The presentation of a gold watch is a great excuse for a grand retirement party.
Retirement is a milestone that demands a worthy celebration. Any company lucky enough to have the services of a loyal employee until he retires owes that employee a memorable send-off. You're celebrating years of work, of getting up to the alarm clock's call in the morning and staying late at night. Now is the time for the retiree to do exactly what he wants to do, and to enjoy his family and friends---and it's an occasion for a party he'll remember for the rest of his life.
Beach Bum
Throwing a tropical-themed party celebrates the hours the retired person can now spend on the beach, soaking up the sun and sipping fruit-skewered drinks. Set the tone with luau-type decorations. Give everyone a lei (plastic or real flowers, depending on your budget) as you welcome them into the room. Stand palm trees in the corners and flanking the honoree's spot. Put grass skirts on the tables and use tiki lights and hanging lanterns for illumination. Have a steel-drum band provide the music or play a collection of Don Ho tunes. For the corporate gift, skip the gold watch and present the retiree with two tickets to Hawaii.
Retrospective
If the retiree has been with the company for a very long time, plan a "This is Your (Corporate) Life" party. Attendees should dress in the styles that were popular the year the retiree began working at the company. The decorations should follow suit---for example, if she started working in the '60s, put psychedelic posters on the walls, hang black lights and use tie-dyed tablecloths; if it was in the '70s, put up a disco ball, play some Bee Gees and dress like the cast of "Saturday Night Fever." Collect photographs of the employee through the years and bind them into a scrapbook; invite past employees as well as current ones and take turns telling stories about the honoree.
Life After Work
If the retiree is a life-of-the-party type with a good sense of humor, try a "things that don't work any more" theme for his party. Make centerpieces for each table out of broken radios, DVD players and other junk; hang deflated balloons from the ceiling. Decorate with posters of 1950s hairstyles, vintage ads for men's suits and the Edsel. Put the guests through a Retirement Obstacle Course to see who can be the first to finish a 20-yard dash in a wheelchair, eat a bowl of plain oatmeal and shuffle-walk to the corner newspaper stand. All the guests---including the women---could wear comb-overs, white belts cinching plaid golf pants under their chests and sandals with white socks.
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