooke Shields makes it off the island.
Keeping things private with a celebration for two — minus the European vacation you had planned? Share an authentic European Pavlova and a toast. Bring the movie indoors, perhaps?
Let CLT Luxury Picnics make all of your birthday wishes come true. If you are like us, we’ve been waiting for this Say Anything moment. I’m sure they could make that happen — boom box and all.
Hoping for an Adventures in Babysitting kind of night with the kids? Get out. But you know, stay close ’cause Corona. South of Asheville you’ll find Riveter Recreation Facility with biking, climbing, yoga, and beer. Share the adventure with the kiddos Elisabeth Shue style.
Want to keep the celebration cozy? Stay in…set the mood with a Birthdate Candle and watch The Breakfast Club. Soak it all in. What does it mean to be 40? We can only tell you — fabulous things ahead.
Don’t plan a thing but make-it-fabulous option? Reserve a time for charcuterie and wine at The Duke Mansion. Chef prepared picnic basket in the gardens? Very Steel Magnolias.
Need a new perspective? Mark that milestone birthday Top Gun style with a giant leap forward. We will see you on the ground. Jump!
Glamping is always our favorite get-a-way. Girls’ Birthday weekend away, we say. If you turn 40 in the woods and everyone back in Charlotte doesn’t hear it, it doesn’t count. Just don’t put on Gremlins too late.
Miss dancing like a maniac? Charlotte Ballet’s new online dance classes would be the perfect evening on the back patio with friends. Airplay the streaming classes to a large TV screen and get your sueded dancing heels out of the back of the closet.
Finally ready to wear that mask to eat out in an actual restaurant? Share a tray of individually wrapped burgers at the NEW Harriet’s Hamburers at Optimist Hall for a chill, ‘let’s not make a big deal out of this’ celebration. We’ve heard they serve up kindness along with each order. Very Big of them.
Spa retreat reservations in the midst of a pandemic? Guess what we found: this spectacular situation at Shoji Japanese Spa and Lodge. Winning birthday combo of solitude and pampering. Take that, Ferris.
Or maybe you skip the party and go straight to the gifts. Order jewelry making kits from local Beads, Inc., and invite a few friends to join in on the fun. And they said you Can’t Buy Me Love. Ha.
However you choose to make 40 happen, celebrate on your own terms. You won’t regret it. Gather or not, time to acknowledge how far you’ve come.
Celebrate you.
