Ideas for celebrating Grandmother's 80th birthday

swaram · Nov 13, 2013

My grandmother is turning 80 in 2014 and I would like to arrange a surprise party for her. She is in Chennai and I am hoping I can make a trip to India next year around her birthday. If I am to invite her and my grandfathers siblings and nieces/nephews the head count will be roughly 75 (including my uncles/aunts and cousins). I am thinking of arranging it in some hotel that has a party room.

I need suggestions for:
1. party ideas (one thought I had is scan and save pictures onto a USB drive and have a slide show there)
2. What are the good hotels near mylapore area to host this kind of party and rough cost estimate.
3. Any other thoughts suggestions welcome.

My grandmother is very special for me and I would prefer to bear the expenses for the entire party and not impose this on my uncles and aunts. But the issue I foresee is my mom will start asking questions as to why I should be paying for it and not be split between her siblings and other grandkids. Any thoughts on how to handle this issue.

Swaram

guesshoo · Nov 13, 2013

Hi dear,

what a wonderful thought! I love your slideshow idea.

Heres one more idea. Get your cousins to talk about a nice memory of her and record it. You could easily edit it into a cd and play it for her in the party.

Also, from now on while taking to her, ask her to verbally give you one recipe per week. (I presume like my gran, yours loved to feed her brood too) make transcripts or audio CDs and give them as return gifts. (I used to talk to mine on Skype and used the windows audio recording feature to record recipes in my grandmothers voice) I expect it would mean a lot to everyone present.

If you are happy to bear the expenses, just gently tell your mum that you know she might feel differently but this is your idea and your wish to do it yourself since with your lovely family's blessings you are in a position to bear the costs. In case any of the other cousins or uncles want to share, I suggest you graciously let them to take care of the deco or photography or video. Do remember though that the minute someone says they'll share expenses, they'll have a million suggestions and opinions some of which you may not agree with...

Bless you! Have a great party and do let me know how it goes! Xx

cinderella06 · Nov 13, 2013

If you are looking around Mylapore, check Sangeetha Residency, Luz church road, Mylapore. It was easily reachable. We went to a birthday party and it was nice. Parking was little mess that time. I have no idea bout the cost. Check their website for more information.

swaram · Nov 13, 2013

Hi Guesshoo,

Thanks for the quick response. I like your idea of having the cousins say a few words about her. That actually gave me another idea, I might have her siblings and grandfather's siblings talk about their younger days during the party.

The biggest help my uncles/aunts and cousins can do for the party is help with checking the party hall at various places and deciding on the menu etc. Since I live abroad I cannot make all the arrangements during my 2-3 week trip. We still have 6 months time and I will start floating the idea with the rest of the family once I finalize the dates for my trip.

swaram · Nov 13, 2013

I will definitely check Sangeetha.

Pallavi4me · Nov 13, 2013

Thats a great thought swaram. guesshoo already gave good suggestions. Just google about Restaurants & Party halls in Mylapore, you will have a good idea and you may find out good place apart from regular joints.

And just one thought, Keeping this party as surprise would be very difficult as it is involving around 75-80 people. So tell everyone strictly to keep it as secret till the end.

sokanasanah · Nov 19, 2013

swaram said: ↑

I might have her siblings and grandfather's siblings talk about their younger days during the party.
Click to expand...

Don't forget to ask your grandmother about her stories as well!
Be warned, this is harder to do than you think. If you spring vague, general questions, then the conversation often slows down to "oh, let me think ....", "oh, I am old, not like you young people ....." and so on. Instead, treat it as oral history (personal, family, whatever interests you & her). Have your questions ready beforehand (what were her grandmothers like? What does she remember most about them?). Then if she decides to take off on tangents, let her. If you provide cues to keep the conversation from flagging, then one memory will lead to another. Don't forget to record it.

For a start, see:
http://www.folklife.si.edu/resources/pdf/interviewingguide.pdf
Principles and Best Practices | Oral History Association
Step-by-Step Guide to Oral History

sokanasanah · Nov 19, 2013

PS: Feel free to ignore the highly technical bits in those links. One of them suggests using sophisticated equipment - a "cassette tape recorder" - I am not sure what that is, but your grandma might know, ask her!

Indiandil · Sep 23, 2016

Do anyone know Arulmigu Abirami Amman Udanurai Amirdhagadeswarar Thirukovil in Selaiyur , Tambaram , Chennai ? It's a famous temple for performing rituals for 60th birthday , also known as chennai in thirukadaiyur. I want to know can we perform rituals for 80th birthday too in that temple? If yes, Can anyone give me phone number of that temple?