Nothing honors a person like having a surprise party thrown on their behalf.
If you can truly pull of the surprise the guest of honor will be very grateful for all the time, money and effort you took in throwing a party honoring them! First step in throwing a surprise party is selecting the venue for the party.
This has to be carefully planned out as guests will need to park in a discreet place so that the guest of honor does not happen upon familiar vehicles parked outside of the party.
It would be horrible for the surprise to be ruined at the last minute! Invitations to a surprise party must clearly be marked SURPRISE so that everyone will know not to reveal the secret to the guest of honor beforehand.
Also state on the invitation if gifts are not required.
Surprise parties are not solely for birthdays.
Feel free to celebrate the retirement or anniversary of loved ones by having a surprise party for them.
It's important to personalize the surprise party as much as possible for the person for whom the party is being thrown.
Have a skit or two about events in the person's life.
Maybe invite people who are close with the guest of honor speak on their behalf discussing how their lives have been impacted by knowing this person.
There are several ways to throw a surprise party, just make sure that tracks are covered so that the surprise is not ruined and hard work has gone to waste!