Birthday Celebrations @ NDK

[Qyx]

I have a friend who'll be turning 13 this year on the 18th of September, and her birthday present from a bunch of us-- her friends-- is a trip to NDK. (Her second time, yay!)

Since the con falls around her birthday this year, I thought it might be super special awesome to hold a party for her there, at the con. Anyone who wants to come is invited and anyone else having a birthday that day/weekend will be welcomed to attend and be honored at the same time!
I want to try to get a good bit of participation in this, so tell your friends or help me out. :B

I have a few issues though, such as location, foremost.
Does anyone know of a good area for that? The game room from last year, I forget the name of that room (was it the, uh, the concierge lounge or something?) that was somewhere I thought could be a pretty good place for a party, though maybe space for people is and issue, and also noise, since there might be some singing of happy birthday. Erk. :/
Also, I was planning on bringing a cake/refreshments. In which case, it would be first come first serve, because I couldn't give cake to everyone, obv. If someone else brought a cake though, that'd be cool. ;]

Anyway, I would like input. Is this a good idea? Am I aiming too high? Should I instead just get people to gather at the balcony area and sing happy birthday instead of being all fancylike?

:7

PS.
We will, I believe, have a room at the hotel, so I might end up retreating back there with a few friends/invitees. But that's something I want to do perhaps as an after thought because it would limited invitation only, and I still want to do something a bit more... public, so that this will be really awesome for my friend. xD

[Greg Hines]

Does anyone know of a good area for that? The game room from last year, I forget the name of that room (was it the, uh, the concierge lounge or something?) that was somewhere I thought could be a pretty good place for a party, though maybe space for people is and issue, and also noise, since there might be some singing of happy birthday. Erk. :/
Also, I was planning on bringing a cake/refreshments. In which case, it would be first come first serve, because I couldn't give cake to everyone, obv. If someone else brought a cake though, that'd be cool. ;]

Sorry, but I have to play the part of a wet blanket now...

Yes, it's called the Concierge Lounge. But no, we can't allow you to have a birthday party there. That's our live gaming room and people are going to be in there playing games. It's not a room that people can use for whatever they please. Additionally, we don't allow food or drinks in there.

And though you want to do something "public," please keep in mind that we do have rules against causing disturbances. Because NDK is three days long and we expect to have more than 7,000 attendees at the convention, statistically we'll have around 60 people with birthdays during NDK weekend. That would be a lot of disturbances if everyone tried to plan something public for their friends with birthdays during the convention.

That's not to say we don't want you to celebrate your friend's birthday. But when you make your plans, please keep in mind that there are going to be more than 7,000 other people at the convention. As such, we ask that your plans not involve creating a lot of excess noise or crowding. And because we need them for the convention itself, all the rooms on the convention floor are off-limits.

I recommend having the party in a hotel room. That way you can invite who you'd like and be sure you'll have enough cake to go around. Or perhaps have it outside on one of the grassy areas around the hotel if the weather is nice if you'd like to do something in a public area (we don't care so much about noise or crowding outside). I wouldn't recommend the patio outside the restaurant unless everyone orders some food or drinks, though, because that's meant to be used by customers of The Lift.

[callister]

My birthday always seems to fall on NDK weekend. (September 13) Last year my friends planned a surprise party for me when I got back from the Rave. It wasn't a big public thing, they only invited people that they were familiar with (which actually was a decent handful of people) up to our hotel room and we had Sponge Bob cake from Albertsons and Ramune. It wasn't a a giant thing, but it didn't have to be. It was pretty memorable for me, I'm sure your friend would love anything you do for her. But throwing a big public party would be impractical.

[Qyx]

Oh, outside is a great idea actually, I figured we'd get a red light on the Concierge lounge. Haha.

Hmm, I wish I knew the layout of the hotel and it's surroundings better (what's wrong with me, I go there twice every year for the NDK and the Starfest!!?)

[Choco]

My birthday always seems to fall on NDK weekend. (September 13) Last year my friends planned a surprise party for me when I got back from the Rave. It wasn't a big public thing, they only invited people that they were familiar with (which actually was a decent handful of people) up to our hotel room and we had Sponge Bob cake from Albertsons and Ramune. It wasn't a a giant thing, but it didn't have to be. It was pretty memorable for me, I'm sure your friend would love anything you do for her. But throwing a big public party would be impractical.

Heh, mine too (September 12), and last year I actually completely forgot about my birthday until I came back on Sunday...  Not the first time that has happened either, con or no.

I also think having any sort of celebration should be outside.  Outside there is not only much more room, you also have much more freedom in regards to con rules (oversized costumes, props that would probably not be allowed in the hotel, etc.)

[callister]

Heh, mine too (September 12), and last year I actually completely forgot about my birthday until I came back on Sunday...  Not the first time that has happened either, con or no.

I also think having any sort of celebration should be outside.  Outside there is not only much more room, you also have much more freedom in regards to con rules (oversized costumes, props that would probably not be allowed in the hotel, etc.)

Hahaa! Yeah, I'd almost forgotten too until I got back to my room well after midnight and everyone was there with spongebob cake. I was like: "Oh yeah... I did just turn 19, didn't I?" Anyway... Go us! Happy (Early) Birthday!.

And a party outside would be really nice, like a picnic. It'd be fun!

[Lusha]

My friend Marcus' birthday is on sept 10 so were all teasing him that NDK is gonna be like a huge party that lasts 3 days.  I am going to even get him a surprise gift, but getting it to the con is going to be pretty interesting X3

[Mahou Shoujo Michi]

In my opinion, having the party up in your room is the best idea.  (Just make sure to clean up!) There's more damage control that way.  You can listen to music, you can be comfy, you control who comes.

I've seen people eating in the "break" areas of the convention (places to sit) so I don't think it would be an issue if you and your friends had some cupcakes or something.. (CLEAN UP!) But think of it this way..

Do you REALLY want to have a birthday party on the convention floor?  Rules aside, how convienent would it be?  The notion that we're all bestest best friends the moment we step onto the hallowed grounds of NDK is quite silly.  There are PLENTY of obnoxious people at NDK.  Do you really want a large group of people pestering you? "Cake cake, I want cake!!"

[Qyx]

Michi -- I would just say "No cake for you." >:C
Large groups of people pester me daily. = x=;

I guess it's established that we will have it outside (and maybe later in the hotel room for my closer friends) :3

OMG PICNIC GOOD IDEA

Edit: Also, my friends are very loud. I would rather they be very loud outside than in a hotel room xD;

[RaeWolfDemon]

Im turning 21 in September 19th and NDK is my birthday present to myself XD I would love to come and say hi to your friend n.n Ill keep an eye on where the party is gonna be

[Choco]

Im turning 21 in September 19th and NDK is my birthday present to myself XD I would love to come and say hi to your friend n.n Ill keep an eye on where the party is gonna be

haha, I look at it the same way.  NDK is my birthday party/present from myself to myself!  That way I get 2, as I have another gathering with my non-anime-fan friends/family the weekend before or after.

[William]

Most of the areas outside of the hotel are nothing but parking lot to be honest. There is a grassy area outside the convention center entrance, but unfortunately it's not very big and with having reg right on the other side of the doors you'll probably get trampled on. My suggestion to you would be to try your best to keep it small rather then trying to invite a crazy amount of people, just because of the lack of space you're working with. 

If you had only about 20 people or so you might be able to find a home for this on the "Back Country Terrace" which is located outside of the Lift resteraunt. But you would also have to do it some where around 1pm-3pm to avoid getting in the way of the guests that are there to eat.

I think the largest problem you're going to face with this is keeping your group for this celebration from getting overwhelmed by the massive amount of Convention Attendee's and losing the feeling of having a get together just to celebrate your friends birthday. 

If you have any other idea's or questions about how to make this sucessful without causing any problems for the con, feel free to ask me, I know the hotel very very well.