Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Does this sound ok for 50th B'day? (kinda long)
Okay, so my mom is turning 50 at the end of February. She always throws the BEST parties for everyone else, and my two sisters and I want to do something really special for her.
My mom's this super-spunky, full-Irish, artist who is always the life of the party. So, we wanted to have a little "theme" that would reflect her personality without it being too much like a little kid's birthday party.
We decided to go with "The Queen is 50!" as a sort of "theme", and make all the decorations black and white. We have rented out a very nice restaurant in a 100-year-old building in my parents' hometown to have a sort of "reception" where as many people who want (about 150 invited guests) can mix and mingle, get drinks, eat appetizers, etc. while wishing my mom a happy birthday.
We were going to have black and white balloons (like a hundred of them) with really long b & w ribbon tails floating on the ceiling with the tails hanging down, centerpieces of black feathers with white roses and tulips (our mom's faves), and a massive b & w cupcake tree for guests. We were also going to have a photo memory "booth" where guests can write a b'day wish for my mom on a chalkboard then take a Polaroid then paste it into a b'day memory scrapbook right there on the spot, etc. We were also thinking of having a b & w candy buffet for pp to take as grown-up "party favors" (is this too much like a wedding???).
Does this sound like a cool idea for a 50th birthday; or are we bordering on cheesy. Please be honest. We really want this to be nice for our mom. She always throws these amazing themed parties for peoples' birthdays and for every holiday; and we want her to have a really nice, classy, yet fun party. Any extra suggestions would be helpful!
Thanks in advance!
Re: Does this sound ok for 50th B'day? (kinda long)
I don't think the idea of a color scheme is tacky. It gives a party unity. My personal opinion is that passed hors d'oeuvres, live music and a sophisticated menu always make a party chic. I would do something other than cupcakes, but that's just me. If your mom loves them, then by all means do what she likes.
I think that it's great that you want to do this for your mom, and I'm sure she'll appreciate it. The thing that screamed "wedding" to me, though, was the candy buffet. I'm really not sure if favors are necessary for adult parties, but if you feel compelled to do something, I would pick something a little more adult, maybe gourmet preserves or flower seeds since she loves flowers.
I like the idea of the black and white theme. Although a splash of color in the flowers or invitations wouldn't be bad. I'm with the PP on the candy buffet. Not necessary. I do like the cupcake idea, but please do chocolate cupcakes with vanilla icing and don't use black icing on cupcakes or anywhere. I love the balloon idea!
My mom turns 50 in two years and I definitely want to go all out for her as well. What a great daughter you are!
I'd scratch the candy buffet. Very wedding-ish.
The portion I bolded---they don't make Polaroids anymore. There are a few alternatives, however, most of them aren't efficient for what you're looking for.
What if you just did a digital camera, had people take the pictures, and then you could take them and get them printed in book via Shutterfly, Flickr or Walgreens? That could be an additional gift.
About the balloons, the idea isn't bad, but 100 balloons at the ceiling probably wouldn't fill up the ceiling of a standard sized bedroom, so it seems like it'd look like a poor attempt to fill the ceiling in a giant room gone really wrong.
Your ideas sound really good, not too wedding-ish except for the previously mentioned candy buffet.
I would think more about the balloons as well as the chalkboard thing. I do like that idea, I think it just needs work.
Planning Bio | Married Bio | Blog
Whatever, y'all. I work for the church. I'll just put in a phone call to my good buddy
JC to strike your asses down. -Bay
Planning Bio | Married Bio | Blog
Whatever, y'all. I work for the church. I'll just put in a phone call to my good buddy
JC to strike your asses down. -Bay
Thanks, guys! Good thoughts and suggestions!
Oh, by the way, Polaroid decided that they are going to keep making film (mostly because of crazy people like me bugging them with e-mails and phone calls!
. I don't think it will be in production again for a while yet, but it doesn't matter for the party because we have a family friend who used to sell it; so, I have an "in" for the party. Although, your ideas are great too!
You're all right, the candy needs to GO! I like the idea of the b & w cookies! That would be sooo much easier too!
Yes, we will need a lot more balloons too. I'm having the lady who is doing them for us to come in and look around to give me her opinion (how many would we need to make them not look cheesy, should we scrap them altogether?). So, hopefully, we'll figure that out soon!
I like the idea of the black playing cards and doing something more artistic for my mom. We need to figure this out soon, because we live 7 hours away from the party location; and I'd really like to have it all done waaay before the time gets close! *nervous*
Thanks again, I really appreciate it!
First of all, I think it's great that you're doing all this for your mom!
Here are my 2 cents:
Love the theme. The first thing that came to mind was this crown from this famous poster. Maybe you can incorporate a similar crown on the invites and favor tags (for the cookies!)?
http://www.yesnomaybe.co.uk/Admin/Upload/800x800/Yes-No-Maybe-Keep-Calm-and-Carry-On-Poster-White-on-Red-back-800x800.jpg
I would consider scrapping the balloons. (Not b/c I don't like it, but b/c I think you're going to need hundreds to make an impact and at the end of the night, you have to throw ehm away). How about white flowers in sleek black vases instead?
With the black playing cards, what if you have folks sign their names with a birthday wish with red sharpies? You can pin them on a fabric covered and framed cork board and display during the party.
Also, for the polaroid booth, would you consider allowing people to take photos with different crowns to keep with the theme queen?
Maybe you can buy your mom a really nice crown shaped brooch to wear at the party.
GL!