Birthdays are meant to be celebrated. And milestone birthdays are even more special. One of our extremely talented Art Directors, Alison, has a knack for party planning, and she does a pretty amazing job. This past Spring, Alison’s mother was turning 70, and she knew she wanted to celebrate in a really special way. We had to share how everything turned out, so here’s Alison with the details….
My mom was turning 70 this year and I didn’t want another birthday, especially a milestone, to go by without an unforgettable celebration. What better way to honor someone than to throw a surprise birthday party?
So back in February, my brother and I started planning. We wanted to invite as many people as possible–friends, family, classmates, and co-workers. I designed the invitation around her stunning engagement picture, my favorite photo of her.
I wanted the colors to be classy and fun. Gold, black, pinks and polka-dots to represent the 50’s era my mom grew up in. I turned black paper fans into records, using song titles that went with my mom’s name, Sharron, like “My Sharona” and “Sherry Baby”. To continue the theme, I used records as table centerpiece mats as well.
Each centerpiece was a gold Mason jar that contained a Happy Birthday tag, black paper fans with her picture, gold flags with “70”cut outs, and black or pink polka-dot balloons and flowers. Flowers were incorporated into everything. I made pom-pom flowers, cupcake liner flowers, and small and large tissue paper flowers. Each table featured different titles for her—“mom,” “daughter,” “sister,” “wife,” “grandma” and “friend.”
Ah…the cake! I continued with the flowers and created a topper for it that said, “70 Years Loved.” I also served polka-dot cookies with gold “70” and black “S” for “Sharron,” that people could take home with them.
As you can see from my mom’s expression, we got her! She was beyond surprised. Hugs went on forever and everyone had a great time. Best gift of the evening: as my mom hugged me she told me, “It’s an honor to be your mom.”
All the planning, stress, and flower making…totally worth it. Happy Birthday, Mom!
Click here to see more pictures from the party.
All Photos Courtesy of Kelly Kutsko
Cookies by Chris Carolin
Cake by Kelsey Elizabeth Cakes
