40 Ways to Celebrate Turning 40
I just celebrated my 40th birthday a few days ago, and though it was a psychological hurdle in some ways, for the most part turning 40 was a happy milestone for me. I am very content with my life right now, as crazy as it often seems. I feel so blessed in my marriage, my family, and my work, and so I compiled a list of ways to celebrate.
Don’t miss the other fun “40 Favorite Things” lists and PayPal cash giveaway (open internationally) at the end of this post!
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1. Do 40 acts of kindness, just like this mom did! A similar post (sadly no longer available) was what inspired me to start my Random Acts of Kindness series.
2. Get a surprise visit from your mom. (This is how I am celebrating this weekend!)
3. Try your hand at painting.
4. Listen to “Señora de las Cuatro Décadas” (“Woman of Four Decades”) by Ricardo Arjona. It is a celebration of older women. I remember listening to it in my 20s and wondering what it would be like to be so old! “Señora, no le quite años a su vida / Póngale vida a los años que es mejor.” (“Señora, don’t take years off your life / Put life in your years, which is better.”)
5. Have a party with your best buds – complete with a scavenger hunt – then spend the rest of the day riding around the yard in your new Hot Wheels tricycle. (This is actually how I celebrated my 5th birthday).
6. Make homemade cupcakes. If you have a family member with food allergies/sensitivities, I highly recommend the vegan, GF (and awesome!) chocolate cupcakes from The Healthy Gluten-Free Life: 200 Delicious Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Soy-Free and Egg-Free Recipes!
7. Let someone else do the cooking for you! Go out for dessert (we love Freeport Bakery) or a special meal with your family.
8. Stay motivated: If you still haven’t achieved your career goals, remember that greats like Stan Lee and Vera Wang didn’t become successful until later in life.
9. Re-read a favorite book from your childhood. I still love Little Women
10. Go to an amusement park with a new friend. (This is actually how I celebrated my 10th birthday).
11. Commit to a healthy lifestyle – eat right, drink plenty of water, sleep well, exercise – now more than ever it is important to take care of yourself!
12. Connect with an older woman in your life, to put your years in perspective.
13. Curl up with a favorite book. I recently read The Photographer’s Wife
14. Take a road trip! Where have you always wanted to go?
15. Throw a party with a baby theme, since “life begins at 40!”
16. Connect with childhood friends.
17. From Edventures with Kids: “I challenged by friends/family to donate 40 pounds of kids books that I donated to the local HeadStart program since I love kids & reading so much. I was able to deliver well over 40 pounds of books (it was somewhere in the ballpark of 300+ books) so it was really a fun gift for me & them.”
18. Karaoke!
19. Commit to positive change in your life: Make one change that will make a difference, whether it’s having a salad every day or spending more time offline.
20. Travel to Bolivia to start a year of volunteer work, but be too shy to tell anyone it’s your birthday. (This is actually how I celebrated my 20th birthday).
21. Have a dance party with your kids.
22. Coordinate a birthday “heart attack”, where everyone chips in to do 40 acts of kindness! (The link is for a 70th birthday, but it could be adapted for any age).
23. Become a mentor.
24. Move cross country with your husband of several months then take a day trip to the Autumn Moon Festival in San Francisco. (This is actually how I celebrated my 24th birthday).
25. Talk to older friends and relatives and find out how they spent their 40th birthdays!
26. Have a picnic in the park.
27. Meet your brand new baby niece (born just a few weeks earlier) for the very first time. (This is actually how I celebrated my 27th birthday).
28. From Snotty Noses: “Spend a weekend with your family and friends. We went to Barcelona for mine (we live an hour from there.) Think about the people who mean the most to you in your life and you’d actually like to see and invite them.”
29. Start learning a new language or musical instrument.
30. Have a date night with your spouse. We love going out to the movies!
31. Start a gratitude journal.
32. Spend the weekend at Yosemite with your husband and hike 19 miles to the base of Half Dome. (This is actually how I celebrated my 32nd birthday).
33. Watch a funny movie.
34. Have an evening out with your friends.
35. Go through your closet and see what you can donate.
36. Spend the evening in the ER with your four year old son so he can get a breathing treatment. Try not to fall asleep, even though you are nearly 6 months pregnant. (This is actually how I celebrated my 36th birthday).
37. Get yourself in motion, whether it’s taking a walk in the evenings or going to the gym.
38. Try meditation: Whatever your beliefs, taking time to center and focus can yield incredible benefits.
39. Take a day trip with your family to a local cultural site, like the Sonoma Mission, not forgetting to make time for great Mexican food and ice cream. (This is actually how I celebrated my 39th birthday).
40. Host a “40 Favorite Things” blog hop and giveaway with your blogging buddies! (This is actually how I’m celebrating my 40th birthday!) Keep reading for more fun posts and a big PayPal cash giveaway.
To celebrate her 40th birthday, Leanna from All Done Monkey has organized a virtual party, where each blogger shares her list of 40 favorite things, plus we are giving away a big cash prize to a lucky winner! Don’t miss these creative Top 40 lists, and be sure to enter the giveaway, which is open internationally. (Thanks to the Piri-Piri Lexicon for designing this beautiful series button!)
All Done Monkey: 40 Ways to Celebrate Turning 40
The Piri-Piri Lexicon: 40 Tips for Parents of Bilingual Children
Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes: 40 Things to Do with Kids in Puerto Rico
Play Dough & Popsicles: 40 Paper Plate Crafts for Kids
Hispanic Mama: 40 Books for Hispanic Heritage Month
Pura Vida Moms: 40 Best Cupcake Recipes
Globe Trottin’ Kids: 40 Ways to Go Global in the Elementary Classroom
Spanglish Monkey: 40 Dishes from Around the World You Should Try
Peakle Pie: 40 Free Family Fun Things to Make and Do
Witty Hoots: 40 Amazing Books to Read Before You Get Old
MommyMaestra: 40 Ways to Have a Multicultural Homeschool
MarocMama: 40 Things to Do in Morocco You Haven’t Thought Of!
Multilingual Parenting: 40 Ways to Motivate Bilingual Children to Speak the Minority Language
Creative World of Varya: 40 Things I Wish I Knew Before Moving to China
Pack-n-Go Girls: 40 Fabulous Travel Tips
Enter below for your chance to win!
PayPal cash giveaway is open internationally! Giveaway closes at midnight Pacific Time on September 19, 2016.
