30 Absolutely Iconic Ways To Celebrate Your 30th Birthday - GenThirty (2024)

Are you turning 30 soon? I recently did and brainstormed a bunch of ways to celebrate your 30th birthday!

Turning 30 is a big milestone that’s often met with many different emotions. Some of us are scared, some of us are excited to leave our twenties behind and welcome a new decade into our lives. And some of us are just indifferent. No matter how you feel about turning 30, there is something to be kept in mind: it’s worth celebrating!

And if you’re looking for a gift idea, why not consider custom commemorative coins for this special day? Names, dates, and the most charming photo are all can be contained on the coins. Here are other smart gift ideas for a 30th birthday too!

Here are 30 ways to celebrate your 30th birthday:

1. Take a trip with friends.

Big or small, a trip with friends is always fun!

I had intended to spend my 30th birthday with my friends in Turks and Caicos. Unfortunately the pandemic changed our plans for this year, but we will go eventually!

2. Dirty Thirty: Have a bachelorette-style girl’s night out.

What a way to ring in your 30s! It’s like a last hurrah for your 20s. Dress up and just go out to local bars and take lots of goofy pictures. It’s about making memories! And maybe about too much glitter. It’s aboutmaking memories!

3. Go wine tasting.

You can go to a vineyard, or see if there are any local tasting rooms nearby. Or, you can host your own, and buy a range of really low-budget and a higher-budget wine and have your guests see if they can tell the difference.

4. Have the ultimate spa day.

Seaweed wraps? Mud Masks? Manicure and pedicure? As Tom and Donna would say, “Treat Yo Self!” From cucumber eyes to the perfectly polished toe, you deserve it!

5. Do a karaoke night.

This is a great way to revisit your favorite songs that don’t get enough air time on the radio anymore or to live out your fantasy of being Beyonce.

6. Get a professional photoshoot done.

For many of us, the last professional photos we had were our high school yearbooks, and like fine we only keep getting better as we age! You deserve to capture memories every year, and what better way to look toward your future than make memories to share.

7. Go camping.

For nature lovers, any excuse is a good reason to go camping. But for any of us who are less inclined to rough it but still want to be in nature, camping is a great way to dip your toes in.

Plus, what better way to start your next decade than by reconnecting with yourself, your soul, in the natural world.

8. Splurge on a fancy hotel.

Again, Treat Yo’ Self!Spend a night in your closest city. Splurge on room service and a room with a view.

9. Rent the party room at your favorite restaurant.

Party rooms aren’t just for wedding anniversaries or sweet 16 parties, so why not wrangle up your friends and family to share platters of food, delicious cake, and make new memories for the next decade!

10. Go skydiving.

If it’s on your bucket list, there’s no time like the present to cross this one off! Or, to just see the world from a new perspective to start your 30s, you can take the dive!

11. Go to an astrologer.

Or a tarot reader, or a palm reader. Just make sure to write down what they predict, and see what comes true or what changes in the next ten years.

12. Throw a birth-year party.

For the ultimate nostalgia queens, get specific and tailor your party to the year – I’m talking movies, books, snacks, songs, all from the year you were born.

You can create the atmosphere by taking advantage of custom cutting-edge decorations.

For instance, custom inflatables are both convenient and impressive when it comes to sprucing up a space. You can design your own inflatable that truly represents the theme – featuring your favorite characters, colors, or shapes for everyone to appreciate.

Moreover, custom inflatables are easily maintainable and provide a comprehensive method of decorating your event space that won’t break the bank! All these details will create the nostalgia that will make your special day even more special.

13. Go on a cruise.

Whether you go with family, friends, for a long weekend or a full week, you can see new cities and have a new kind of adventure.

I went on a cruise for the first time a few years back and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. My friend and traveled the Mediterranean Sea together and it was a blast to have everything you need right there while basically traveling from place to place in a floating hotel.

Plus, we had most of our meals delivered to our room and ate on our balcony. It was the life.

14. Do 30 acts of kindness.

The best thing about acts of kindness is that you get to spread positivity, and that is usually catching like a wildfire. Whether you’re surprising a loved one or a random stranger, dropping off groceries or sponsoring something big, it takes nothing away from you to give away a little goodness. What a way to celebrate the next decade to come!

15. Donate 30.

Whether it’s 30 dollars, 30 hours, or 30 anything, try to donate 30 somethings in honor of you and your next ten years to come.

16. Do an Escape Room.

These are often themed so you can find something that piques the interest of your group of friends, and then go out for ice cream or drinks after!

17. Have a Paint Night Party.

You can host your own by purchasing canvas and paints, find a tutorial online (hello, Bob Ross!) from a local craft store, or you can find a spot that will take you and your friends step-by-step to transform a canvas into the themed image of the night.

18. Have a party themed after your favorite book or movie.

Party like Gatsby, sip Butterbeer like Harry and the gang, orjust get inspired by the theme of a favorite book or movie.

This would also be a great way to throw yourself the party you always wish you could have had as a kid – bounce house included.

19. Take a cooking class.

Learn to make pasta, master a soufflé… whatever the class focus is on, you get to learn a new recipe AND eat it once you finish cooking!

20. Have a murder-mystery party.

We’ve all watched enough Law and Order to believe in our crime-solving abilities, but can we prove it? You might not solve the case but it will be unforgettable all the same!

21. Go to a theme park.

There is a height restriction for roller coasters, not an age restriction! Go eat funnel cake and then try not to throw it back up on the loop-de-loops.

22. Go to a concert or music festival.

While loud music and crowds aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, live music can feel so invigorating, especially when it is a musician or band whose music is meaningful to you. There’s something about the atmosphere, the lights, the air, seeing the sweat drip off the singer’s face…the music is just a little bit more magical in surround sound.

23. Go ax throwing.

This may be my favorite new trend that I have yet to try. Who wouldn’t want the chance to throw an ax at a wall without getting in trouble??

24. Go to High Tea.

Dress up, practice your pinky stretches, and prepare for some teeny sandwiches and aromatic teas to sip.

This is actually how I celebrated my 29th birthday and it was a fun time!

25. Rent a roller-skating rink.

The 90s called and said we are more than welcome to bring back the roller-rink-birthday-parties of yore. Lace up!

26. Host a small dinner party.

Intimate gatherings are great for those of us who are introverted and not as excited to be the center of the night. Dinner parties are great all year round, but especially to celebrate something special, like turning 30! Light some candles, get some cake, crack open your favorite bottle of wine, and relax with friends. Oh, and eat dinner at some point, too.

27. Throw a surprise party for your friends.

Another idea for anyone who doesn’t want to be the focus of attention: put all the attention on your friends! They’ll never know what hit them. If you’re looking for party supplies without breaking your bank, get them from a wholesale marketplace like SeeBiz. They’ll cost less, and get your job done in creating the perfect party vibe.

28. Go on a ski trip.

If you have a winter birthday, what better thing than cold days zooming down the mountain and warm evenings cozying up with hot chocolate or mulled wine by the fireplace.

29. Go on a road trip.

There’s something very grounding about seeing our country side, and whether you take a short drive or a long drive, you get to listen to music in the car, hopefully see some new vistas, and make more memories.

30. Do exactly what you want for a day.

Because no matter what anyone says, our THIRTIES are the best decade yet! We’re grateful to make it another year around the sun, and we deserve to do just exactly what we want to celebrate, big or small.

Turning 30 is something that should be celebrated. It is a wonderful milestone and the start of something new and exciting.

How do you plan to celebrate your 30th birthday?

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