the big 5 0

I surprised (I think) my husband last month with a small party to celebrate his 50th birthday!

This event challenged me in two ways…

First, I usually plan parties for my children.  Planning a party for a grown man is a bit different…fluff and fru fru is not necessary or appropriate!

Second, I had limited time to set up and decorate.  My very gracious friend, Wendy, offered to have the party at her lovely home.  Since I didn’t want her family to have to go about their daily lives with party decor in the way, I didn’t start to decorate until the day before the party (sometimes I begin setting up for a party an entire week ahead)!

With those thoughts in mind, I decided to decorate with a big 5 and a big 0!

On such a special birthday, it’s fun to look back at your life.  What better way to do that than through pictures!  A bonus is that it provides conversation for your friends as they look at pictures of the guest of honor over the years.

I had black and white copies of photographs printed…childhood through present day.  It was hard to choose which ones I would use.  Too many memories!

Then I drew a large 5 on thick artist paper (thicker than posterboard) and cut it out.  I started placing the photographs on top of the template.  Once I liked the arrangement, I adhered them with double-stick tape.

I did the same thing again, only with a large 0.

And there it is…a big 5 0!

This was hanging over the bar area during the party.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of that to share…I was too caught up in the celebrating to take one!

This simple decoration made a big impact, without much fluff or fru fru.

P.S.  I’ll be sharing more of the party decor in tomorrow’s blog post…the cake table.