Depending on the fifty-year old, their party can be either very sedate or totally outrageous and either can be great fun. Fancy dress is often chosen, with a theme from their personal interests, so it can range from cowboys and Indians to Formula One racing drivers through anything you can think of. This party is often the first one since the 13^th that games are organised – spin the bottle and pass the parcel are hilarious again when you get to be fifty! This is often a ‘surprise’ party and many fifty year olds are in the happy position of being able to afford to take friends away for a short break, so the surprise is often for the guests, not the new fifty year old.