So my husband turned 40 on March 7 and I told him he was getting a party. Well, I asked first and he said he didn't want one. Then I put my social foot down (on top of his reserved I-don't-want-to-be-the-center-of-attention foot) and told him he was turning 40 and he was getting a party! I can be bossy like that sometimes. :)
I did keep the invitation list pretty simple. Mostly immediate family and a few close friends. I tried to come up with some of his favorite things to eat - so we had pie and mini-cheesecakes instead of regular cake!
I think the best thing that I pulled off was a compilation of video birthday wishes! I contacted some of his old high school buddies, family, friends, co-workers and asked them to send a quick video wishing him a happy birthday. I didn't get as many responses as I would have liked, but I get some classic ones and he really loved watching them! His parents told the story about the day he was born and a friend assured him there was still one more NFL kicker who was older than him! I loved how this turned out so much I think I want to do it for everyone! Plus it's so easy to take a quick video on your phone and text or email it.
At the end of the night he told me, "wow, you guys really went all out!" I didn't really think it was that big of a deal (cleaning the house was a bigger deal than putting the party together!) but he really appreciated it and it was fun to make a big deal over him since he usually prefers the background!
Here he is looking a little sheepish as we sing him Happy Birthday!
So if you aren't one for parties, or are married to someone who's not - do it anyway. At least once! Everyone likes feeling loved and it's always good to be with friends.
8 comments:
I love everything you did! The photos in the shape of a big 4-0 is such a great idea, and so simple I could do it. The games his sister came up with, charades specifically, sound awesome. I threw a retirement party for my parents a couple of years ago. We tried getting old friends to write notes, and we got some great responses, but, like you, I was a little disappointed that we didn't get as many as hoped for. That is a lot of work. I think your party turned out amazing! You're inspiring me to think ahead to my hubby's 40th in a couple of years.
I love it! The 40 has great presence and being small with family and friends was ideal for the party boy! Take all the flexibility you want in goals and posting, you know, because this is surely a "real" blog if nothing else! Way to go Amy. When James turned 40, smaller, was better for him. I wanted huge and hundreds and he just squirmed. Friends, peanut butter fingers, and a candy bar poster at work were perfect.
Looks like fun! I wanted to do the "40" picture collage for my hubby's bday, but I was lazy. And I didn't really have a party...we took him to a demo derby at the county fair in Indiana...close enough;)
How fun! I'm so glad that he was such a good sport about it!
My husband turns 40 next year, he swears he doesn't want ANYTHING done. I'm going to take your advice, and have a party anyways.
That is awesome! March 7th is a fabulous bday ;) I love the 40 collage & all the memories. Even though it was focused on him I'm sure it bonded everybody in attendance! You are such a great party girl and planner! I love the idea of video wishes. I'll definitely be doing that sometime!
Good plan -you'll both be glad you did!
The videos were the best! It was so fun to see them come in and he loved watching them! It was also a way to "have people" at the party without having him overwhelmed by people at the party! lol!
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