I know so many of my friends who stressed over turning 30 and then with coming up with 30th birthday ideas that would help mark this special birthday in an amazing way. It’s a big milestone, and one that seems to come with a lot of baggage. You’re under a lot of pressure from society (and all those posts showing everyone else’s supposedly fabulous post-30 lives). It’s easy to fall into the trap that you should have your life together by the time you turn 30, when the truth is…it’s a day. It’s a day to celebrate! You’ve lived another decade, many aren’t so lucky.
Throw away the “perfect life” myth and enjoy the journey. It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to become an “official” adult, if you ever do. It’s a new decade, full of opportunities and experiences.
Whether you love birthday parties are are more low-key, you deserve your own type of celebration; one that fits your style.
If you’re looking for ideas for how to make your 30th birthday one to remember, we’ve put together celebration ideas for every personality and every budget.
Say it proudly, you’re turning 30! Enjoy your special day!
30th Birthday Ideas House Party
Staying in to celebrate guarantees more than comfort and a close celebration with your best friends and closest family, it can also be a safer option of your guests stay over. Put together a potluck buffet, with the attendees bringing their signature dish (main, appetizer, or dessert). Make sure to put a playlist together that gets everyone dancing.
Dive Bar Toasts
Gather your best friends and head on over to your favorite bar. The one that’s not fancy but makes you feel like you can be you. This is one of the 30th birthday ideas that is Perfect for a casual, low-key celebration with the friends who you like to have around the most.
30th Birthday Ideas Escape Room
Booking an escape room is perfect for a small group. Make sure you choose friends that will enjoy working together to help the group escape. Celebrate with a few drinks at your favorite watering hole to celebrate beating the clock, or just escaping.
Have a Renaissance Fair 30th Birthday Celebration
Go to a renaissance fair to experience life in a much different time. Not only is there entertainment, actors in authentic looking medieval garb, and arts and crafts; but you can also dress up as the 15th century princess you’ve always wanted to be in an authentic setting.
30th Birthday Ideas Scavenger Hunt Pub Crawl
Gather all your friends to celebrate at all of your favorite bars with a 30th birthday pub crawl that’s also a scavenger hunt, with items from each bar on the list. Break up into teams of two or more and identify each team with fancy bandanas or scarves.
30th Birthday Ideas Karaoke Time
For those of you who like nothing better than making the world your stage, rent karaoke room for your 30th birthday party. Everyone can chip in and belt out their favorite show tunes or pop favorites, whatever floats your boat.
An Outdoor Adventure
If you and your friends are the outdoorsy types, try any outdoor 30th birthday ideas that celebrate your 30th with exercise, fresh air, and fun. Invite your guests on an adventure like hiking favorite trails, mountain biking, kayaking or paddle boarding on your favorite lake, rollerblading through a park or just sunbathing on the beach. Serve a picnic feast in the open air afterwards.
30th Birthday Ideas See a Different City
Sometimes it isn’t the best time to head overseas, so check out a great city right here in the USA. New Orleans has a great party scene, Nashville is filled with so much more than just line dancing, and the The Grand Canyon is perfect for outdoor adventures.
Rent a Cabin or a Condo
Get an Air B&B or a local rental at the closest beach or mountain lake for an overnight stay for you and a few of your closest friends. Your birthday getaway will be a weekend to remember.
30th Birthday Ideas A Concert
Get tickets to see your favorite band when they’re on tour, or find out where your favorite local band is playing and head there. Dinner after the concert will put the crowing touch on the evening.
Backyard BBQ Celebration and Competition
Some of the best 30th birthday ideas involve just hanging out. Relax with friends, enjoy great barbecue, and foster a little competition among friends with a Best Ribs or Best Barbecued Chicken competition. Add all the traditional barbecue sides and plenty of ice cold beer for a fun, casual way to enter your thirties.
Take a Winery Tour
Hire a limo to drive you and your friends to explore different wineries for the day. Book a stay at a nearby B&B to make the day last into breakfast the following morning.
30th Birthday Ideas Go to a Different Country
This one is a bit on the pricier side, depending on where you choose to go. If drinking in an Irish pub has always been your dream, plan ahead with one or two friends or your partner to make it happen on your 30th.
Laugh the Night Away at a Comedy Club
Laughing makes you feel younger, so what better way to get older while feeling young than a visit to a comedy club?
Go Camping 30th Birthday Ideas
Take a trip to a great campsite in a state park, or a private campground that offered cabin rentals or travel trailer rentals if you prefer to sleep a little less close to the ground. Some campgrounds even offer glam ping packages, the luxury way to sit under the stars around the campfire. You can choose just a few close friends or a larger group to celebrate with you at either option.
30th Birthday Ideas Ghost Tour
Depending on the time of year, ghost tours are pretty easy to find. Celebrate being alive while getting spooked by the ghosts of the formerly living. Many tours take place around historic landmarks with histories of sightings.
The Amusement Park
Check out a nearby water park or amusement park and remember being a kid again. Fly down the biggest water slide, ride the merry-go-round, or for the brave, scream your way through the tallest roller coaster ride.
Ride the Rails
This is one of the pricier 30th birthday ideas, but worth every penny. Take a weekend and plan an unforgettable 30th birthday party to a destination accessible by train. Share a few sleeper cars with friends while dining and drinking in the glass enclosed observatory car.
A Weekend in an Old Hotel or B&B
Stay at a boutique hotels, a gingerbread Victorian B&B, pr even a haunted hotel. Most offer all-inclusive packages that will transport you back in time to the days of fine overnight accommodations.
Zip Lining or Skydiving 30th Birthday Ideas
Feeling adventurous as you get closer to your 30th birthday? Go big with a skydiving or zip-lining adventure. Your heart will be racing and you’ll feel even more alive as you begin a new decade.
Get a Tattoo
This one is a pretty permanent choice as far as 30th birthday ideas go, but also lets your creativity run wild! Browse through countless tattoo ideas online, then get a recommendation for a great local tattoo studio. Take a few of your closest friends with you for support and hand squeezing; or if they’re ready they can take the leap and get a tattoo along with you. It’s a great reminder of your special milestone celebration.
Trampoline Park 30th Birthday Celebration
You’re never too old to love bouncing around in a trampoline. Get some friends together and act like kids again, bounce away!
Horseback Riding
Ride into what could be the best decade of your life on horseback. Gather a group of friends and check out a nearby ranch or farm that offers horseback riding. Between the amazing views and the gorgeous horses leading you into blissful serenity, your 30th birthday will start off relaxed and sure-footed.
Take a Baking or Cooking Class
There are cooking and baking classes in most areas, perfect for taking with a group of friends. From learning the fine art of French cooking to making down home favorites like homemade pies, you’re sure to find a class that all your foodie friends will love while celebrating your milestone.
30th Birthday Ideas Go Paint Balling
Paintball is an amazing, fun, super competitive sport, perfect for showing your 30s what you’re made of. This is a great group activity, so the more the merrier for this celebration!
For Winter Birthdays – Skiing or Snowboarding
Even if you’ve never done either, instructors are,nearby to teach you how to fly across hills coated in powder as you head into your thirties. End the day at the lodge, curled up by the fire with rich cocoa and great friends.
Rock Climbing
Not all 30th birthday ideas for outdoorsy types take place outdoors. Go to an indoor rock climbing gym in your area, and push yourself to your vertical limit. Go with a group and cheer each other on as you climb higher.
Get Your Cards Read
Schedule a group visit with a tarot card reader, medium, or palmistry expert to find out what’s in store for you as you enter your thirties.
Run a Marathon for Fun or Charity
Run a 5K or half marathon for your 30th. You can choose to run for a charity near and dear to your heart, or for fun like color runs or Tough Mudder type runs.
Take a Dance Class
Some of the best 30th birthday ideas involve learning something new! Learn how to dance a specific dance with a group of your best friends. From the mamba, to the cha-cha, line dancing, ballroom dancing and more…you can be a dancing fool by the time you turn 30!
30th Birthday Party Themes
Along with choosing a type of party or a venue, you can choose to have a themed 30th birthday party.
Turning 30 is the next big age milestone after turning 21, and it allows for a lot more creativity because it doesn’t have as much of an emphasis on booze being the central theme. Choosing a theme makes for a fun element. You can carry a theme into a venue or keep the themed party as a house party. It’s completely up to you and how comfortable you are with hosting a gathering in your own home.
Have a Sleepover Pajama Party
Remember how much fun sleepovers with your girlfriends were as a kid? 30th birthday ideas don’t have to be stuffy or grown-up. Recreate that magic as an adult by having a 30th birthday party sleepover where your guests wear their favorite pjs and stay the night. Set up a snack bar, drinks, and watch movies while giving makeovers.
Host a 1930’s Themed Party
You don’t need to be a kid and it doesn’t have to be Halloween for you to dress up. Throw a Great Gatsby Theme Party and enjoy the elegance from the 1920s. Encourage guests to wear their best pearls, flapper dresses, and top hats for an unforgettable 1920s inspired soiree. Suggest they watch the movie for ideas. This theme also lends itself to having a great photo booth full of 1920s inspired props.
Las Vegas Casino Party
Bring Las Vegas to you with a casino birthday party. This theme relies on glamour, glitz, cocktails, casino games, and casino-inspired color decor. Use playing cards, casino chips, and a roulette wheel as decor. Have a poker or roulette table set up for some authentic casino fun.
Host an 80s Or 90s Flashback Party
Like the 1930’s theme, the 80s and 90s give your party a theme from a different decade. Ask your guests to wear 80s or 90s outfits and be sure to feature playlists from the 80s or 90s. Decor is easy to find for these themes at many party stores, especially online.
Pretty In Pink Birthday Party
Celebrate your 30th birthday party with a Pretty in Pink theme, characterized by plenty of pink décor, pink dress code, and pink desserts. Include pink on the birthday cake, decor, and invitations. Ask your guests to dress with the theme, and wear their favorite pink outfit.
Black Tie Affair
Host an elegant black tie affair for your 30th birthday party. This is a sophisticated theme that calls for a black and white dress code. Make sure to let guests know what to expect by sending invitations that specify this is a formal party. Because formal is the tone, it should take place in the evening.
Create elegant tablescapes, stylish food (like black and white desserts), and drinks like champagne or sparkling wine.
Breakfast At Tiffany’s
Tiffany Blue is the main color scheme when it comes to a “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” 30th birthday party theme. This is a sophisticated theme and is perfect for throwing a birthday brunch. You can encourage guests to dress in the style of Audrey Hepburn, elegant old Hollywood, and welcome them into a venue styled like the breakfast location from the movie. Pearls, black velvet, silver and Tiffany blue décor, and elegant white flowers set the tone for this theme.
A Night in Paris 30th Birthday Party
Use the Eiffel tower as the focal point for decor in a Paris-themed birthday party. You can hang Eiffel tower graphics and include the theme throughout the decor, especially on paper goods. Serve traditional French foods and France French desserts. You can also decorate the room so guests feel like they’re in a quaint Paris café.