Activities That
Can Be Done at a Retirement Dinner
Being the ringleader to bid adieu a recent retiree can seem like a daunting task. Often it includes entertaining a diverse group of supporters who are sending off the guest of honor. However, long speeches and never-ending monotonous toasts do not have to be the only option to sending your featured guest off in style.
Roasts
Roasts are creative alternatives to standard toasts and are comedic ways to highlight memories of the guest of honor told through true and untrue stories. This party activity is best used on retirees who have a sense of humor and for roastees who know keep the jokes entertaining rather than offensive. Usually they know the retiree best and would be selected to tell funny anecdotes with a well wishing to follow. This comedy-meets-dinner theory isn't a new one; roasts and its type of showcase date back to the legendary Friar's Club in the early 1900s. By1966, Frank Sinatra's roast was featured on the Dean Martin Show. Examples of performance styles can be found on popular comedy networks such as Comedy Central. Hugh Heffner, Chevy Chase and Joan Rivers are all famous entertainers who have been saluted on air using this format.
Slide-Show Presentations
With the use of technology, retirees can be recognized through a slide-show presentation that combines photos, old sayings and quotes to reflect memorable moments. Some creative presentations include voice-over narration, mock business presentations or read-aloud with background music re-creating the nostalgia. Slide shows can be presented by a group or used as a stand-alone rolling video serving as a backdrop at the event. Presentations are great ways to showcase the history of the guest as it relates to her family, work and extracurricular activities.
Theme Dinner Parties
Staging a theme such as a casino game night, bon voyage or old Hollywood can set the tone for the overall program of the night. Subsequent activities can be planned to match the style of the event. Old Hollywood could include entertaining guests with a live jazz band or having the DJ preselect songs and guests can guess lyrical snippets from the era of the retiree. Other creative dinner activities are trivia games, identifying commonalities between the guests and the guest of honor (how many people were born on the same day) or playing "remember when." Generally, as long as the activities involve all guests but feature the guest of honor, themed events can be useful in planning a great retirement gala.
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