• Start grandpa's day with a freshly brewed cup of coffee and a birthday message.happy birthday! image by luka from Fotolia.com
  
  Show your grandpa how much you love him by dedicating a day toward celebrating his birthday. Begin the day by making him a cup of coffee and placing a sticky note on it wishing him a happy birthday. After a short chat, tell him you will return in the evening to take him to dinner. Just don't let him know you have been compiling birthday ideas for weeks with plans of surprising him. When you return you won't be taking him to a restaurant, but to his surprise birthday party.
  
  

Memory Tables

• Decorate plain party tables by ironing his photos on them.street cafe image by Svetlana Tikhonova from Fotolia.com
  
  Remind your family and guests of what makes grandpa a special man by printing photos on transfer photo paper and ironing it on plain tablecloths. Ask his friends and other family members to let you borrow their favorite photo of your grandpa. Scan it into your computer to add to the variety of photographs you use on the tablecloths and copy them to have a wide selection of photographs. With memory tables there is no need to add elaborate tablescapes because the guests will enjoy mingling and looking at photos.
  
  

Party Food

• Offer a variety of food and all attendees will be happy.some appetizing food image by Ricardo Verde Costa from Fotolia.com
  
  Bring back his childhood by serving small bowls of comfort food like chicken and dumplings, homestyle macaroni and cheese topped with breadcrumbs and grits. Offer common foods like fried chicken and pork chops, deviled eggs and potato salad. Complete the old-fashioned food theme by making popcorn balls. In honor of his birthday, offer shrimp cocktail and lobster bisque, two foods that he would only have eaten in celebration. If your grandpa has a favorite dish, build the menu around it and stick to his favorite foods. By serving guests a variety of foods you ensure all in attendance will find a food they are happy with.
  
  

Cupcakes

• Select a variety of cupcake flavors to serve.gourmet cupcakes in elegant bakery image by nextrecord from Fotolia.com
  
  If you go with cupcakes instead of a traditional cake you can spell out your birthday wishes for your grandpa on them. On each cupcake write one letter until you have written "Happy Birthday Grandpa" and add cupcakes around your message until the number of cupcakes equals his age. Or, on each cupcake write one of your grandpa's most distinguished qualities. Words like "loving," "giving" and "brave" are simple ways to convey your opinion of your grandpa. The number of adjectives should match his age.
  
  

Gifts

• Give him a pocket watch to symbolize him always having time for you.old pocket watch with chain image by Kokhanchikov from Fotolia.com
  
  Buy your grandpa a pocket watch and insert a small note expressing your love for him. Include a line that addresses his ability to make time for you whenever you need it. Or, you can make him a grandpa gift bag filled with a gift card to his favorite breakfast restaurant, a "Grandpa" coffee mug, gourmet coffee and a cap that can keep him cool while he is outdoors in the summer.