Bucket List Suggestions

the idea

Ask partygoers to suggest experiences for the guest of honor to have before their next milestone birthday / anniversary or following graduation / retirement

What's Next? Reggie's retirement bucket list suggestions set up at a party with cards and a bucket

chalkboard style birthday bucket list suggestions sign

the how

Choose style of ‘Bucket List Suggestions’ cards
Pick up a bucket (see below for personalized options)
Display alongside a framed printable instructions sign (see links below)
Don’t forget to provide a stack of pens so guests don’t have to wait

personalized metal bucket with Wendy's Bucket List on it

the why

This Idea

Conversation-starter; gives guests something to talk about and discuss with one another
Contributory; sharing a memory, anecdote, photograph, or well wishes allows guests to participate in something meaningful
Personal; celebrates the guest of honor and your relationship with them
Feel good; makes the guest of honor feel special, loved, and appreciated
Connection; people love to feel connected to the guest of honor or each other through something meaningful
Discovery; allows guest to discover things they might not know about the guest of honor
Keepsake; creates tangible memories for the guest of honor to revisit in future
Thoughtful; shows you’ve made an effort to create something special for the guest of honor
Entertaining; guests will enjoy discussing what everyone else has written
Surprise; a great way to surprise the guest of honor
Inexpensive; a cost-effective party idea that won’t blow your budget

Recommendations for Kathy's bucket list suggestions set up at a party with cards and a bucket

Tony's retirement bucket list suggestions sign

party activities

Engagement; essential for creating atmosphere and ensuring people have a good time
Circulation; activities encourage circulation, which raise energy levels
Atmosphere; keeping guests moving, exploring, and discovering creates a lively atmosphere
Mingling; activities help prevent guests clustering in corners with people they came with
Flow; giving guests things to engage with diffuses crowds, prevents bottlenecks, and helps flow
Introductions; allows guests who arrive alone or don’t know many people to connect with others
Ice-breaker; arrival activities let guests ease in gently before walking into a room full of people
Conversation-starters; funny, creative, or quirky activities give guests things to talk about
Interactive; allows guests to participate so everybody feels included
Bonding; a shared experience creates a bond and unites different groups as one; people that are all important to the guest of honor
Entertainment; activities keep guests entertained and prevents boredom or leaving early
Distraction; gives guests an excuse to change the subject or extract themselves from awkward conversations
Memorable; gives guests something to talk about, photograph, share, and remember
Experiential; guests leave feeling as though they’ve had an experience

Leave Your Advice & Well Wishes for the new Graduate bucket list suggestions sign

Advice & Wishes for the Graduate bucket list suggestions cards

ADVICE FROM A PRO

Matt’s tip

“Choose between generic bucket list suggestion cards or customized ones with the guest of honor’s name (see links below).

There are lots of different options available for personalized metal buckets (see links below), but they tend to be either quite small or a little expensive.

Therefore, a budget-saving option might be to source a regular bucket and opt for a custom text decal that you can easily apply yourself (see link below).

For the text, I’d probably go for something simple like ‘Wendy’s Bucket List’.

Have the guest of honor keep the suggestions cards so they can re-read them at their next milestone birthday to see which ones they adopted.”