My husband just turned 40! It sounds so weird to say that. First of all, he doesn't look 40 & second of all, we're almost 10 years apart so it just doesn't seem real. ;p
I started planning months ago. Something you should know about my better half, Mike, is that he is super nostalgic & loves movies & shows that are set in different time periods. That's why he started watching the show Mad Men. It's based in the 60s & centers around the ad agents on Madison Avenue. I knew that would be a perfect party scene for his 40th!
I only started watching it a few months ago (I spent many nights trying to "catch up") & at first I didn't like it very much. I didn't like how women were treated back then & the show is not exactly family-friendly. But I slowly saw what Mike likes about it. It transports you back in time & the characters are so well done. It really is an intriguing show & a raw look into the human condition. (my two cents, anyway)
I wanted to make sure I said that because I work for a great family-friendly radio station & want you to know that I'm not endorsing is as a family show. :-)
Okay, enough chit chat. ;p Let's start with the invites.
My best friend,
Jenny, made the actual invite inserts. She seriously does the most AMAZING job at creating invitations. She also did our reception invitations
here. She has some really unique wedding invites & you can check them out
here.
I wanted to create the "envelope" portion of the invites.
We had a bunch of file folders so I cut them down to fit the invites & glued three sides. I used plain labels & printed the guest info in typewriter font. I affixed a paper clip to each one & stamped them "confidential" on the outside. The "confidential" stamp was something our friend Jeff Carter had in his stash.
Didn't
Jenny do an awesome job??! I loved how they turned out.
The only problem was that sometimes my creative juices forget to factor in things like shipping, ya know the small stuff. Apparently the post office frowns at mailing file folders with paper clips & stamped "confidential." :-( I don't know what I was thinking. You, my party penny-pinching friends, will be disappointed in me because I had to buy slightly larger envelopes to fit these invites inside & they cost a tad more than a regular stamp. Party foul! ;p Please forgive me. I did try & hand out as many as possible.
Do you notice the difference in photography? ;p
Kim Herbert, who also took many of our
reception photos, came to my rescue when my camera batteries died & I was rushing around putting the final touches on. If you want to see more of her photography, click
here. She is just an incredible photographer!
One of the most cost efficient ways I decorated was by printing out these old 60s ads (actually Jeff printed them for me...I tell you, he's awesome). I got a big box of those black clips & attached the ads. I hung them from the wall hooks that are easy to take off.
Another really cheap & easy way I decorated was by taking a yellow legal pad & printing out different signs in a typewriter font. I printed off a couple signs that said "Restroom" (seriously ladies, isn't that always a question we ask?!), "Welcome to Mike's Mad Men Party" (outside the front door), "Red's Nightclub" (for the downstairs section that had the dessert table & a "bar" and instructions for the party favors.
Other really cheap ideas I did were:
- We set out my dads old yearbooks from the 60s. The guests enjoyed flipping through.
- I found some "spam" mint boxes at Cost Plus World Market
- Jeff (again, huge contributor) found a DVD in the clearance bin that played old 60s TV commercials. We had it playing upstairs & it was really fun to see.
This is the hors d'oeuvres table. Here's what I planned for the menu -
Beef Wellington Appetizers
Parmesan Fondue
Deviled Eggs
Tuna Tomato Appetizers
Cucumber & French Onion Sour Cream Appetizers
Pimento Cheese with Crackers
Ambrosia
I wanted one "wow" item & that was the beef wellington appetizer. I spent more on that dish but made up for it but choosing more inexpensive dishes for the rest. Since I was going to make everything myself (except for the Pimento Cheese, which is awesome & made by a co-workers wife who owns
Cuisine on the Run), I decided to make the beef wellington a couple weeks ahead & freeze it. The day of the party, I just stuck it in the oven for 10 minutes & it was ready to serve.
I got the recipe for the beef wellington appetizers from Food.com
here.
The parmesan fondue recipe is from my best friend Kauri, who did a guest post with the recipe
here.
It was a HUGE hit! It's super easy, inexpensive & very popular. I paired it with granny smith apples, french bread & ham rolls.
That fondue pot I got from Goodwill for $4! I had a pot but it was electric & I didn't want to mess with a cord running across the dining room. Most all the serving pieces I collected from Goodwill. I found the plate the fondue dippers are on for less than a $1. The really pretty dish the beef wellingtons were in was also from Goodwill.
I really wanted to use roses in the decor. The only problem with roses are they are pretty expensive. I ended up finding 2 dozen roses for $16 at Costco. I used them all over...in the bathrooms, in the "nightclub" area downstairs, in the living room, on the drink table & here as the centerpiece for the main table. I was proud that I stretched that $16! ;p
That pitcher was a wedding gift that I absolutely love.
I chose the deviled eggs because they're cheap & really pretty easy to make. However, it wasn't until the day of the party I realized that I had actually never made deviled eggs before. ;p HA! That is typical "Heidi." Thank goodness for Google!
The cucumber appetizers were easy & cheap. All you do is slice a cucumber into bite size pieces, deep enough to scoop out a portion without completely hollowing out the cucumber. Mix a packet of the french onion dip into a large size sour cream container (I think it'd be a 16 oz). Once you scoop out the middle of the cucumber (you still want there to be enough cucumber so that the sour cream doesn't overwhelm the app), add a dollop of the sour cream mixture. I topped these with a couple of shreds of green onion to pretty them up.
The tomato tuna appetizers aren't shown but they're really simple to make. Take a cherry tomato & half it. Scoop out some of the middle. Mix tuna fish to taste (mayo, mustard, salt, pepper, etc) & add a dollop of tuna mixture to the tomatoes. Mike devoured the left over tomato tuna apps. ;p
The pimento cheese is in the center of the ambrosia. I had a couple different crackers & guests could help themselves.
I made the ambrosia the night before but I had one little snag. I accidentally added all of my shredded coconut to the German Chocolate cake icing so it left me with none to top the ambrosia with. :-( Ambrosia is something my grandmother would always make & it always makes me think of her. If you're not familiar with what it is, it's just oranges, grapefruit & pineapple cut up in a fruit salad. It's really good if you make it the night before you have to serve it so all the juices combine. Some people add nuts and/or coconut as well.
The adorable little glass cups came from Goodwill. I found a whole group of them one day for less than a dollar each & just knew the ambrosia would look so pretty in them.
This is Tiffani, Kim's sister. Doesn't she look like a poster child for a 60s ad?!
This was the drink station. I gave the option of an alcoholic & non-alcoholic mojito. (The alcoholic one had very little alcohol in it) I also had a pitched of water. Outside on our patio, I had a big tub of cokes. We always buy the mexican bottled coke from Costco because it's made with real sugar. It looked very retro & I tagged it saying "Cokes 5 cents."
The menu item labels were just done on my computer & printed on cardstock. I didn't have anything to set the labels on I ended up with this penny-pinching solution. You can see what I did
here.
Here's the birthday boy. He's not smoking a real cigarette. Those were ones I bought off Amazon for a few bucks. They look pretty real, though, don't they.
I think Mike had a great time & felt like he was almost in a different time period. I am so thankful to have him as my husband. He challenges me, encourages me, is one of my biggest fans, has shown me what unconditional love looks like, is the most giving person, the best listener, very selfless, handsome, & the person I most want advice from. Not just that but Mike has the deepest love for others & for the Lord. I have learned so much from him about listening to the Lord & being still instead of always trying to "do" things for Him (or be a "Martha"). There is no one else I'd rather share a new artist or song I found...there is no one else I'd rather discuss a deep book or movie with...there is no one else I'd rather talk through a sermon with than my husband & the man I admire. Happy Birthday to my hunk-a-hunk-a-burnin love. ;p
Please don't vomit...I know that was a lot of mushiness. ;p
That is not ALL of the party. You'll have to come back next Wednesday for part 2! Part 2 will have the dessert table, the favors & the photo booth!
If you could have a birthday party themed from any time period, when would it be? (Share in the comment section below)
Hope you have a great day!
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