Your birthday isn’t just another day, it’s your personal holiday! Whether you want a low-key hangout with friends or a once-in-a-lifetime bash, the right theme can make your celebration unforgettable. Indianapolis and beyond are filled with options, but many of these ideas are flexible enough to host anywhere, from birthday parties in your backyard to a rented venue or even a lake house.
Book the babysitter now, we’ve rounded up 50 unique adult birthday party ideas you can adapt to your space, your vibe, and your budget. From elegant wine tastings to pajama parties, you’ll find the perfect fit to celebrate your next milestone.
Food & Drink Birthday Party Ideas
Blind Wine Tasting
Wrap bottles in paper bags and let guests guess what they’re sipping. Compare notes, laugh at the guesses, and see if the pricey bottles really win.
Beer Bus, Pedal Pub, or Brewery Tour
Hop on a beer bus for safe brewery hopping, plan your own brewery crawl, or bar hop downtown with your friends on a pedal pub. It’s a pub on wheels powered by you! Don’t worry, many now offer motorized bars to help move things along. Pedal your way through town while enjoying spirits and listening to your favorite music.
Hire a Private Chef
A hibachi dinner show is always a blast. Some chefs will cook while you watch or sprinkle in a cooking lesson. They come to you in your own home or yard, you set up a large table, and they’ll do the rest! The chefs always put on a great show for the birthday boy or girl.
High Tea
Dress up for an elegant afternoon at a tea room, complete with finger sandwiches and steaming pots of tea.
Where to enjoy a cop of tea: Tilly’s Tea Room
Food Truck Party
Hire a food truck to park outside your house or venue. Taco trucks, bagel trucks, or burger trucks—there’s a truck for every craving.
Chili Cook-Off
Invite friends to bring their best chili recipes and vote for winners—spiciest, most creative, best overall. Prizes optional, fun guaranteed.
Dessert Crawl
Skip dinner and go straight to the sweets! Visit several dessert shops, sample cakes, ice creams, or donuts, and blow out candles more than once.
Our favorite dessert places: Cake Bake, Nosh Dessert Parlor, Ice Cream Shops
Chocolate Tasting
Tour a chocolate shop, pair with wine, or book a behind-the-scenes experience. Perfect for sweet tooths and couples alike.
Wine Tasting at a Vineyard
Visit a local winery, enjoy live music, and book a private tasting room for your group. It’s a relaxing, upscale way to celebrate. Some businesses will even set up wine tasting and purchasing in your home!
Our favorite wineries: Daniel’s Vineyard, Spencer Farm Winery, Oliver Winery, Urban Vines, Wolly Yak Winery, McClure’s Orchard and Winery
Themed & At-Home Celebrations
Pajama Party
Break out the adult onesies, serve cereal, donuts, and coffee with Bailey’s. Comfort + nostalgia = perfect party. The best part is that everybody can just jump right into bed when they get home, no change of clothes needed!
Casino Night
Set up roulette, poker, and blackjack tables. Dress Vegas-style and hire a dealer for extra fun.
Murder Mystery Party
Buy a kit or download a script—everyone plays a character and helps crack the case.
Decades Party
Choose your favorite decade (80s, 90s, 2000s) or let guests decide. Create themed playlists, drinks, and outfits.
Anything But Clothes Party
Get creative with duct tape, shower curtains, or sheets. Guests wear anything BUT clothes—wild, unforgettable, and hilarious.
Backyard Cinema
Borrow or rent a projector, hang a sheet, and host an outdoor movie night with popcorn and blankets. It’s so easy to create a movie theater in the yard.
Attend a Fundraiser or Charity Gala
Dress up, enjoy dinner and dancing, and celebrate while giving back to a cause.
Attend a Comedy Show
Laugh the night away with local or touring comedians. Book VIP tables for a special touch.
Outdoor & Adventure Birthday Parties
Tiki Boat
These are popping up in cities all across the country, wherever you find large bodies of water. Dressed up in the best tropical garb, tiki boats are the coolest floating tiki parties you’ve ever seen. Cruise with friends on a floating tiki bar. Dress in tropical gear and sip cocktails on the water.
River Float
Tie inner tubes together, pack a cooler, and float down the river with your crew. Perfect for summer birthdays.
Where to river float: Sugar Creek at Turkey Run, White River in Noblesville
Bike Bar Crawl
Plan a safe route and bike between bars. Bonus: built-in exercise!
Indy Blast Mobile Laser Tag
Turn your backyard or park into a glowing laser tag arena with Indy Blast. They bring the bunkers, pro gear, music, and scoreboard, plus a game master so you can play and have fun.
Ropes Course
Embark on a treetop adventure, climb ladders, zip line, and swing through treetop courses. A thrilling group activity.
Local Ropes Courses: Kotweewi Aerial Adventure Park, Go Ape
Axe Throwing
Hit the bullseye at a local axe-throwing venue—it’s competitive, fun, and surprisingly therapeutic.
Rent a Pool
Book a private pool by the hour using the Swimply app. Lounge, swim, and celebrate in your own private oasis. Search for private pools in your area to rent. It’s like Airbnb for swimming pools, with everything from posh seating areas, a covered patio for entertaining, pools of all sizes. Some even have slides, diving boards, and a basketball hoop.
Rent a Boat
Gather friends for a day on the lake. Bring your own food and drinks, or dock at a lakeside restaurant. Pontoon boat, take a sunset cruise, or even get crazy on waterskis or a tube.
Where to rent a boat: Geist or Morse Reservoir, Monroe Lake
Beach Party
Set up volleyball, cornhole, and a tent for food and drinks. Relaxed, sun-filled fun.
Where to beach: Geist Waterfront, Monroe Lake
Active & Fitness-Inspired Celebrations
Trampoline Park
Rent out a trampoline park after hours for an adults-only night of flips, zips, and laughs.
We recommend: Urban Air
Bumper Ball Party
Climb into giant inflatable balls and bounce, roll, or crash into friends. Add soccer for even more chaos.
Attend a Sporting Event
Cheer at a baseball, basketball, or soccer game. Book group tickets or a VIP suite for a bigger celebration.
Ninja Warrior or Gymnastics Challenge
Try obstacle courses at an outdoor park or book a ninja gym for adults.
Dance Class Party
Learn salsa, swing, or line dancing from a pro instructor, then practice your moves together.
Topgolf
Even non-golfers love it. Book a bay, order food, and swing away while celebrating.
Yoga & Wellness Retreat
Celebrate with a calming yoga flow, meditation, and spa-like atmosphere at home or in a studio.
Duckpin Bowling
Duckpin bowling is the new bowling. Since the balls are small and you don’t have to change into bowling shoes, it’s a great choice for a group outing or birthday party that everybody will enjoy.
Duckpin Bowling Alley: Fountain Square Duckpin Bowling, Pins Mechanical
Rock Climbing
Challenge your friends with climbs of varying difficulty, then head out for food and drinks.
Creative & DIY Adult Birthday Parties
Make Art
Paint wooden signs, trays, or clocks with step-by-step guidance at a local art studio. Perfect for groups of friends. Instructors show you how and where to sand, stain, stencil, and hammer so everything always turns out looking amazing.
Candle Making
Create custom candles with your favorite scents and vessels. Guests take home a birthday keepsake. It makes for a great night out with friends.
DIY Candle Pouring Spots: Penn & Beech, Unplug Soy Candles
Cooking Class
Book a cooking school or DIY at home. Learn to make sushi, pasta, or gourmet desserts.
MLM Party
Host an in-home shopping party. You can find anything from food to clothes, nail polish to dishes, adult toys, and more. Plus, the hostess usually gets gifts for meeting sales goals.
Flower Arranging Party
Local florists often host bouquet workshops—your guests design and take home their own floral creations. You can also visit a flower farm in the warmer months, and they often have floral-themed workshops
Photo Shoot
Get dressed up and find a nice location for a photo shoot. Hire a photographer or DIY with props. Mix glam and silly shots for Instagram-worthy memories.
Entertainment & Nights Out
Escape Room
If you love adventure, Escape Rooms are an exciting evening activity for a group. Book the whole time slot for your party or join in with other groups to problem-solve your way through various scenarios.
Game Show Battle Rooms
Like escape rooms but with trivia and game show fun. Compete with friends in themed arenas inspired by your favorite current and old-school game shows at Game Show Battle Room.
Punch Bowl Social
Celebrate your special day with friends at Punch Bowl Social. This cool but casual restaurant has a hip club vibe with game-room activities, all of which pair well with delicious food and giant punch bowls full of adult beverages. You can rent a lane for bowling, rock out in a private karaoke room, or play shuffleboard, giant Jenga, or skee ball.
Cruise in a Limousine
Rent a limo or party bus. Hop between bars or simply enjoy the ride with music and champagne. Limos come in all shapes and sizes, from the Chicken Limo to a party bus. Whatever kind of night you’re planning, there’s a limo just right for you.
Rent Out a Theater
Book an entire movie theater for your crew. Chat, laugh, and eat popcorn without worrying about strangers.
See a Concert or Live Music
Dance, sing, and celebrate with your favorite band or local performers. You don’t even need a ticket! Free concerts and live music are on the schedule year-round at some businesses or venues.
Silent Disco
Rent headphones for everyone and throw a private dance party—neighbors won’t hear a thing.
Spa Day / Mani-Pedi
Treat yourself and your friends to massages, facials, or salon mani-pedis.
Chill in an Igloo
Book a private heated igloo at a restaurant or brewery—cozy and unique for winter birthdays.
Sing Karaoke
Rent out a karaoke room for your next birthday party and let loose to your favorite music. The great thing about these karaoke rooms is that you aren’t singing in front of anybody except those in your party.
❓ Adult Birthday Party FAQs
What are some budget-friendly adult birthday ideas?
Try pajama parties, trivia nights, potluck BBQs, or backyard movie nights.
What are the best birthday parties for introverts?
Wine tastings, spa days, cooking classes, or small dinner parties are perfect for quieter celebrations.
What’s the best way to host outdoors?
Rent tents, book covered spaces, and always have a backup plan for the weather.
Adults deserve amazing birthday parties too—casual or fancy, active or relaxed. With this list of 50+ adult birthday celebration ideas, you’ll find inspiration for every style, budget, and season. Whether you float down a river, sip wine at a vineyard, or host a pajama party, the most important thing is to celebrate with the people who make life sweet.
Want more ideas? Explore our full Birthday Party Guide for kids, teens, and families.
Looking for venues specific to Indianapolis to host birthday parties for adults?
