Birthday Gift Idea – Through the Decades

Note:

Please excuse my lack of posting here at Homebased Parties.  A combination of technical problems due to a mean old blog hacker and a case of tennis elbow have slowed me up a bit!  I’m getting back into the swing of things here though and have lots of fun party ideas to share with you.  If you have a fun party idea to share I’d love to hear about – send me pictures!  You could be a Party Guest here on the blog!!

As you may remember I celebrated a pretty big birthday earlier this month!!  In fact I turned 5 decades old.

My friend Sherra who lives in Atlanta wasn’t able to be at the party but she sent me the most amazing gift.  I wanted to share it with you because it is the perfect gift idea for someone celebrating one of those milestone birthdays – the ones that end in zero!

She helped me take a trip down memory lane, through the 5 decades of my life.

Of course, who doesn’t love to receive packages in the mail?!  Especially when they are filled with lots of other packages!

 

In fact there was a present and a picture  for each decade of my life!
 
I was so cute back in the 60’s!

 

Sherra found this amazing vintage – yes I guess I am old enough for something from my childhood to be called vintage – party book.  It was perfect and I absolutely love it.  It reminds me of a Betty Crocker Children’s cookbook I had as a child!

 

And then the 70’s, not such a great look with my long straggly hair.

 

But I actually squealed when I opened the 70’s gift – it was a coaster made from an old 45 of Donny Osmond singing “Go Away Little Girl” and an entire CD of Donny!  I love it!!  Yes, I was one of those teenage girls with posters of Donny all over my bedroom!

 

And then the 80’s  complete with my nice permed hair and my first baby.

 

What a better gift for the 80’s than a collection of great 80’s hits!  Remember Wake Me Up Before You Go – Go by Wham and Change of Heart by Cyndi Lauper?!

 

And then there was my business look of the 1990’s

 

I love the Southern Living magazine so was excited to get their collection of  their best recipes from the 1990’s!

  
Think I’m looking a little better in the 2,000’s!

 

One of my dreams was to travel to Italy with some girlfriends to celebrate our 50th birthdays together and take cooking classes.  Unfortunately that dream isn’t going to come true this year (I’m going to England instead!!) but Sherra sent me another cookbook with lots of yummy Italian recipes so I can teach myself!

 

And then there was the Here & Now.

 

This present was some of my favorite things!  Pretty notebooks and some great motivational art!
 

Wasn’t that an amazing gift!  Sherra did all of her shopping on Etsy.

Surprise 50th Birthday Party

I am the one usually giving the party.

In fact, it’s been a lot of years since someone gave a party for me….

But that all changed this weekend when my sweet family and dear Beach Babe friends (a group of women I have known for over 20 years)threw a surprise party for my 50th birthday. I know, it’s hard to believe, but I am 50!!!

I have a couple of other girlfriends that also turn 50 this year. For years we talked about celebrating our fiftieth birthdays together, in Italy, taking cooking classes. Well, over the years life happens and things change and we knew that the dream was no longer a reality, at least not right now. When my Beach Babe friends heard about the lost dream they knew that the party they were throwing for me needed to have an Italian theme!

We were greeted at the door by this lifesize menu!

There was lots of yummy Italian food to enjoy.

 

I have some friends that are very good cooks!
 

My family had done a great job of compiling a guest lists and so many of my friends from different parts of my life were all there!

 

And my sweet parents were there to celebrate with me too.

 

My family put on an entertaining program complete with a printed program.  Thanks to my good friend Julie who is the queen of organization who put together the invite, program, menu etc.

 

Logan and Cali did the 12 hours of mom’s day sung to the 12 Days of Christmas – it was hilarious and their actions were even more entertaining!

 

On the first hour of mom’s day her to do list said….

One ten mile walk in a weighted vest

Two Webinars

Three Scrapbooks

Four care packages

Five diet cokes

Six grocery store visits

Seven trips to Anthropologie

Eight million pictures

Nine books to read

Ten recipes to cook

Eleven phone calls to kids

Twelve new blog posts

 

Next on the agenda was a song by my friend Merrill set to The Impossible Dream.  Part of it went like this…

“To write the unwritable blog, to bake the unbakeable bread, to live in the Garden of Eden…..

 

Clark and Tessa helped out with the entertainment too.  They put on a skit about Jim and I in another 50 years!  They were hilarious and pretty much nailed us!!  Complete with Jim’s plaid shirt and baseball cap and my multiple pairs of glasses!

 

Then Logan sang a sweet song from Fiddler on the Roof called  “Mama, a Rainbow.”  The words start out, “What do you give to the lady who has given all her life and love to you?  …..What can I give you, what will your present be? Mama young and beautiful, always young and beautiful.  That’s the Mama I’ll always see.  That’s for Mama with love from me.”

 

Of course it made me and just about everyone else in the room cry!

The program finished up with a few funny things from Jim and my Mom, or at least they thought they were funny!

 

The program concluded when Jim presented me with my birthday gift.  To read more about it check out my post over at Your Homebased Mom.  Of course I loved it and it made me cry too!

,

After the program we had birthday cake, my favorite – lemon poppyseed creamcheese from Beaverton Bakery! 

 

And my husband made a sweet toast.

 

Thanks to my amazing friends the Beach Babes….

 

and my wonderful family for making this a birthday I will never forget!

 

Turning 50, just the beginning of a great new era in my life.  Maybe I’ll go to Italy for my 60th!!