42 - The Answer to the Ultimate Question

March 14, 2025 9:56 AM

My husband is turning 42 soon, and as a birthday celebration, he wants to celebrate his 21st anniversary of turning 21. For various reasons his birthday has gotten overshadowed the last few years (and birthdays are a big deal in his culture), so I would like to make this a fun, memorable event. I have the basic idea of what we want to do, but could use some creative help for the extra things.

He wants a gathering at a bar for sure. This will be about 20ish people. He does not want a private room, but to be hanging out with the general public. We may do a pub crawl kind of thing, with guidance that we'll be at Bar 1 from 3:00 - 4:00, Bar 2 from 4:00 - 6:00, etc, so people can join in and out as they like. We'll provide food at some point, and are coming up with a way to do the first drink or two for everyone. We realize that we are not 21 anymore, and will keep things early and not too drunk, hopefully. Anyway! What I could use help with are:

-Themes? I'm not a huge fan of 'Over the Hill' type nonsense, but am open to anything else.
-Anything fun/slightly embarrassing the husband should wear?
-Activities/games to play?
-Fun takeaways/favors?

The weather this time of year in our area is variable, so outdoor activities might be OK, or they might be off the table. The husband is D&D nerdy, also enjoys Star Wars, anime, board games, and sports. He is an incredibly good sport, very cheesy, extroverted, and does not mind being the center of attention.

posted by Sparky Buttons to Grab Bag (11 answers total)

I suggest a “It’s My Birthday!” sash as something mildly embarrassing. It will also make him easier to spot since you will be bar hopping and in the main room.

Since it is birthday 42, the obvious favor is a tea towel.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 10:14 AM on March 14 [5 favorites]

yep the BigRedKittyPurrs has nailed it, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Here's an article that explains, for anyone who somehow don't know the story.

And I'd suggest that in addition to the sash, your husband should wear a bathrobe. Just to be in character.

Pocket fluff optional.
posted by martin q blank at 10:47 AM on March 14 [3 favorites]

I'd make it as much like the cringiest olde-timey 21st birthday as possible. Tip the bartender to get them to ask for ID every time. He gets a giant key to symbolize his transition to adulthood (can come and go as he pleases), and an I CAN VOTE! button. But I just read the HHGTTG suggestions above, and LOVE those!
posted by kate4914 at 10:53 AM on March 14 [6 favorites]

If it's a small group of people at a bar, I would do a blind taste test of a bunch of different beverages. I did this with a group of my friends with different ice creams. We really had a lot of fun tasting different things and talking about which category we liked, then guessing which was which. That way we could taste a little bit of a bunch of different ice creams without eating industrial quantities of something that's a luxury item in the dietary sense.

For a joke, you could set up a very cheap product, and challenge people to talk up the virtues of the product based on the placebo effect and surprise they been hyping something that's cheap and mundane.

Happy Birthday Anniversary to you and your spouse.
posted by effluvia at 11:23 AM on March 14 [1 favorite]

We did a Hitchhiker's Guide party theme for my husband's 42nd! So many fun themed things. I posted a lot of pics to this Pinterest board if you want to see. The top row and a half are all from our party. You can see our screenprinted tea towel favors! You could also make cups or koozies with "Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster" printed on them to use during the bar crawl.
posted by LKWorking at 11:53 AM on March 14 [3 favorites]

I love HHG, and if you want to do 42, there is a lot of rich stuff there. Making him keep a towel over his shoulder all night would be fun, noticble, and not a huge burden. You could also create a pan galactic gargle blaster cocktail, give a potted petunia gift , have a guide-entry themed invite - tons of options.

I think leaning into the 21 idea would be fun too, and possibly more accessible. I love the idea Kate had above about tipping the bartender to check his ID every time. Red solo cups, beer helmet, that kind of vibe. You could also go 21/blackack and have a Jack of Hearts outfit and play blackjack to see who gets the next round or similar things. For sports, 42 is Jackie Robinson if he likes baseball. Not sure if 21 means anything.
posted by Garm at 12:01 PM on March 14 [2 favorites]

21 is historically the "key of the door" in the UK, a traditional coming of age, so you could have double keys for 42.
posted by biffa at 12:37 PM on March 14 [1 favorite]

Can you arrange with the bar you'll be at to make a specialty cocktail for everyone that is green with a slice of lemon and is called a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster?
I love the idea of making him wear a bathrobe, how about a t-shirt that says "I am the answer"
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 1:13 PM on March 14 [3 favorites]

Previously, on the topic of HHGttG-themed birthdays.
posted by humbug at 9:28 PM on March 14

Ask people to give him 2 sets of 21 objects. Think aluminum tabs, dice,candy, binder clips, pretzels, and let people go nuts.
Carry green dye so every drink or beer can be a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. Great ideas above.
Save stuff for his 63rd.
posted by theora55 at 9:55 AM on March 15

jell-o shots.
posted by wowenthusiast at 12:07 PM on March 15