Party on the Patio

Last week I shared the "mini lemonade bar" setup I put together as part of a birthday celebration for my parents a couple of weekends ago. The majority of our time together took place on our back patio, where we were blessed to have beautiful temperatures and a light breeze all evening while we enjoyed some delicious steaks my husband grilled for us. My mom is always the best about making family gatherings feel unique and thoughtful, and now that I'm married and have a home of my own to host family gatherings, I enjoy following in her footsteps (or at least attempting!) and creating special memories that she gets to enjoy!

If you've made any trips to Target recently, you've probably noticed the adorable "Oh Joy! for Target" fall collection. While I would have loved to have taken home literally every piece in the collection, I settled on the cute mini party hats! I don't know what made me think to put them on top of the mason jars, but I loved how that turned out! Scrounging up some craft supplies I already had at the house, I created some "present place cards" to compliment the party hats.  I liked the simplicity of this setup - a little really does go a long way, and it doesn't take much to add a few personal touches to your hosting efforts to make your guests feel special! 

DIY "Present Place Card"
1) Tear the edges of a piece of card stock to form a square.
2) Add a piece of washi tape down the left side.
3) Use sticker letters to label a gift tag.
4) Secure the gift tag with a bow. 

- details -
dishes || Fiesta (via Macy's)
mason jars || Target
mini party hats || Target
table runner & placemats || Target (clearance section - $5 total!)

I hope you were able to find some inspiration for your next family/friends gathering from this post! As always, thanks for stopping by!

50th Birthday Party

Both of my parents turned "50" this month - for my mom, it's TODAY! :) In honor of this milestone in their lives, I wanted to throw them a joint celebration with all of our family. Naturally, I turned to Pinterest for ideas...

One of my favorite ideas was creating a poster commemorating the year they were born, which in their case was 1963. The poster was more than a decoration though - it proved useful for a game we played later in the evening that involved trivia about the year 1963. Those that paid attention to the poster definitely had an advantage! 

Another Pinterest idea I had fun executing was the floral "50" inspired by this pin. I photographed my own execution of this project and plan to blog about it soon! What I loved about this craft is that it not only anchored the theme of the decor, but it was also a souvenir that my parents got to take home after the party! 

The party favors ("the 50s are HOT!") were another Pinterest-inspired idea - Hot Tamales! :)

One idea that I came up with last minute was to have all the guests write down "advice for turning 50" or a short message to my parents. We photographed each person &/or couple holding up their sign so I can compile them to give to my parents later on. Here are a few of my favorites...

Happy birthday, Mom & Dad! I'm incredibly blessed to have you as my parents! I love you! :)

Thanks for reading! If you ever have a 50th birthday party to plan or know someone else who will, I hope this post will provide some inspiration!