21st Birthday Ideas: A Dinner with Family That's Not Too Embarassing

My brother David had his 21st birthday a week before Christmas, and my mom and I wanted to plan a little celebration. When thinking of 21st ideas, I tried to keep two things in mind for a guy's 21st Birthday Party:
#1) don't embarrass him and
#2) he's probably got more fun things to do that night...Hello? He'll be 21!!

We decided on an early dinner at David's favorite Japanese steak house, Samurai in Andalusia, Alabama, with just immediate family, so David could go hang out with his friends for the rest of the night.

21st Party Decorations

I wanted to do something special for decorations, while keeping rule #1 (don't embarrass) in mind. I came up with these little double-sided table flags, and they were perfect! I picked up these jars and beads at Dollar Tree and embellished the jar with a little brown ribbon. I made three to place around the hibachi, and because they were so low, only the people at the next two tables over could see them (minimizes embarrassment). Since they were pretty small, they were easy to transport, too.

Having David's name on the flags allowed our Samurai chef to really personalize our dinner experience, too...making for an extra fun night! He called David by name all throughout the meal, and the rest of us got called by name, too...well, sort of. We were "David's Mommy", "David's Sister", "David's Brother-in-Law", "David's Daddy", and my Dad's girlfriend Debbie was "David's Daddy's Friend". His persistence in calling us all by name was really funny, as they became quite a mouthful for him at times!

Clearly, I forgot to tell Samurai about about Rule #1.  They made things even more festive with balloons, drums, and a delicious pineapple boat. Well, I guess you can't get out of a family gathering without a little embarrassment...right?!

21st Birthday Gifts

For David's 21st birthday presents, I came up with the idea for a "Find Your Favorite Beer Tasting Kit".  Over Thanksgiving, David had been asking me what beers I liked to drink, probably in prep for his birthday, so I thought he would enjoy doing a taste test to find his favorite.

The Fresh Market has these really neat looking six-pack containers for mix and matching beer to create a custom six pack.  Unfortunately, their beers were a little too gourmet for this project, as I was looking for the basics, but they kindly gave me the box with my grocery purchase.  I was able to find the single beers I needed at a gas station.  I filled the pack with a Miller Lite, Bud Light, Coors Light, Corona Light, Heineken (in case he has more refined tastes), and a Blue Moon (one of my favorites).

My husband and I gave him something a little more substantial, too, and of course, the wrapping had to match the rest of the party decorations!

21st Birthday Cake

David also loves Sugar Rush Bakery in Andalusia, so my mom picked up a variety of mini plain cheesecakes, mini turtle cheesecakes, and chocolate cupcakes.

So yummy!  It was wonderful because everyone could pick what they liked.

 

I found these cute plates and napkins to match everything else at Party City.  The plates are actually a hard plastic, so you could reuse them if you wanted.  For convenience, we just left them behind at the restaurant, though.

I think David had a good time at his 21st Birthday Party!  Samurai Japanese Steak House even surprised him with a porcelain samurai figure, too, which was so thoughtful.  (David must eat there a lot!!!)

Do you have any 21st birthday ideas?

What fun things have your done to celebrate?

Featured Handmade Items by Belly Feathers
Pennant Table Flags
"Find Your Favorite Beer" Tasting Kit Sign
Hand-stamped Birthday Gift Tag

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