A modest celebration can fit joy more comfortably than an impressive production.

Scale and pleasure come apart quickly. A large production brings logistics, expense, and an audience to satisfy, and the people at the centre of it often spend the whole day working. Something smaller leaves room to actually be present, which was the point of marking the occasion. Impressiveness is a separate goal that has attached itself to celebration.

When you plan something, decide first who it is for and what you want to feel. If the honest answer is a long lunch with six people, arrange that and let it be enough.