The 40th birthday Speech
A 40th birthday speech is required and you've accepted the responsibility of writing and delivering it.
You've read the tips on writing a birthday speech, browsed the pages of
milestone birthday quotations and taken down a couple you think are great.
But the big question remains - how to put it all together to create the birthday speech you want?
Because I know having an example can help kick start the process of writing your own, I've got a 40th birthday speech here. I hope you'll soon be jumping for joy with your own speech written and ready!
Let's set the scene first.
Imagine a very large family gathering. Everybody is seated around a dinner table set with all sorts of wonderful birthday food. The candlelabras have been lit and a woman, Mrs Martin, raps a fork on a glass. It's ring stops the talking. All eyes turn to her as she stands to give her daughter's 40th birthday speech.
'On behalf of the Martin family and Camille in particular, it is my pleasure to welcome you here tonight to her 40th birthday celebration.
We are delighted to have you with us and especial thanks to those who have travelled from afar.
Before we eat I am going to say a few words about my beautiful daughter. I've promised her two things. I'll keep it short and I won't embarrass her by telling tales she'd rather I forgot.
In the year that bras were burnt at the Miss America Beauty Contest and Lady Madonna and Jumpin' Jack Flash
rocked the air waves, Camille Martin was born. 1968. It was as Louis Armstrong sang, 'a wonderful world' and made so much better with the addition of you.
Forty years! Who would believe that looking at you? I can't and I'm your mother!
It seems just yesterday that I was singing 'Rockabye Baby' to get you to sleep, putting bandaids on scraped knees, policing your teenage curfews or not knowing whether to laugh or cry with pride at your graduation from college and then at your wedding.
Putting my difficulty with time aside, facts are facts. You were born in 1968 and now it is 2008.
Camille, you've reached that age which has been the subject of much wit. Fortunately I've been there too and can report back truthfully. It's fine, despite its bad press.
For instance we are indebted to Francis Cardinal Spellman for this gem. 'You've heard of the three ages of man - youth, age, and "you are looking wonderful" and to Lucile Ball for, 'The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age.'
John Andrew Holmes who is obviously a philosophical gardener comments that, 'At middle age the soul should be opening up like a rose, not closing up like a cabbage'
To us Camille, you will always look and be wonderful. We admire and love your energy, the way you share your gift for living fully with your family and friends, we delight in your children, the integrity you bring to your work, the joy you find in the outdoors... My list could go on indefinitely but our delicious meal would go cold.
Let's raise our glasses to Camille. You are a rose, our rose and in our hearts you always be in full bloom. Here's to another 40 cabbage-free years!
And now let's enjoy the evening and, eat slowly!
In case you're wondering:
- How long this 40th birthday speech takes to say
Approx. 3 minutes
- Where I got the 'what happened in 1968 material from'
It came from Wikipedia -1968 in music and
this 1968 reference timeline. They're both great resources for finding out what was happening when.
- Where I got the quotes from
They come from my site. There's a page devoted to milestone birthday quotations that I mentioned above. There's a couple of other pages of birthday quotes too:
witty quotations for those who want a chuckle and wise quotations for those who want a more philosophical tone.
- If I wrote an outline before I wrote the actual speech
Yes, I did. It's on the back of an envelope beside my computer! The finished speech follows it fairly well even though I tweaked the order a little.
Here's a page on speech outlines and a downloadable template to use. I promise it will make the process of writing easier.
- Did I say this 40th birthday speech several times out loud to see if it flowed and did I edit as a result of hearing it?
Yes. I edited quite a bit out because I felt it had got too long and no longer served the original purpose which was to set a warm and welcoming tone to the celebration while being brief.
- Do I really have a 40 year old daughter called Camille?
No, I don't. I invented her so I could write this sample for you but now she's alive and well in my imagination I like her a lot. I hope she enjoys her 40th birthday speech!
Go well writing your speech.
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