I travelled to my old stomping ground – Brisbane – a couple of weeks ago for yet another fleeting visit. (I remain surprised that I despise going back there so much!) But I did manage to see a couple of my long-term besties and in doing so faced that dreaded question…. “What are you doing for your 50th birthday?”

The last member of our (original) quartet, who lives in New Zealand, had asked me that same question on the phone the week before. (And yes, it’s true. I make exceptions to my ‘no talking on the phone rule’ for LJ in NZ, my mum and my boss. Though the latter mostly only rings when I’m at work!)

LJ commented on keeping some days off aside for later this year, for my birthday celebrations.

This is very much playing on my mind cos my old school friend and blogger extraordinaire, Nikki Parkinson recently put her friends to shame with some fabulous 50th celebrations. And a local friend of mine has lined up a sunset boat cruise for her 40th this weekend.

I’ve talked before about the impending doom that is my 50th. Which is actually not true. Becoming friends with a heap of ‘mature aged’ bloggers late last year has COMPLETELY changed the way I view ageing. And I thank them for it. I now follow a stack of older fashion doyennes and other peeps on social media and – now that the kids thing is off the table – I don’t think I’ve missed out on what life has to offer… when compared to others. (The lack of kids and no-relationship thing was something I struggled with on turning 40!)

I should note I’m not doing particularly well on my #5before50 bucket list, with only ONE item ticked off, but there’s still time (though the writing of the book / novella is going to be a bit of a stretch).

But, back to the party / celebratory stuff. I must confess in my 20s and 30s I attended many a wedding and kinda dreamt of my own… that day I got to be pampered and be the centre of attention. My 40th was a lovely night, though pretty low-key. As is almost always the issue for me many friends could not make it – cos my birthday is between Christmas and New Year and they’re off on holidays and have other commitments. I love that my closest friends are already factoring in my birthday celebrations but it means I need to start thinking about what I might do so they can plan around it.

Those following me on social media may recall I briefly toyed with this idea… a take on a kids’ sleepover party. We’d need bigger tents obviously! But then I realised we’re all a bit too old to be sleeping on my living room floor without proper cushioning (or a masseuse on hand)!

And then the other day I saw this:

Inflatable pub-hire! I may have mentioned I have a huge backyard as my house is on two blocks. There’s a pesky garden part-way through but I’m pretty sure the blow-up pub would fit on the other side of my garden. I can’t quite work out if it’s a bouncy castle type thing though. Cos part of me thinks a marquee or tent on that spot would actually be classier. With fairy lights. And a bar.

However… I don’t actually have a gazillion friends to invite so the big party thing would be a bit pointless.

It makes more sense to do something with a handful of friends. The problem is I live in a nice house near the beach so going to some fancy seaside house with a group of friends seems a little redundant. Plus we’d have to cook and stuff.

My NZ friend suggested a little getaway to a nearby island… somewhere in the Pacific for just a few of us (prepared to cough up the $ for the joy of my company!). And I must confess, that sounds kinda tempting even though I’ve not budgeted for any travel in the foreseeable future. I know my mum wouldn’t go, but I could do something with the family before / after and the odd dinner or drinks here and there with other friends. I’ve never been into the idea of a cruise or a resort style holiday, but frivolous cocktails that someone else makes at 10am and lolling about for a few days sounds more appealing than I originally expected.

So far that idea’s winning, but I’d appreciate any other suggestions? Or anything I should or shouldn’t do that I might regret. Do you regret NOT celebrating a birthday or other occasion?

I’m linking up with the Lovin’ Life Linky gang again today so check out all of their posts!