Chic 40th Birthday Party Ideas

My 40th birthday party was finally here! When I was asked what I wanted to do to celebrate such an important milestone, I wondered whether I wanted to have a party or go on a cruise. I opted to plan a small-budget party and have a cruise later on since I decided not to splurge much on this party.

That, however, didn’t stop me from putting my thinking cap on and throwing my ideas together to come up with a low-budget chic 40th birthday party that I would love.

Now I also had the option to have it done at a venue or planned by my event planner aunt, but I wanted to do this project independently because I love decorating and planning things and then hosting others.

I really wanted to plan my own 40th birthday party and put my touches on my special day. So I took on the challenge, and I must say, I’m so glad I did.

I am a true “DIY girl at heart” and I’m okay with being that way.

“I planned a milestone birthday party that was unique to who I am naturally.”

Theme

The first thing I did when coming up with a theme that I knew would be unique to me, is to first think about who I am and what I love about myself. I also looked at my favorite colors and even my favorite flowers to try to incorporate a little bit of me.

Initially, I wanted to do a beach-themed party because I am a “beach bum” at heart. However, I opted out of a beach theme when I thought about how expensive it would get trying to plan the decor with sea shells and sand.

So I took a well-needed pivot from that idea and just came up with a flowers and butterfly-themed birthday party that showcased my favorite color, turquoise, and my favorite pink flowers.

Search for Ideas

Once I started recognizing the ideas were coming together so beautifully, I got on Pinterest to find this color scheme of turquoise with pink and how I could blend them. This is what I came up with when planning this 40th birthday party.

Budget

If you leave this up to me with a “no budget necessary” agenda, I will go on a heavy splurge and get everything I want for this party to happen. However, I had to be conscious of my finances and keep my eyes on the cruise I wanted to do later. That was the motivation I needed to stay as low budget as possible.

My first instinct is to go to Amazon to find many of the bulkier things I would need, then go to my backup decor websites, such as Efavormart and TableClothsFactory.

Then my next favorite thing to do is to scout out all the Dollar Tree stores in my neighborhood for more affordable decor items that I need to add the finishing touches to my decor.

Invitations

My go-to for digital invites that I make for any party I host is with Canva. Canva is the place where I like to create beautiful invites that I can print or send to my guests by text messages. This is what I came up with initially because my theme was going to be beach-related. However, I decided to change it later on as I decided on decor.

Decor

This is where the fun started for this flowers and butterflies-inspired 40th birthday party.

Tableware

I purchased the tableware from Amazon. The tableware I decided to go with was blue plastic dinner and cake plates along with the matching cups. The turquoise napkins were purchased at TableClothsfactory for a really good deal from their clearance section. The gold napkin holders I got also added a perfect touch.

Items Listed

• Tableware
• Turquoise napkins
• Gold napkin holders

Tablecloth, Runner and garland

I purchased white tablecloths for the tables that can be found on Amazon.

The table runners were also purchased on Amazon and came two in a package which was very cost-effective.

The eucalyptus garland was purchased at Joann’s. They were on sale for 50% off, so I got a really good deal on them.

Items Listed

• White tablecloths
• Table runners
• Eucalyptus garland

Centerpieces

For the centerpieces, I used sauce jars that I saved and added childhood photos that I printed at Walgreens. I also got jute twine that I found at Dollar Tree that I used to wrap the top of the jars with a bow. These centerpieces were actually easy to create and very inexpensive.

The candle holders and mini flameless candles were purchased at Dollar Tree. Similar candle holders can be found on Amazon.

Items listed

• Jute twine
• Candle holders
• Flameless candles

Framed Poster and Picture frames

The framed poster was also done on Canva. Canva is my go-to for posters as well.

The poster was printed at Walgreens as a 20×30 poster picture, which I framed.

The 20 x 30 poster frame was purchased at Walmart. A similar version of the frame can also be purchased on Amazon.

The wood-stained easel was also purchased at Joann, using a 50% off coupon for a regular-priced item. That I thought was definitely a steal!

Items listed

• Poster frame
• Easel

Ballon Garland

The balloon garland was created by me. This was my second attempt at this project. I wanted to once again keep the party as low budget as I could to save for a cruise. Therefore I decided not to spend on getting it professionally done.

I purchased the balloon arc along with balloons and flowers from both Amazon and TableClothsfactory. The fishline was purchased at Walmart but can also be found on Amazon.

Items listed

• Balloon arc
• Butterfly Ballon garland
• Gold Balloons
• Dusty Rose Balloons
• Rose gold foam flowers
• Balloon pump
• Fishline

Cake

The cake was made by my favorite and less expensive bakery, Publix. It cost around $40 and I was able to also customize the color of the macaroons that they placed on the top. I was excited about how it came out and will use Publix more often for all my party baking needs.

I purchased the 40th birthday cake topper from Amazon, which added some sparkle to my cake.

The gold table runner was re-used from my husband’s 40th birthday party.

Items Listed

• 40th birthday cake topper
• Gold table runner

Dessert Table

For the dessert table, I added some of my favorite desserts that I like along with others to add color and texture to the table.

I purchased the tablecloth for the dessert table from Efavormart. The same tablecloth is also available on Amazon.

I also added two photo frames that I purchased at Ross and added my baby pictures as a way to add a personal touch to my table decor. Here is a similar square flower photo frame found on Amazon.

I also added two mason jars that I filled with blue water which was made using food coloring added to water to add a touch of color. I also added flowers I purchased at Dollar Tree along with jute twine purchased from there as well.

For the favor boxes, I filled them with my mother’s famous Jamaican Fruit Cake topped with white butter icing.

The white cake trays and rectangular serving trays were purchased at Party City.

The bird cage that I used for well-wishes was something that I reused from my wedding to add a personal touch to the table.

Items Listed

• Tablecloth
• Food coloring
• Jute twine
• Favor boxes
• White cake trays
• Rectangular serving trays 

The desserts that were added were:

• Hostess Baby Bundts cakes (Walmart)
• French Madeleines (Costco)
• Macaroons (Costco)

Food

We are a blended Caribbean, Hispanic, and African mixed family. I choose to do more of my Jamaican dishes mixed with an African and popular Spanish dish. This menu was what I came up with.

• Grilled Jerk Chicken
• Escovitch Fish
• Chicken, smoked sausage, and shrimp paella
• Jollof Rice
• Spinach Quiche
• Kale Salad

For appetizers, before the main meal, I served:

• Meatballs on a stick
• Egg rolls

Entertainment

For entertainment, we played music at our party and my mother hosted the program. Family and friends gave their well wishes, and we talked and laughed the night away.

It was definitely a fun-filled dinner party that I highly enjoyed doing to have my family and friends share the special day with me.

I do hope that it will also give you some 40th birthday ideas that you can implement as well for your own party.

If you would like to know more about planning adults’ or kids’ parties visit my blog post on:

• How To Plan a 40th Birthday Party
• How To Plan A Kids’ Birthday Party On A Budget
• Mario-Themed Birthday Party On A Budget
• Kids Construction/Engineering-themed Birthday Party

Have you also planned a milestone birthday party? Please feel free to comment or ask your questions or concerns below. I would be happy to help you!

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