to ask how you celebrated your 40th?

[HaveSomeGrace]

Just that really.

Husband is 40 next May and looking for some inspiration.

My sister took me on a retreat. I am an agnostic, but the experience fills me with peace even four years later.

Cocktails in a posh bar and a meal with friends and their children and mine. Another friend had a big party and invited anyone she had vaguely spoken to in the past few years including my friends, which was weird, they were amused but it was a good night.

Had a garden party with all my friends and family, hired rugs; cushions, lanterns etc from a quirky vintage party hire place to kit our garden out. My birthday is in summer which helped! Put on all the booze and food, in the evening had disco ball and lights in the garden with music and dancing. Was fantastic, everyone had a lovely time.

Had a big work lunch, and my office was decorated by colleagues. Had a family meal at a local restaurant on the evening of my birthday. The next day had a group of friends with me for dinner and cocktails. Then over the next couple of weeks did various things with different friends. It was lovely. A very happy stage of my life. Been reasonably shit since😂

@JustDoOne

I’m the same as you, so it’ll be interesting my to see what happens for mine in a few years. I’m happy to fade in to insignificance though.

Went to Chester zoo for the day!

Went up the Shard and lunch out with family. I was pregnant so didn’t want a big drunken do.

Flat on my back in a hotel room in Italy

For dh I bhooked a cottage for the weekend and invited lots of his friends. We spent the weekend walking and had a massive dinner on the Saturday night. Never cooked for 20 before or since!

@MayhemandMadness01

Gotcha 😂

It's DH's 40th early next year, too. (Mine's not been yet, so can't say what I'll end up doing.) No money to whisk him away for a holiday, but I'm tentatively looking into "day experiences" and short courses in blacksmithing. He's always been fascinated. Watches weird documentaries on it, and jokes we wants a forge in the garden... I want to put the money aside and give him a chance to have a little try.

DH surprised me with a child free week away in The Caribbean. Never dreamed he’d do anything like that. My parents had the kids. First time we’d been away for more than 2 nights without them, and while it was amazing we really missed them!

My folks hosted a party for friends and family when we got back too. So much love, it was awesome.

On the day itself, hosted tea for immediate family... meant quite a lot of work, but it was really lovely.

A week later, big '40 years of music' themed party for mates at home that turned out really well. Knowing how flakey people are with timings and having a mix of friends with kids, and no-kids-hard-partying friends, gave timing as 7-12 (so none of the latter would rock up at 11, and the former could make it with kids if babysitting was an issue), which was about perfect. Last guests left about 1am.

@GoneWishing

If it’s something that he’ll like then why not. The only think my husband had said is about going to Germany with his brother for some convention he’s interested in.

Sounds good GoneWishing. He will be able to make some beautiful wrought iron things to keep.

Went on a fabulous First Class 5 * city break with five mates.

We hired a really pretty cottage in remote Devon with a swimming pool. My close family came so there were 12 of us and it was really low key - just perfect.

Fancied a tour of Houses of Parliament (seamed a grownup thing to do) but it’s shut around my birthday time so had friends round for afternoon tea.

When I was 40 DH knew I'd always wanted to go to Longleat as I love animals, so he surprised me and we left DDs with friends (they were a bit young for it plus we wanted child free fun) and spent the weekend at a lovely pub B & B near Longleat and dId all the safari park and animal stuff and on the last evening DH surprised me again by having arranged for a very old friend who I hadn't seen for ages who lives about an hour from Longleat to turn up with her partner for a reunion and we all went to a very posh country house restaurant for dinner. Was lovely. A few years later when DDs were a bit older we took them.

For my 40th DH and I enjoyed an overnight stay in York, had drinks and a meal and also did some shopping. I also went out with about a dozen friends for afternoon tea.

Dropped hints that I'd love to go to New York... got taken to Alton Towers for the day (all the way from the north of Scotland)

Mine is coming up in a few months. My SIL's is one day after so we're trying to organise a joint party. Hire a room in a pub, some arcade machines and other games, beers, food, maybe karaoke. I don't normally make a fuss on my birthday but 40 feels like a thing.

Went to a Forest holiday - spent the day walking, drinking bubbles in the hot tub, Nice dinner out, and back in the hot tub with more bubbles. Perfect

I had a party in my back garden with family and friends. It was great fun, though slightly marred by the next door neighbour having died that morning (we did check the family were ok with it going ahead, and the music etc was more muted than what what it would have been).

I organised a surprise party for my husbands 40th and a weekend in a swanky hotel.

For my own we went for a night in a posh London hotel, went to see the Book if Mormon and had a nice dinner. Then we went to the New Forest for a weekend and went to Peppa Pig World with the toddler! 😄 I was pregnant so unable to get hammered anyway.