Drinks

Party Recap

Last night was a successful and memorable evening! Thank you so much for stopping by the house for my husband’s 40th birthday party or as I like to say, his birthday, version 4.0! We loved feeding you, laughing with you and creating more memories with you! Husband was incredibly humbled by the whole thing and truly appreciated the Main Event!
Even though you attended, I thought I would share a few of the details of the decor and party planning that I put together. Finding party ideas for a man is a little harder, especially since Husband doesn’t drink or smoke. A lot of the ideas on Pinterest have little mixing bars or bar carts or cigar centers, but none of that applies to my husband. But my husband does have a LOT of interests. He loves Marvel, Star Wars, Disney, traveling and he makes movies. So picking a theme was a little tricky because of the variety but also because I didn’t want it to look childish. After all this was his 4.0 birthday! I decided to do a mixing of themes and combined everything he loves all in one. However, he recently saw Rocky on Broadway and is crazy about it. Rocky is his favorite movie so him liking the play had good odds and because of that passion, I wanted to have that theme stand out. Artfully Sweet, who also made our Long Distance Love Wedding Cake, made this Rocky and Star Wars Cake. Artfully Sweet’s owner was born to make cakes and I love working with them. Everything is perfection from the design to the moistness and I feel very comfortable giving them an idea and letting them run with it. By hiring a true professional and splurging on a certain element, it can take some of the stress away from planning a party. I chose to make the cake an important feature of the party so I wanted it done perfectly. For my daughter’s First Birthday, I made those cakes myself, so it just depends on your budget and how difficult the design.

TIP #1: Choose a main event element. This could be a cake, a flower arrangement, an ice sculpture, a large gift, or a photo. Pick something that will be the center of attention and relate the rest of your decor back to it. It allows for conversation, photo ops and grounds the theme. It also lets everyone know how special the celebration is.
I also decided to transform the table into a boxing ring and used a disposable red carpet from Party City to skirt the table and added a photo I got blown up from Sam’s Club for under $4.00. Then I snuck into his office and brought a few of his collectibles out to display them on the themed table.
TIP: Use what you have! I’m sure you’re like me and have a mixture of souvenirs, statues, gifts and heirlooms. Try to incorporate these into your theme by using them as center pieces, place one on the counter in the restroom or on a mantle. This is a free and easy way to spread the theme around your party area. When you’re finished, put them back on the shelf or in the box. Simple clean up! As I mentioned before, Husband has a lot of interests. So I decided to make a photo op area where people could dress like their favorite version of Husband. Husband is in a comedy show, he loves comics, he’s a great dad, etc., and I wanted to celebrate all the sides of him!
TIP: Make it personalized. Think about the person you’re celebrating. What do they love to do, what are their hobbies? A really great way to get an accurate idea of a person is to look at their magazine subscriptions. My husband subscribes to Entertainment Weekly and comic books. You can easily thumb through these to get inspired or use old photos in a fun way too! Husband often takes pictures jumping in the air, so I printed them all and made a banner. Super easy, inexpensive and it makes people laugh. It totally represents things he loves. I also created a photo backdrop, created some props and made a sign that shows my husband wearing different outfits pertaining to his different interests. I then made a mini closet with those clothing items that people could put on and pose like their favorite version of my husband.
TIP: When hosting a large gathering it also is nice to give your guests something to do. This could be yard games, a mixing bar, craft station or photo booth! Speaking of something to do, this piñata was the first thing people saw when coming in. I like giving the guests a hint of the kind of energy the party is going to create. This photo was on the front door and this table is in our entryway.
I mentioned how my husband makes movies and we got to visit with Micheal Campion and his wonderful parents again. You can see Micheal in Robodog, Robodog Airborne and Fuller House!

Idea

Party Highlights

  • What People Ate

    Burgers, Black Bean Burgers and all the traditional fixings! Plus Buffalo dip...it's a guy thing. :)

  • What People Drank

    The usual suspects...

  • Desserts

    Tres Leche cake and marble boxing cake.

  • Party Favors

    Snapshots in the Photo Booth area.

💬

add your comment