Surprise Parties are Good- You Should Throw One

People have mixed feelings about surprise parties. Seems you either love 'em or hate 'em- but after attending one this past weekend, I've come to the conclusion if you don't like a surprise party you are a rigid, cranky human being. Lighten up!

Some years back an ex-boyfriend of mine's parents attempted to throw him a surprise 30th birthday party. Gigantically bad idea. A man of privacy and stubbornness does not make the ideal surprisee. To make matters worse, his mother called his law firm's secretary to find the email addresses of all his coworkers. Lets just say I just hid in a corner during the planning, as I knew an eruption of anger was about to occur. He found out about it the day before- immediately called me and demanded to know if I was involved in such a crime (I insisted I had nothing to do with it) and then called his mother and made her cancel. And, made her cry. Not a pretty situation.

I had a surprise party thrown for me when I turned 20. My friends in college took me to dinner, and as we approached our home I saw people crowded on the porch. They screamed, "Surprise!" and we all enjoyed keg beer and jello shots. Totally surprised. I am a woman of control and planning- so while I was embarrassed by the attention, by golly I was flattered. How can you not be? It's hard enough to get someone to smile at you, let alone take time out of their Facebook creeping to plan an event in your honor.

And, in the case of the party I attended this past weekend, the man of the hour did seem stunned for a bit. He admitted to feeling a bit duped, wondering how it was even possible to get something by him? But eventually he accepted the downfall of his superior receptiveness and relished in friends & family. 

Thus I've decided the surprise party is a circle of good karma. They make people happy, which should make you happy. You should throw one. Just not for a lawyer.