MAIN Home Life Party Ideas Toasts

Most large gatherings require that someone propose a toast to the guest or guests of honor. It many be the wedding couple, a retiree, a birthday celebrant, or an anniversary couple.

Coming up with just the right thing to say in front of a room full of people can be tricky, however. The most important thing to remember? Be brief, be sincere... and then sit down!

Keeping eye contact with the guest of honor and your audience is also important. Spare them the inside jokes, keep it clean, and use your laser-like focus to truly honor the person everyone has come to celebrate.

You may not only make an impressive and memorable toast, you and the assembled company may actually enjoy it.

Cheers! ...

Here are a few sample toasts, poems and quotes to inspire (along with more toasting resources around the Web just up ahead):

Wedding:
• "A toast to love and laughter and happily ever after."
• "May the love you share forever remain as beautiful as the bride looks today."
• "Remember, on any disagreement the husband is entitled to the last few words...and those words are "Yes dear."

Retirement:
• "Here's to the holidays -- all 365 of them!"
• "Here's to Dan. We don't know what we'll do without him but we're about to find out."

Graduation:
•“I hope your dreams take you to the corners of your smiles, to the highest of your hopes."
• A toast to the graduate - in a class by herself."

Anniversary:
• "Here's to you both -- a beautiful pair on the birthday of your love affair.
• "Here's to true love, may it always be spoken. Here's to true friendship, may it never be broken."

Birthday:
• "A true friend remembers your birthday but not your age."
• "Birthdays are just nature’s way of telling us to eat more cake!"
• "Age is strictly a case of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."

Drinking Toasts:
• "Here's champagne to your real friends and real pain to your sham friends."
• "May our house always be too small to hold all our friends."
• "May misfortune follow you the rest of your life, but never catch up."

More about how to give a toast around the Web:

Wedding Speeches & Toasts - Check out a huge collection of heartfelt sentiments and humorous thoughts to be said by the best man, groom, maid of honor, father of the bride and more, plus general speech samples and toasts to the bride and groom.

Irish Blessings and Toasts - "May the road rise up to meet you" and more for any occasion and including Irish curses, quotations, proverbs and drinking toasts.

A Guide to Toasting @ Into Wine - Here's looking at you, with a brief history of toasting and toasting protocol, a guide to gracious toast giving, general etiquette and toasting etiquette for special occasions.