How to Throw a 60th Wedding Anniversary Party

Staying married through 60 years of life's ups and downs is not an easy feat. Choosing themes, gifts and party decorations for 60th wedding anniversary parties is a piece of cake by comparison. You don't even have to think of a theme. Ever since Queen Victoria celebrated her 60th year on the throne with a Diamond jubilee, diamonds have been the symbol of 60th anniversaries.

There's no one right way to organize a party for a 60th wedding anniversary. One family might have a huge, formal party at a banquet hall with 200 guests, while another might celebrate with a casual backyard gathering for just the kids and grandkids. The most important question is: What kind of party would the couple most enjoy?

Age, health and temperament are big factors. A 78-year-old couple might be super social and love a huge event with dancing until midnight. A couple nearing 100 might only have the stamina for a quiet afternoon event in the family room at their nursing home. If you're not sure what they want, consult with them about where, when and who should be on the guest list.

Once the big details are settled and guests are invited, it's time to think about food, drinks, cake, music, activities and decorating ideas for a 60th wedding anniversary party. Find out what they ate, drank and danced to at their wedding and recreate those details at their party, or fill the menu with their very favorite dishes and make a playlist with all their favorite artists. Have their original wedding photo edibly printed on the cake. Create trivia games that challenge guests to see how much they know about the couple's adventures together.

By the time a couple has been married for 60 years, they've often acquired all the "stuff" they could ever need, and if they've downsized to a small home or reside in an assisted-living facility, they may not have a ton of space for more things. As you think about gift ideas for a 60th wedding anniversary, think about things that are useful or sentimental rather than giving the couple things that are purely decorative.

Since people celebrating 60 years of marriage are generally retired and living on a fixed income, they might not be in the habit of replacing things or splurging on treats. You might give them a gift card to their favorite nice restaurant or buy a new piece of furniture to replace something they own that's broken or uncomfortable. If there's a museum or theater that they like to attend, get them a yearly pass.

Another option is to spend time putting together some kind of family record for the couple. Sign up for an ancestry service, track as much of their family histories as you can and present everything you learn in a scrapbook. Make a video with clips of all their loved ones sharing messages with the couple, intercut with any video footage you have of them together over the years. Create a piece of wall art with the family tree for them to display or make a print with their wedding photo and the lyrics of their first-dance song.

An occasion as significant as this one calls for more than paper streamers and balloons. Use diamonds as the theme when choosing party decorations for a 60th wedding anniversary. Make centerpieces with tea lights inside diamond-shaped terrariums. Get glittery diamond garlands to hang across the front of the cake table and on the walls. Suspend diamond-shaped tissue paper decorations from the ceiling.

Do you need more decorating ideas for a 60th wedding anniversary? Instead of using a diamond theme, you can find inspiration from the couple's life. This party is all about celebrating their time together, so use meaningful items and memories as party decorations for a 60th wedding anniversary party.

Print photos of them throughout the years to make banners that are hung across the walls or blow up a few photos into poster-size prints and stand them on easels around the room. If they traveled together a lot, decorate the party with inspiration from the places they visited. For example, use shamrock decorations and Belleek dinnerware for a couple who traveled to Ireland many times.