What time is it? Time for a grown up birthday party, is what! You used to say, “Oh my gosh you GUYZ, no party! Let’s just go and get drinks or something.” Now you’re like, “Wait a minute! Getting older is a good thing! Means I’m still alive! Let’s party!” It’s time to have a grownup party. NYC is made for grownup birthday parties, whether they’re specially crafted package events or an impromptu night out with friends that turns into the best night ever.

The Mad Men Birthday Party

Image Source: Flickr/Eden, Janine and Jim

Whether you’re actually an account person at a hot ad agency, or you simply moonlight in your dreams as Don Draper or Peggy Olson, throwing a Mad Men-themed birthday party is a great way to celebrate your sick sixties vibe, pay homage to the end of an era, and have a grown up birthday party. Dress up in vintage Pucci and Pierre Cardin-inspired gear and gather the gang together at The Blue Water Grill‘s Jazz Room, a space that can sit up to 135 of your nearest and dearest. Start off the meal with plates of oysters and lobster cocktails. Order up a few bottles of sparkling Gonet Blanc de Blancs, Les Mesnil-sur-Oger NV if everyone’s feeling flush. If not, delicious, ice cold beers work, too! Make it a full dinner, or make it small plates all around.

Blue Water Grill
31 Union Square West, NY

The Dowager-Approved Downton Abbey Birthday Party

You’ve always been very open about your half-hearted struggle with Anglophilia. You’re secretly proud when someone asks if you’re British (you work so hard on that stealth accent, so yeah!), you shed a tear without an ounce of irony when Charlotte Elizabeth Diana was born, and you have the theme of Midsomer Murders as your ring tone. What better way to celebrate the day of your birth than celebrating at the respectfully low-key yet very refined Peacock restaurant set inside the gorgeous Hotel William near Bryant Park. Wedgewood bone china, mahogany as far as the eye can see, fireplaces filled with crackling flames, and a menu created by Cotswolds-raised chef Jason Hicks that is simply sublime. Have a very grown-up cocktail party in the Library so that you can gossip about dear friends as you chow down on bangers and mash or crispy duck confit salad. If your birthday is in the summertime, enjoy a soiree on the champagne terrace where you can sip cocktails bearing names like The Blood and Sand or the Storm of Scotch while nibbling canapes with up to 20 guests. There are several other spaces here, including the Abingdon Room, Garden Room, and Peacock Room.

The Peacock
24 E. 39th Street, NY

There Aint No Party Like a Liz Lemon Party …

…cuz a Liz Lemon party is mandatory. Your friends know this, and they’ll throw you a good one. And a good one is what you’ll have at the Lower East Side-based Mexican restaurant/party hotspot Casa Mezcal. This popular restaurant has a gallery perfect for hosting your fabulous 40th fiesta or your non-twee 29th gala. You can dive into pitchers of spicy cucumber or hibiscus margaritas and devour cod fish tacos and carnitas while boogeying to live music or some perfectly tailored DJ sounds. It truly is a non-stop party spot perfect for all the Liza Lemon’s out there, the artistic, creative, a bit goofy, half-hearted optimists who know enough to want to celebrate their big days in a way that is deliciously and un-selfconsciously over the top.

Caza Mezcal
86 Orchard Street, NY

Main Image Source: Flickr/CJ Sorg

[cf]skyword_tracking_tag[/cf]