having a age-appropriate party
12.23.2003
Usually the term “age-appropriate” is used when talking about children, but it occurred to me that “age-appropriateness” is of concern for all ages. Someone I know of the 50-ish persuasion decided to plan a bit of a gag for a party wherein he and some pals also of the 50s age range would dress up like the Village People and dance to “YMCA”. Now, that's a pretty good gag for a group of guys who are ordinarily fairly reserved, and I imagined that there would be much laughing in the audience and much fun had by all.
At the party it was decided to do the dance rather late in the evening, perhaps in the belief that it would go over better once people had some drinks under their belts. Unfortunately, they put off the dance so late that most of the older people had already gone home, and the majority of their audience was made up of friends of the children of the host and hostess — in the 18-24 age range. The dance didn't go over quite as expected, which I think is really a shame. If you go to the trouble of putting together a Village People costume and getting out to strut your stuff in front of a bunch of people, I think you deserve some whoops and cheering from the audience.
So, the moral of this story is: when planning your party, make sure you consider age.
