50th Birthday Party

Here are 2 ideas that I enjoyed for my own or somebody else's:  hot-air balloon ride in Napa, weekend house rental someplace fun for everybody such as Inverness, Monterey, Sea Ranch, (Hawaii?!) 

I just turned 50 too so I have also given this some thought. Depending on their interests, you could do a cooking class together, a group art class, afternoon tea, visit Filoli Gardens (the flowers in Spring time must be amazing). Filoli also has afternoon tea, you just have to book ahead. If you have the budget for it, you can even rent their event space and have a full out afternoon tea among the flowers, but last I checked it was very expensive. My neighbor does this tea mixing class at her little shop at the Alameda called Sips Global Teas, and I know she does lovely little tea workshops or just tea pairing. There's also a stained glass class in Alameda that has always looked interesting, and I've wanted to do for ages. In the past, we also plan little overnight trips to Napa/Sonoma/Healdsburg that includes dinner and a nice hotel, just for one night, which is low key and yet special. Happy Birthday!

whale watching!

It depends on her interests -- If she likes the outdoors, maybe Stinson Beach and a picnic; if she likes art, SFMOMA, or the DeYoung both of which have nearby restaurants. For just the family maybe a weekend trip to Monterey aquarium, or to Sea Ranch. I had one friend who did a 50th at her gym, where everyone had time to use the facilities, and then there was dancing and food in a community room.

Hi! We did my 50th birthday for about a dozen people at Kitchen on Fire in North Berkeley. It’s a professional kitchen. The chef there did a cooking demo and instructions. We then all cooked the dishes together and then ate an amazing meal. The staff there did all the clean up as we had a lovely dinner and dessert. My husband and I selected the menu with the chef ahead of time. We brought our own wine. It was an incredibly fun and memorable event, and all my guests told me they had a great time.  We also all got the recipes so we could cook the dishes at home later. Highly recommend it. 

My friend from college and I had a joint dinner at home inviting siblings and a few mutual friends - 12 total. It was fancy, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, 2 starters, each plated, main course plated, palate cleanser and three sweet courses - including petite fours and chocolates. Each course was inspired by our backgrounds and where we have loved and travelled so for us, Mexico, India, Ethiopia, Kenya, Italy, and France were influences. We hired a cook to assist but did a lot of work ourselves (my husband has a small restaurant and he did A LOT). We selected wines for each course and had to buy extra plates to fill in the set of 12 my friend had as over the years there had been breakage. Soooo fun!

I love the ideas already shared! Another idea is afternoon tea at a fun venue like Filoli House & Garden, Son & Garden, etc. A full afternoon tea is quite the pampered experience, especially if someone has never done it before, or even if they have! 

I did a cheese-making class with friends and we all had a great time: https://www.farmcurious.com/collections/classes

I loved my 50th celebration: my partner arranged for the Medicine Ball music ensemble  to do a Mardi Gras style marching band down my street to my door. Granted we live on a fairly quiet street so we didn’t have to reserve/block off our street. Medicine Ball will put together an ensemble to play any kind of music you like — jazz, zydeco, rock, blues….

While what constitutes a satisfactory milestone birthday celebration depends on the preferences of the individual, I would encourage you to do something spectacular.

For our 50th birthdays, my husband and I and our son and daughter, then ages 12 and 10, rented horses, pack mules, and.a guide and rode into the high Sierra from the Golden Trout Wilderness to the headwaters of the Kern River.  It was ten days up and back. Campfires, meteor showers, crossing rocky passes.

For various reasons, we can never replicate that experience.  But we have the evidentiary photos, and it was marvelous fun that will last a lifetime in our hearts.

BTW - I may be the only person in town who once got a bad meal at Chez Panisse, just sayin,

Chez Panisse is a bit yawn. I second the idea of a weekend away somewhere fun. Go to SC and have dinner at Shadowbrook. Or axe throwing followed by dinner somewhere high energy and fun. Have a full weekend or full day in SF doing city things - cafes in NB, dim sum chinatown, cable cars, drinks at the Tonga, theater etc etc. You live next to a world class city ... Do something you've never done before. Take a surfing lesson, do a super long hike at Pt Reyes and stay out there or Bodega which has some nice properties, have some kind of adventure -or challenge yourself in some way to do something rad to show the kids how it's done at 50!

What is the budget?

A one night situation or gateway?

Quiet or cheerful?

so many options…..