"Turning Old"

by Sheryl M.
(Kaysville, Utah, United States)

You can use this idea for just about any age, but I used it when my friend turned 50! It seemed monumental to her, so I went about town (we lived in a kind of a small town) and went to businesses and restaurants. I told them about my friend and that it was her 50th birthday and would they mind giving her a treat from their place of business, store or restaurant. They all said they would love to give her something. I said I would be by the day before her birthday and purchase something and would give them a letter. They said ok, and every one of the owners or managers smiled. So the day before her Birthday I went to about 18 places and gave them a Black helium ballon, a letter with a recent picture of her, a gift from the "Dollar Store" or home, and bought a little present from their place of business. Some of the gifts I gave were a "Pull-Up Depend" garment, an old blood pressure cuff that didn't work any more, some "Butt Cream", Hemorrhoid ointment, a container to place your dentures, a couple of "Polident" I borrowed from a friend, etc... You get the idea! Then I went to her house after dark and wrote on her car in shaving cream and made posters for her car that said, "It's My Birthday Today and I am Turning 50! My Friends Love Me and Put This on My Car!" The next morning I called her at 9:00am and asked her if she had gone outside yet, she said no! So I told her I had left a letter in her car and she was supposed to follow the directions on the letter to a T, mysteriously then hung up. She called me after about 10 places and said, "How many more are there?" I said, "Where are you now?" She told me, and I said about 8 more, and she giggled. After she went to the last one, she came over to my house and we had a great laugh! I had also baked her a cake for that evening and after her husband had taken her out for a night on the town, he brought her back home and we all had cake and ice cream and we laughed about the day and played cards for a couple of hours then I went home! She said the next day, it was the best Birthday ever!