Sometimes you just need a few things to elevate a family gathering to a festive party. My mother in law’s birthday falls in December, and this year we waited until everyone was together around Christmas to celebrate. It was a “special” birthday and I wanted to make sure we celebrated it appropriately without it getting lost in the Christmas festivities.
When I plan a birthday party, I usually work with a list like this. I start at the top and fill in the details in that order.
- Date
- Location
- Invitation
- Cake
- Flowers
- Plates and Napkins
- Party Favors
- Decor
LOCATION: It’s tricky to find an affordable restaurant with a semi-private room, but I crowdsourced on Facebook and found a nice Italian restaurant in the area. We were able to reserve a large table in an area separated from the rest of the dining room. It was perfect.
INVITATION: I didn’t want a traditional theme that shouted her age (who really wants that after you turn 30 anyway?) so I went with a wintery floral theme in greens and blues. I created the invitation in PicMonkey and texted it to everyone in the family.
CAKE: Other family members pitched in, bringing balloons and cake. Paul’s brother ordered a dozen mini bundt cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes, which were easy to serve at the restaurant.
PLATES AND NAPKINS: Hobby Lobby came through with the perfectly matching plates and napkins! I designed the invitations first, and then was delighted to find those paper goods in nearly the same pattern and colors.
DECOR: I grabbed grocery store flowers and made two small arrangements for the tables. With the napkins underneath, it pulled the theme together and made a nice impact without taking up much room.
PARTY FAVORS: I love sending party goers home with a little treat. For this party, I packaged two homemade chocolate chip cookies in treat bags and attached a favor tag in the same theme as the invitation.
This was a simple, easy party that accomplished the goal of bringing family together to celebrate Paul’s mom! If you’re in the Upstate of South Carolina, I can definitely recommend Italian Garden in Greenville. The food, service, and atmosphere were all great.
Here are a few other simple parties I’ve helped to plan:
- Dad’s 60th Birthday Party
- Simple Outdoor Summer Birthday Party
- Celebrating My Parents’ 40th Anniversary!
Come Home For Comfort 
As your other commenters suggested, the party was special! It was a lovely evening with all my favorite people. Whitney took care of all the details that just made everything work together… and oh so smoothly. As the guest of honor, I simply just enjoyed the evening! Thank you, Whitney!
I’m so glad! You throw a lot of parties for us, and it was definitely your turn to be the guest of honor! ❤
You did a great job! It’s not easy to make birthday close to Christmas feel special and separate from Christmas. I bet your MIL was thrilled with all the party planning efforts. We just got a Nothing Bundt Cake and they are so yummy. Fun fact – if you sign up for their rewards program, they often send out coupons or deals. And they offer BOGO bundt cake specials when you fill out the survey at the bottom of your receipt. Those $5.50 mini bundts make the perfect surprise for a friend!
Ooh thanks for the tip! They are pretty delish little treats!
This is lovely and I’m sure your mother-in-law felt honored and appreciated!
Thank you, Alinda! It was fun. 🙂