Jo-Ann’s 50th Birthday Bash
On Friday I mentioned that I had some fun stuff coming up for the weekend. Something that I said would chase away the winter blahs. I couldn’t be more specific because the thing I was referring to was a surprise 50th birthday party for my dear friend, Jo-Ann. Her husband Shawn contacted me a while back about helping with this party and I was thrilled to not only be in on the secret but to be able to help plan the event and the decorations. Helloooooooo Pinterest.
We decided to go with a tropical theme for the night. Not only did this give us the chance to showcase Jo-Ann’s love of summer and Jimmy Buffett but it also gave us all a break from the nasty winter we’ve been having. A bit of the tropics to celebrate a big birthday? Yes, please.
Anne and I came up with the centerpieces and she did the majority of the leg work on those since SPA was the weekend before the party and that meant I wasn’t around to help for that.
I put together a tub filled with 30 lollipops, 40 gumballs and 50 packets of pop rocks. I also had a jar that said “50 Years of Memories” on it and I made cards that said “My favorite memory of Jo-Ann is . . . ” and we asked guests to fill those out and place them in the jar. I’m sure Jo-Ann will have a great time reading those in the days ahead.
The other things, like the tissue paper floral swags and leis I got on Amazon.
The cake was made by another good friend of ours, Caroline of Buttercup’s Bakery. She decorated this 3 layer cake with tropical flowers and a tiki hut with the words “50 is Hot” wrapped around it. Shawn made an awesome pedestal for the cake that held 50 candles going all the way around.
The Fire Chief may or may not have been standing by with a fire extinguisher once all those candles were lit.
Our friend Tom was the DJ for the night and the music was fun and there was lots of Jimmy Buffett played. The party was held at the Charlie Horse and the staff there could not have been more helpful or attentive. The drinks flowed, the food was hot and plentiful, and everyone had a fantastic time.
Especially the birthday girl!
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What a wonderful party, theme, and set of good friends!!
Excellent! Happy Birthday Jo-Ann! You all did a great job!
Awesome surprise B-day! Love that cake!
I can’t thank you enough for everything you did to help make my birthday surprise a fantastic success! I’m still wondering how Shawn managed to pull it off 🙂 Nothing could have helped ease me into my next half century better than spending a magical evening in the tropics of the Charlie Horse with my best friends in the whole wide world <3
I couldn’t have asked for better help. What a wonderful night with great friends!
What a great party! All of your decorations and party ideas are wonderful and I’m really in awe of Shawn’s cake pedestal!
What a GREAT party and a perfect celebration! (And that cake pedestal? THE BEST!)
Everything looks so colorful and festive! Happy Birthday Jo-Ann!!
I love it! It sounds like she was really surprised too. Great team effort. Happy 50th Jo-Ann!
You certainly know how to throw a party and Jo-Ann must have loved it so much! Pulling off a surprise is hard! Good work!
Happy Birthday, Jo-Ann.
Looks wonderful and sounds like a blast! Happy belated Birthday, Jo-Ann!
SO FUN!!! Happy Birthday to Jo-Ann! 🙂
Happy birthday, Jo-Ann! What a great party theme – especially after the long winter! We had a “beach party” last Saturday night…flip flops and all! Anything that makes us think beach and summer is the best! You’re a wonderful friend to help with all the secret planning! It’s a lot of work, but you created great fun and wonderful memories! Who could ask for anything more??!!
The party looks like great fun. If you ever give up librarying, you could become a party planner! Jimmy Buffet music is perfect. (Of course, I think of the time my sister had one of his albums in the queue, a couple of elderly women in the shop, and the next song up was ” Let’s get drunk and Screw”. Yea, Jimmy!
P.S. I forgot to mention that it was a cross stitch shop.
I told my husband, a good party makes the those difficult birthdays worth it. He’s done well with 40, 50 and 60. You did a great job!
what a FABULOUS party to celebrate 50! looks like the birthday girl had a ball…a fabulous start to the best decade (so far!)