Grandma’s Milestone Birthday

Women love to throw a great party, especially when it comes to birthdays!
We plan big parties all the time for our children, so why not throw a birthday
bash to celebrate our wonderful moms and grandmothers!

From the food and decorations, to meaningful activities, Studio 5 Contributor
Mandy Douglass shares darling ways to celebrate Grandma’s birthday!


A milestone birthday in the later years of anyone’s life is something that
should be presented in a special way. It should be a time to honor their lives,
and show how that person that has influenced others for good. Here is some
inspiration and ideas when you go to plan that special even for your loved
one!

When deciding to plan this segment I thought of my grandmother, (now
passed on) and what she would have loved if we were celebrating this party
for her.

Invitations
It is important to create something that makes everyone want to attend.
Create something around the color pallet of your party; make it simple, yet
beautiful!

Have the guests email you or mail you a picture of them with grandma. Then
have a book made of all those pictures. It would be a fabulous way to send
grandma on a trip down memory lane!

Who do you invite? Because we aren’t sure what a surprise might do to
grandma, for her 80th Birthday include her in on the details. If your
grandmother was like mine at 80 years old, confusion was not something she
enjoyed! Maybe just a small party with her daughters and grand-daughters is
all she wants! Try having an open house to make the party a little calmer.
This also allows people an open window to come and say hello without
feeling like they have to stay for a long amount of time.

Decorations

Color Pallet – I did a little research when preparing my party. This party is for
someone who may have grown up in the 30’s and 40’s … to cater the color
scheme to something that might remind them of their past. What were color
schemes during the earlier years of their life? You could even base it around
the birthday girl’s favorite color! Color is a big part of making the party
magical!

Create a theme – What are things that grandma has done in her life? Was she
a teacher? A writer? What does she love to do? Does she love to cook? Sew or
Quilt? Is her favorite drink tea, or maybe even Coke? Does she love movies?
Whatever it might be, make sure that it screams grandma, so everyone who
attends the party will smile at the site of your décor!

Decorations can also get costly. Think about making things in advance, such
as cake stands. I got a glass plate and goblet from Desert Industries. Glued
them together using glass glue, and spray painted them. With a doilie on top,
these gave my food table a great pop of color. Hand make banners using old
book pages, and doilies. Tissue paper puffs are easy to make and can really
add some fun pop to your party.

My grandmother loved flowers. So I found some darling metal doilie cans at
Ikea for $2.99! Then I printed out some darling vintage fruit labels. Find the
link for these on Mandy’s Blog.

Another great way of creating cost effective decorations would be to use
balloons. I was so excited to just fill the room with beautiful balloons from
Pioneer Party!

Great websites for all your party paper needs:
www.shopsweetlulu.com
www.pioneerparty.com

Party Favors

Give each person Recipe book of all the recipes at the party, along with an
Apron hand made by her. Recipe books made at www.papercoterie.com. As a
special offer to Studio 5 viewers, Paper Coterie is giving you a $30 credit, so
you can design your own recipe book. Simply use promo code, MANDY2012
when you check out (standard shipping applies).

Give little containers of seeds for the guests to plant! (idea from
Marthastewart.com)

Hand out a little treat from grandma. It could be her favorite candy, or even a
sample of a favorite recipe of grandma’s, such as a cookie!

Games / Activities

Most adults aren’t very excited about games at Birthday parties. Here are a
few sentimental activities to show grandma how much you love her!

Adjective about grandmother – Place cards on a table as your guests enter.
Have them write an adjective on a card that describes grandma. Have them
place the cards around the room.

Photobooth – Create a photobooth and have family members make sure that
all their guests get pictures taken. Grandmothers always love pictures! A
great and easy way to do this would be to use the iPhone app, Popbooth.

80 Balloon launch – one for each year of her life!

Gifts to Grandma

Genealogy – Documents of family members copied just for her.
Book mentioned above of pictures of her with loved ones through the years.
Try to find pictures she has never seen!

Food (my favorite part!)
Drinks
If you choose to do a theme including tea, offer many different types of tea.
Be sure to grab rock candy as stirring sticks to add a little sweetness.

My favorite drinks are from Target. They come in beautiful glass bottles and
is a great tasting Italian Soda. To make it even more beautiful, provide cream
and whipped topping. (Sprinkles would make it that much more magical!)

Custom designed cake, brought to you by Dippidee in American Fork!
visit: http://dippidee.blogspot.com/
to see even more beautiful cakes!

The food featured on today’s segment was all hand made. Most of it can be
made in advance. Here is what you saw:

Key Lime / Lemon Tarts
Almond Butter Cookies



Visit my blog www.mandydouglass.blog
spot.com
for recipes and even more
details!

Mandy Douglass is not a stranger when it comes to crafting. Since
she was a
young girl, her nic-name was Martha! Graduating with a degree in Graphic
Design, Mandy has used her education in design, teamed up with her years of
crafting skills, as a professional in the Scrapbooking and Paper Crafting
Industry. She has worked as a Scrapbook Product Designer, and is a
Contributing Editor for Creating Keepsakes magazine. She also has a new line
of fabric coming out soon through Alpine fabrics! Mandy also has a great
love for cooking, sewing, the outdoors, and caring for her sweet husband
and two boys. She is a native of Utah and currently lives in American Fork. To
learn more, visit:
www.mandydouglass.blog
spot.com
.

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