A Consistent Approach

There are those who dismiss the idea of celebrating birthdays because the only example we have in Torah of someone celebrating a birthday is Pharaoh, and he is not exactly a role model for us.

It would seem reasonable then, for those who hold that way, to feel the same way about goodbye parties or what is known in the yeshiva world as a seudas praida.  The Torah source for a goodbye party is when Lavan the rasha says that if he had known that Yaakov and his family were leaving, he would have sent them off with "joy, song, drum, and harp."

Although Lavan is not a role model for us, the fact that the Torah mentions this, without any negative comments from the pesukim or Chazal, shows that a seudas praida is something sanctioned by Torah (says R' Boruch Leff in his book, A New Shabbos Soul). 

So no birthday celebrations? Then no seudos praida.  Although I personally have not heard anything negative about goodbye parties but have heard aspersions cast on birthday parties.