Throwing a Fabulous 70th Birthday Party at the Last Minute

 I threw a 70th birthday party for my mom at rather the last minute.  Mid- December or so my sister texted me that since it was my mom's 70th this year we should do something to celebrate.  My husband and I were leaving on our cruise the weekend of her actual birthday so I offered to host something New Year's Eve.

That gave me about 2 or so weeks to prepare (thankfully I was all set for Christmas!).  I immediately hopped on Amazon and found some cute and pretty rose gold 70th birthday themed decorations and sent out some e-vites.


 Between my sister, my step-father, and I we all agreed it was best to keep the guest list to just family.  So I settled to working on the menu.  We have lots of new food allergies in our family that I tried to work around while also keeping some of my mom's favorites in mind. 

We settled on:

  • smoked spiral ham and some plain smoked chicken (that my husband offered to cook on the smoker)
  • a baked potato bar with bacon, cheese, chives, sour cream, and butter.
  • steamed broccoli
  • tossed salad with dressings on the side
  • lemon tiramisu
  • cookie tray
We had a few boxes of premade cookie dough I picked up from Alec' school fundraiser that same week we were party planning so I figured I cook up a couple of trays for those that couldn't or didn't want to eat the tiramisu.





The day of the party we decorated a bit. 


Everyone arrived on time and settled right in to play cards until the food was ready; they were having so much fun they pretty much played while they ate! 





She opened her gifts and then we had her dessert; after singing happy birthday, of course!






Comments

  1. HollyJanuary 11, 2024 at 5:28 AM

    Aww Happy Birthday to your Sweet Mama- you did an awesome job- love the decorations and the menu!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Maria RineerJanuary 11, 2024 at 7:12 AM

    Everything looks great and most importantly, your provided the chance for your family to come together to celebrate your mom!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne January 14, 2024 at 11:02 AM

      Thank you! I did keep that in mind; knowing my mom would care a lot more about family time than any of the details.

      Delete
  3. Megan RussellJanuary 11, 2024 at 7:25 AM

    What a fun birthday party for your mom! The decorations are really pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lisa notesJanuary 11, 2024 at 8:14 AM

    That's wonderful! Happy birthday to your mother! 70 is definitely a milestone worth celebrating.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Veronica LeeJanuary 11, 2024 at 8:20 AM

    Wishing a joyful birthday to your mother!
    You did a fantastic job with the decorations and the menu – everything looks wonderful!

    Hugs and blessings, Joanne!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dara @ Not In JerseyJanuary 11, 2024 at 8:21 AM

    Looks great! Happy birthday to your mom!

    ReplyDelete
  7. LyssyJanuary 11, 2024 at 8:49 AM

    That is so fun, great job! Happy belated to your mom! I am sure she really appreciated having everyone together.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne January 14, 2024 at 11:27 AM

      Aw, thanks! She was thrilled and has been telling anyone who will listen how lucky she was to have us all here to celebrate with her.

      Delete
  8. LyshaJanuary 11, 2024 at 8:58 AM

    Love it when pulling off something like this in a time crunch. Sometimes its better that way.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Tanya January 11, 2024 at 1:25 PM

    What a fun celebration! Love the rose gold/pink!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne January 14, 2024 at 11:37 AM

      Thanks! As soon as I saw those I just knew she'd love the rose gold.

      Delete
  10. April StephensJanuary 11, 2024 at 1:58 PM

    Beautiful party! Happy 70th to your mom!

    ReplyDelete
  11. PamelaJanuary 11, 2024 at 6:01 PM

    A lovely celebration! A baked potato bar is a great idea.

    ReplyDelete
  12. AnonymousJanuary 11, 2024 at 8:37 PM

    Wow, that's impressive for so little planning time,
    XOOX
    Jodie

    ReplyDelete
  13. MandyJoyLoves♥January 11, 2024 at 10:00 PM

    What a sweet celebration! You did a great job with little notice! My Dad turns 70 in April, and we are trying to think of a plan. Super cute ideas, happy birthday to your mom. Love the rose gold!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joanne January 14, 2024 at 11:38 AM

      Thank you! I had a whole 70's board going on Pinterest but didn't have enough time to do a lot of the stuff I had planned.

      Delete
  14. MarshaJanuary 11, 2024 at 10:25 PM

    Happy belated 70th to your mom! The decorations and food all look wonderful. I'm betting she enjoyed every minute of it!

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

    ReplyDelete
  15. Nancy 's Fashion StyleJanuary 12, 2024 at 6:00 AM

    Oh that is so lovely! And what a lovley decorations!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Kim CarberryJanuary 12, 2024 at 9:27 AM

    Happy birthday to your mom and what a great celebration. You did a great job with the planning. The baked potato bar is such a great idea and the decorations are so pretty. x

    ReplyDelete
  17. Melynda@Scratch Made Food!January 12, 2024 at 10:19 AM

    Looks like a complete success!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Kari January 12, 2024 at 10:57 PM

    Happy Birthday to your mom! She is beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Lindsay's Sweet WorldJanuary 13, 2024 at 9:55 AM

    Awwww, I love this so much! Happy belated birthday to your Mom!

    ReplyDelete
  20. NatashaJanuary 23, 2024 at 6:44 AM

    What a fun party! I love the rose and gold colour theme.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Melissa BakerJune 25, 2024 at 9:58 AM

    I love this so much!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Favorite TV Shows Growing Up in the 80's and early 90's

Image
Do you remember the TGIF lineups on Friday nights? I can remember planning sleepovers and time with friends around TV Show lineups of our favorite shows... or else trying to set the VCR to record our favorite shows if we weren't going to be home. And through the years I had SO MANY favorites! Growing pains aired in 1985 which put me around age 8 and it stayed on the air until I was 15 or so; I'm pretty sure most people in my age group watched mostly for Kirk Cameron and all his antics.  I still have a soft spot for family sit-coms!  The Facts of Life aired when I was just 2  and stayed on the air until I was 11 so I'm sure the episodes I remember so fondly were either some of the later ones and then reruns shown later on when I was old enough to watch from the beginning. I think everyone would have loved an Edna Garret in their lives.   Benson another sitcom that began airing when I was just 2 and was done by the time I was 9 (another one I must have watched mainly through
Read more

Dollar Store Candy Cane Wreath

Image
Today I am linking up with some fellow bloggers for a Dollar Store craft challenge.  I don't often participate in these challenges since I try to stay away from our local Dollar Stores; I find they can be quite dangerous for me!  I knew this was the perfect time to find some inexpensive holiday decorations though and I just LOVE how my wreath turned out!  I hope you stop by and see what the other hosts are sharing. Meet this month's co-hosts! Across the Blvd | Purple Hues & Me This Autoimmune Life | Our Unschooling Journey Domestic Deadline | Sew Crafty Crochet Stone Cottage Adventures | Sum of Their Stories | Two Chicks & a Mom I bought the candy cane wreath base and a few rolls of mesh (not knowing how many I'd need I bought waaay to many; I only ended up using one white roll and one red roll. Using some chenille stems I already had on hand I attached the mesh to the wreath base trying to alternate the white
Read more

Things That Make Me Laugh

Image
I loved the challenge of this week's list for our 26 lists link up.  I don't know about you but I really need to laugh more lately.  It's such a great stress reliever. 1.  Books-- I love a good funny book that makes me laugh out loud.  I haven't read one in a while but if you have any recommendations I'm all ears.  The last book I can remember making me laugh was the Un-Honeymooners. 2  The boys being silly. 3.  Watching shows like America's Funniest Videos or Family Feud. 4. My husband.  Most people don't realize it but he's actually pretty funny and often makes me laugh. 5.  Whenever my sisters/ family get together and we get to reminiscing (particularly if my Aunt Elaine is around) we end up laughing so hard at all the old family stories that we are all in tears by the end of the night.  It's fabulous. 6. Movies like Mom's Night Out, Christmas Vacation, and Grown Ups make me laugh out loud. 7.  When my boys were youn
Read more