Are surprise parties a thing?

27 comments

1. I’ve been in one, my dad’s fiftieth birthday. My mom told him she and him were going to a steakhouse he liked, they get there and his extended family, parents, cousins, and kids were all there as a surprise.

2. Had to really think back about it, but I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of one, or the subject of one. Closest I ever get is threatening to plan a surprise party & never following through.

3. I think it comes down to the person. Some people would love that and it might make others feel uncomfortable.

   I had a going away surprise party thrown for me as a kid once before moving states but it was coordinated by everyone’s parents.

   I’ve never had or been to one as an adult.

4. Far less common than TV and movies would suggest, but they do exist. I think I’ve been to one in my life, and that was my grandparents’ 50th anniversary.

5. A lot of family sitcom tension and stakes-building revolves around the family’s miscommunication and keeping secrets from one another, and a surprise party is an easy way to work that into the plot.

   My parents put on one for my Grandma’s 60th birthday, but that’s the only one I’ve ever been to.

6. They happen but should be planned carefully as not everyone will appreciate one.

   I still remember the surprise party for my grandma’s 75th birthday. My uncle had invited her over for a “small family dinner.” When she walked in and the whole extended family, plus several of her friends, greeted her with “Surprise!”, she yelled “Oh, shit!” and walked out. (We eventually managed to convince her to come back in.)

7. as a small child my family held one for a good friend. The only one I’ve been to.

8. Yes, I just went to one a few weekends ago!

9. Only been to one, it was in 5th grade. The kids mom invited the whole class. He had no idea and ran out of the room crying when he saw everyone. And not in a im so happy everyone’s here crying.

   He did come back later and we ended up having a good time

10. I got a surprise party for one of my birthdays when I was in high school. It was pretty fun! But they aren’t really very common.

11. It’s not that common. I’ve only been to one in my life.

12. I’ve been to a surprise birthday party.

    I swear the guy jumped two feet in the air. It was a shame nobody caught it on video. (Or maybe someone did, I don’t remember.) This was before everybody had cameras on their phones.

13. They’re not common, but my brother threw me one for my 30th and I loved it.

14. They happen sometimes.

15. They happen but are not common and require a lot to pull off. Also they may kind of be unwelcome because you have to pretend everyone forgot about celebrating something with you and then you surprise someone with a party they weren’t expecting.

    But I have been part of like 2 or 3 in my life but that’s 2 or 3 in 41 years. They’re more a trope in TV and movies.

    We did do a successful one for my mom’s dad and mom on their 40th wedding anniversary. They celebrated themselves by going out the night before and my mom planned a dinner the Saturday after. She got all the siblings and grand kids to show up. So it worked.

16. Yes, I’ve been thrown two.

17. Not as common. I went to couple A classmate had one. His parents thought it would be easier not to hide the existence of the party so they lied about the date. The invitation specifically said not to tell him. Its miraculous that we kept are mouths shut. His parents were able to get him out of the house while everybody showed up. He ended up falling over when he walked through the door and everybody yelled surprise.

    When my dad turned 40 my mom and one of her oldest friends decided to throw one I was still pretty young not quite 7, so I was kept in the dark. The cover was that my parents and my moms friend and her husband were planning to double date. I was going to hang out with their son at their house who at the time was probably my best friend. I don’t remember who was supposed to watch us. But yeah the while thing was a big surprise party. I was confused

18. We threw one for my parents’ 25th anniversary, but thats the only one I’ve ever seen.

19. I’ve been in a few. My wife and I have a blood compact that throwing a surprise party for the other will result in a divorce.

20. Yes, they are a thing. I just went to one a few months back. You really have to know a person well, know that they will appreciate it if you do that though. A lot of people, including myself, do not want that.

21. Absolutely. I’ve attended several, organized one, and was surprised by one.

22. We did a surprise party for my dad’s 50th birthday. He knew we were going out to eat where they do free birthday dinner for the celebrant. He didn’t know that his siblings from all over the country and his mom had flown in to surprise him.

23. This unlocked a memory. When I was 13 my next door neighbors tried to throw a surprise sweet 16 party for their girl. I was over there with her and her sisters when she had a complete meltdown because everyone, including her friends, had “forgotten” her big birthday. Her dad, in order to console her, broke it to her that they had big party planned for her, and that she had better act damned surprised for all the guests that had been in on planning it. The party included another classic American TV trope, a food fight, albeit a *planned* one, with things like jars of pickle juice, instant mashed potatoes, raw eggs, etc. Good times.

24. Not super common but they happen. I’ve been a guest at 2, and I had a surprise party when I turned 7. It was a really good surprise party, my mom planned it really well. There was a clown, but like a not scary one.

25. They don’t happen very often, but they do happen. For my SIL’s 50th, her husband scheduled a spa day. When she came home, there were 50 people there to surprise her! We flew in (we live on opposite coasts) so it was a double surprise!

26. It happens

27. They’re a LOT of work for not much payoff.