Today is my FATHER-IN-LAW’s 60th birthday!
Jim is a guy who usually doesn’t like anyone making a big fuss over him. So when my new sister-in-law, Lauren, starting talking to us about throwing a surprise party for him, we knew he would play nice at the party and enjoy his time but also give us a little bit of a hard time on the side saying “you really didn’t have to do that”. Well we did anyway! He’s a great guy that deserves some special attention!
As an avid golfer, we decided to throw him a PAR-TEE with a small golf theme running throughout.
Lauren found these great invites via Zazzle that kicked off the celebration:
Held at the Lobster Shanty in Point Pleasant New Jersey, we knew there was one large wall of windows that guest would like to look out. We centered a long table in front of this area as our main focal point for the party.
We brought our large computer monitor front and center for a fun slideshow of photos I scanned or digitally owned of Jim’s life. Extra photos from this set where also framed and placed around the room at different tables. Guests loved to watch the show or walk around and study the photos up close, relating what was shown with their own stories of what they remembered from that time or day.
Lauren continued the golf theme, ordering cupcakes in a golf themed display. One of Jim’s favorite cookies is Oreos so she made sure that was a topping of one cupcake variety!
Besides Oreos and golf, it’s also well-known that Jim is really into Coca Cola.
I saw this idea on Pinterest where someone made a cake out of beer cans. It was easy to then switch this concept to soda where I made 2 stacks of 30 cans each, equaling to the lovely 60 to celebrate his big day. Check out how to make it for yourself!
Lastly, guests walked away from the afternoon with a little favor Lauren put together. The bag contained a freshly filled canola and freshly dipped chocolate eclair, two of Jim’s favorite bakery treats. They were tied with green and blue ribbons and included a “Jim’s Par-Tee” tag made from PartyPrints4U. (Lauren notes that the woman she worked with from this site was GREAT but alas it no longer seems active)
And while we did get the “you didn’t have to do that” response from Jim after the big day, we know he had a great time and enjoyed the afternoon being surrounded around those who love him most.
Happy Birthday Jim!
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