birthday 101

I am recuperating from a fun-filled weekend. family was in from Charlotte and Boston to celebrate the 60th birthday of my brother-in-law. a good time was had by all. and just off the tour of our own birthdays, we were still in the mood to party. but the question always is 'how do you celebrate a birthday milestone?' there are guidelines in my birthday party planning book. lessons learned. fit to share.

Birthday Guidelines 101
1. make it memorable.
2. make it sentimental.
3. make it fun.

all simple concepts. and scratching the ol' noggin here is what we came up with for our most recent celebration.

1. make it memorable.
we were asked to bring party hats. so off to the party pig (always the start of a good time). wandering up and down the aisles we passed display after display of notably raucous party ideas. it is my humble opinion that over the hill and aged to perfection are two themes that should be put away for several generations. so we settled on colorful party hats and an extra big hat with polka dots for the guest of honor. and then EUREKA!! the pièce de résistance. the perfect accoutrements. hanging innocently in the 'fiesta' section were fake moustaches. the men of the hubs clan are noted for their moustaches. and especially said b-i-l; who has a soup strainer of all strainers. moustaches for everyone. #1 guideline. check.
2. make it sentimental.
the b-i-l is big into family stuff. also into horses (and associated equestrian events). so we went through bin after bin of grandfather's stamp collection to find equestrian themed stamps. and there were quite a few. so we had a few matted and framed. two sentimental birds in one stroke. #2 guideline. check.
3. make it fun.
apart from a spanking machine, how do you liven up a AARP birthday party? with a good limerick, of course. now admittedly I did steal this idea from the hubs dinner party (thank you friend E for giving me the idea). so we wrote a three verse limerick and added some pictures and voila! smiles all around. #3 guideline. check.

of course, the very best part of all the festivities was being together. catching up. hanging out. celebrating life. sharing love. in the birthday tutorial you'll find that advice in the last chapter where it says 'same time, next year' and never 'the end'.

'and thank you for a house full of people I love. Amen.'