All you need for a pop culture birthday party

Tomorrow is my birthday,folks,and I intend to have a nice quiet family celebration to mark the occasion. However,I would hate to leave any of my blogger buddies out of the fun,so here is a list of must have items to make up a great birthday bash,with several pop culture clips to illustrate my points and hopefully provide you all with some amusement and a special surprise(more on than to come):

INVITATIONS: It's hard to have a good party if no one knows about it. Whatever style you choose for the invites,party planners should give a heads-up to the birthday girl about the guest list,just in case someone she's not particularly fond of is included:



CAKE: A birthday cake is the most essential element here,and selecting one that suits the guest of honor is key. If you have the time and the budget,the crew at Ace of Cakes would be a great choice to make the ultimate b-day cake;they can create damn near anything,from a Exorcist inspired sinister sweet treat to this amazing Hogwarts replica made for the premiere of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

It was not only good enough to eat,but would easily be a perfect prop for the next film in case of emergency:



ENTERTAINMENT: This is usually set up for children's parties,but I suppose a grown-up might like to indulge their inner child on their special day. Hiring a clown could be very amusing,unless you wind up with the clown prince of crime:



Puppet shows are always a kick,regardless of age. They're also good for distracting evil villains while you sneak off with the object of power that they need to take over the world. Risky for the puppeteer,but well worth the price of admission:



MUSIC: Tunes that get the party started right are tricky to select;you have to consider the taste of the crowd,along with the birthday guy or gal,and find something to get everyone on their feet willingly. Keep in mind that something with a good beat is usually a safe bet:

PARTY GIRLS



PARTY BOYS



BEING THE LIFE OF THE PARTY



BIRTHDAY CARD: Despite what Hallmark tells you,the card that you give can be more creative than the traditional fancy bit of cardboard. Your card can be made of anything on hand,even Mallomars. Of course if you do go down the edible route,it is perfectly reasonable to replace a cookie eaten from the greeting with one from your cupboard:





BIRTHDAY GIFT: Gift giving can be hard but sometimes it's better to give than receive. Speaking of giving,the good folks at Grand Central sent me an extra review copy of Jacqueline Carey's upcoming June title called Naamah's Kiss and since this is my birthday,I would like to give it to one of you.

Just wish me a happy birthday in the Comments section over this weekend and I will randomly select someone(within the U.S.-sorry to any international Carey fans out there,but until bloggers get some of that bail out money,my shipping costs have to stay local)as the lucky recipient and make the announcement of who that is on Monday.

Naamah's Kiss is set within Carey's Kushiel series world,but is a completely new story line with a different set of characters so this book would also be a good intro for anyone who hasn't read her work before. So,as ABBA would say,you can take a chance on it.

Hope you all have a good weekend and thank you in advance for your well wishes on my birthday. If you are shopping for a present for a loved one,try not to get too overwrought about it. Rants are fun but they take the joy out of gift giving: