80/60 Party

I thought I'd share some of the little things that made our 6oth Anniversary/80th Birthday Party for Dave's parents such a sweet success.

Planning...Because this was held out of state, almost everything was researched, coordinated, and ordered online. Once we arrived, we were able to take care of the details in the short time we had- one day before the party, and a few hours the morning of.

(A photo of our different "To Do List" styles!)

Costco...We didn't use a hotel/caterer, but still had a nice party at a third of the cost. We used a church hall, and Costco was the base for our menu.: Salmon with Raspberry Chipotle Sauce (easy to make the night before), Ceasar Salad, (made the morning of) and pre-made Chicken Salad (we added grapes and cashews), Potato Salad, Pasta Salad, fruit &veggies, cheese &crackers, chips w/salsa, strawberry lemonade, sodas, and cake. I also order mini cupcakes from a great little cupcake place. (More on that later...)

Our "Indoor Picnic" Theme helped our casual menu and setting work. Red/White checked table toppers, fresh daisys & sunflowers in canning jars tied with lime green ribbon, centered on round red placemats, red plates, lime napkins. I scattered a few little plastic ants on the tables for a touch of picnic "realism", and used several picnic baskets on the food tables and photo table. Looked simple but nice....

... But adding the "Balloon Trees" really helped create the picnic setting and added so much to the festive feel! (Several shades of green balloons, tied with brown ribbon trunks)

Favors...Every party needs favors... So I pulled out my FAVORITE punch, the Daisy punch..

...Layered two white daisys, added the yellow centers (using a regular sized paper punch)...

Fluffed the top flower...

And then filled small bags with jelly beans and candy watermelon slices.

I use the daisy punch all the time! One's from a craft store, but I couldn't pass up the second found at a thrift store. I even found the green circles, already cut, and the string I used to tie them to the bags, at Value Village! Thrifting for art supplies is now a regular part of my treasure hunts...

Flexibility...Not everything worked out exactly as planned.. I ordered mini cupcakes from Icing on the Cupcake, http://www.icingonthecupcake.com/ and Kim (DIL) made CUTE fondant daisys to put on them. But when we went to pick them up, they'd made full size cupcakes instead! Once we tasted them, we didn't mind- they were fabulous! But we had cake and cupcakes coming out our ears!

Family...Planning with everyone, and then working on things together is really what made this party wonderful! A giant THANK YOU to everyone who pulled together to celebrate these happy occasions.

Make it... Wonderful!