We had parties for those "0" milestone birthdays. Usually someone makes a photo board (on foam board) of baby and childhood photos, high school, etc.) or even a slide show for the computer. There are always a bunch of age-related joke gifts (like vodka and prune juice), of course. We've asked people to bring something creative - a limerick, a poem, an anecdote, even a song. If even one or two people write new "parody" lyrics to a familiar song and then bring song sheets for everyone to sing along, it's hilarious. People usually choose something everyone knows like "Take me out to the ballgame" or "I've been working on the railroad" and then they change the words to put in stuff about the birthday person. A few people always have a story about the person and usually it's funny with some heartfelt stuff thrown in. It's the variety that is the most interesting and engaging. It creates a lot of laughs and is the evening's official entertainment. It doesn't matter what people come up with because it's a gift of the heart.
One time we followed a friend's suggestion and moved all the regular furniture out of the living room or to the very outer edges, and we rented a few bar-height tables from the rental place. We put some tablecloths on them (paper) and some "50" confetti from the party store, then a simple round mirror and votive candle from the craft store - it looked like a sort of elegant cocktail lounge, and people had places to put their appetizer plates and drinks, which they really appreciated. And it required them to mill around and meet each other, the goal of any party. For a good sized living room with a couch and a few chairs, we got away with just 3 tables, and put all the food on the dining room table.
