Classy Nautical Birthday/Retirement Party

angiekay79@gmail.com By [email protected]  in Birthday

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Party Recap

My sweet mother-in-law turned 60 and retired from her life-long career as a school teacher in the span of two weeks. She has touched and inspired countless lives, so I wanted to do something extra special for her. With the help of my sister-in-law and two of Mom’s close friends, I planned a surprise 2-part celebration for her. Mom loves old world nautical decor and the color red, so it only made sense to throw her a nautical birthday and retirement party. I wanted to keep it classy and bright, so we decorated mainly with navy and white, throwing in little pops of red. I was thrilled with how everything came together for this classy nautical birthday/retirement party.

The first part of the celebration included a sit-down dinner for family. We used navy tablecloths, and each table featured a hurricane and candle centerpiece with sand, shells and fishing net. To decorate, we used lots of shells, as well as other “nautical” items including a ship’s wheel, seagulls, lighthouses, anchors, etc. We also used mini nautical flags designed by Hello Brielle. Finally we finished the evening with a gorgeous cake made my Mike’s Amazing Cakes in Seattle, WA.

The next day we held an open house dessert event for friends and colleagues and were able to re-use all of the decorations from the night before. In keeping with the white, navy and red, we tried to limit our food to those colors. We served cupcakes, strawberries, kettle corn (for those wanting a little salt to go with their sweet), yogurt parfaits, taffy, chocolates and shortbread. My sister-in-law spent hours wrapping plasticware in navy napkins and tying off with twine and a lifesaver preserver. She also made sand dollar cookies that we bagged and gave as favors. My friend from Hello Brielle worked tirelessly to design all of the party printables; I love how they turned out!

More details can be found on my website, along with other events I've done: www.marigoldmom.com

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