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Monday, September 26, 2016

How To Throw A Literary Themed 30th Birthday Party

Step 1: Make it a mid-year resolution, commit the goal to paper, or it will never be anything more than a pipe dream.

Gatsby party, goodbye roaring 20s, hello 30

Step 2: Enlist the help of a friend with a vision. Steal her vision, because yours is hazy and probably unrealistic. Besides, hers involves a literary theme that's awesome for a party and perfect for your bookish tastes. It doesn't matter if you don't actually like the book in question, there is nothing better than a Great Gatsby party. Also, party planning is way more fun with a friend you can spend hours drooling over Pinterest with, instead of making all these decisions by yourself.


Gatsby party, chalkboard quotes, goodbye roaring 20s, hello 30


Step 3: Find a venue, preferably a free one. Like the home of a mutual good friend who serendipitously moved from her tiny apartment into a nice large home with the perfect space for entertaining just one month before your scheduled party. Convince said friend that she wants nothing more than to host a huge party before she's even had a chance to hang her pictures on the wall (those pictures will only get in the way of decorations anyway).

Step 4: Pick a date. Get started on invitations. Realize the date you picked has some major conflicts and change the date. Send out invitations to twice as many people as you actually hope will show up. Get equal parts nervous and excited as RSVPs start rolling in.

Gatsby party, mocktails, chalkboard decorations

Step 5: Divide up the responsibilities, and get to work. For some crazy reason, you volunteer to take on decorations. Proceed to spend hours on Pinterest and make multiple trips to Hobby Lobby. Make a game plan and get everything in place. Then, four days before the party, get a completely different vision and spend every evening blowing up 150 balloons and carefully threading them through Christmas light strands to make the most awesome lit balloon garlands ever. (Seriously, if this were a craft blog or something, I'd post a tutorial, because I'm so proud of how those decorations turned out. But I'll spare you.)

Gatsby party, goodbye roaring 20s, hello 30


Step 6: Realize that between your friend's six-month-old twins and your aching pregnant body, the two of you have probably bitten off more than you can chew with this whole vision. Send out desperate pleas for help and feel overwhelmed by the wonderful friends who loan stuff and show up to help set things up. Life is awesome.

Gatsby Party, Photobooth, goodbye roaring 20s, hello 30


Step 7: Spend the majority of your birthday running around like a crazy person to set up decorations, make trendy donut hole cake towers, keep kids fed and happy, and gussy yourself up for a fancy evening.
Gatsby Party, goodbye roaring 20s, hello 30


Step 8: Realize your back is probably never going to forgive you for all that physical labor at this stage in your pregnancy. Spend the first hour of your party sitting, like a queen in a throne, as the people come to you. Make your husband take pictures of all the details as they come together, because you just can't get out of the chair right now.



Step 9: Feel overwhelmed again by all the wonderful people in your life who are willing to get babysitters, find costumes, and come make your party a roaring success. Have the time of your life chatting and sipping mocktails and soaking up the ambiance.


Step 10: Leave the clean-up for the next morning. Crawl into bed tired and exhausted, vowing to never do this again. At least not for five years. And never again while pregnant.

4 comments:

  1. Wow! This looks like a blast! Love seeing the Youngs in pics. I really want to have a big 30th bash and definitely don't think I could hack it while pregnant. I'm just lucky to shower these days... let alone host a big party!

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    1. It was actually at the Young's new place! And yeah, I'm never doing anything like this while pregnant again! But this is my only year when I won't be in school for a while, so I knew I had to make it happen.

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  2. Looks like a smashing party! Great job!

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    1. Thanks! Would've been fun to have you there too (why did you have to move again?).

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