My Nannie is turning 99 years old this weekend, and my mom and I are throwing her a birthday party in North Carolina, where she lives.
Because I am tired of pulling my hair out, I'll just say that working with a 99 year old is very difficult.
We're trying to find a nice balance between keeping Nannie from stomping her foot and not being embarrassed that she managed to sneak a bowl of mixed nuts from 1965 out onto the buffet.
Plus, my deadbeat aunt and her deadbeat husband (who we secretly call Friar Tuck) will be attending.
It will be delightfully awkward. And I say "delightfully" because I will, of course, be blogging about it next week and I'm sure you'll have plenty of laughs at my expense.
Also, I'm really not sure how many people will be attending. People my Nannie's age are surprisingly good RSVPers. But it helps, of course, if they receive an invitation. Nannie refused to let me make a copy of her church directory and address book to mark addresses off. Maybe she thought the Kinkos was going to sell the copied information to the U.N., which she is convinced Hillary and Bill Clinton are trying to take over. She instead insisted on handwriting all 40 addresses down and sending them to my mother in the mail.
It took her 3 weeks.
So we could have 30 people coming. Or 75. The more the merrier, right?
I am praying, praying that my girls don't choose Saturday to be the day that they forget about Jesus and decide to terrorize the party. Because nothing says "fun" to me more than having a bunch of 85 year old women giving me discipline advice.
So, anyways. I need some advice from you today. Not about discipline, but about party favors.
This is what I put together for my sister's bridal shower last summer.
I don't know that I'll have time to embellish the front, but Nannie loves pink and I thought some mints wrapped up in the pink tissue might be cute.
Any other ideas? I'm all ears.
And I promise I won't stomp my foot!
I didn't click on the link - isn't a Delorean the car from Back to the Future?
ReplyDeleteI don't have any good favor ideas for you unfortunately. I think you can get pink M&Ms at Michaels?
The DeLorean is the car in Back to the Future. If you had boys instead of girls, you would've seen DeLoreans in lots of other places as well, along with Bugattis and McLarens. You would not even believe how much cars are a part of our world.
ReplyDeleteThat photo of you and your Nannie is priceless. PRICE.LESS. Just beautiful of you, and very cute of Nannie.
As far as the favors go, I think you're on the right track. If your Nannie likes mints, then chances are her friends do, too. And the pink will make her happy.
Maybe Natalie and Michaela could practice singing "Jesus Loves Me" this week and put on a little show for the guests. Then, even if they terrorize the party, the guests will know that they're being brought up properly and that there's no need to dispense advice to their mama.
Enjoy!
I like the idea of the boxes you have above. Do you have any vintage photos from circa 1920-30 of your Nannie? They would be extra special as tags or on the favor package design. You could also look up the birthday in 1910 trivia. That would be fun.
ReplyDeleteLorrie
I think the shower favors look great! And I love Lorrie's idea of copying vintage photos for decoration. (If you don't have any of your Nannie, you could use stock photos from the same timeframe.)
ReplyDeleteI also like Leslie's idea of pink M&M's. (I was going to suggest pink Jordan almonds. But it's probably too much trouble to get everyone to sign a waiver to protect you in case they break their teeth.) I think you can even order customized M&M's online, but I think they're on the pricey side and I don't know how long the delivery takes.
Don't forget that the fashionable hostess of that era also loved to serve tomato juice. Very 1950s. And you're right about the RSVPing...my grandmother mailed a handwritten RSVP for my wedding "Dear Holly, I would be pleased to attend..." How I wish I had kept that. What was I thinking?
ReplyDeleteAre you thinking those soft pastel-colored butter mints?
I kind of think it would be fun to have a retro party with mini gherkins and mixed nuts:) The party favors are really cute and I think mints are great idea...especially if all the people attending are going to 85 and older!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of a 'retro' party..although 'her day' may be way retro :) Sounds like a fun time - if nothing else, you'll have great stories & memories!
ReplyDeleteI think the "ladies" will love the mints! :) This sounds all too remniscent of family that I have! LOL!! Good luck with the planning & can't wait to hear how the party goes!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely Back to the Future!! And the party favors you will make will be beautiful. I love the idea of the mints as well. Easier on the old teeth!!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the older crowd!!
Hugs
SueAnn
Too funny! We threw a big 90th bday party for my grandma a couple of years ago, so I can relate. She definitely had her ideas about the way things should be.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't do party favors. I did have guests send me memories about my grandmother beforehand. I typed them up, cut them out like fortunes in fortune cookies, and put them in a beautiful jar. At the party, we passed the jar around and took turns taking memories out and reading them. My grandmother loved that, and we had a lot of laughs (and some tears). It gave her a nice keepsake from the day, too.
I like Kelli's idea of a retro party! Could be fun, and would make her happy. Can't wait to hear how it all goes. Good luck!! :)
Butter mints, how I love thee! nom. nom. nom. I think the ladies will love them, and the packaging is way cute :)
ReplyDeleteOooh! Back to the Future, baby! That's a great pic of you and your nannie! Is your nannie by any chance from Lebanon, PA? Because her idea of a party seems to be identical to every member of my husband's family. I love the butter mints idea!
ReplyDeletewow, what fun! I look forward to all the party details. Love the party favor idea.
ReplyDeleteUm HELLO...Back to the Future! One of the best movies/movie series of all time!
ReplyDeleteAlso, Hillary and Bill ARE trying to take over the UN. Just sayin' :)
I don't have any great party favor ideas, but if inspiration hits I will definitely email you! I think the little tissue of mings in the cute little box/container is a great idea though.
I love parties but feel your pain. We were planning a surprise 80th birthday party for my Grampa until my Gramma opened her big mouth and spilled the beans. And now there is NO party :( Anyway the gift bags are so cute, I think they would make nice favors and I can't wait to hear your stories!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great photo of you, Amanda. WOW 99 years old. She looks great for her age. Hope you are doing well!
ReplyDeleteBless your heart! I do pray that the girls behave because you will get so much advice and all of it you will not want:)
ReplyDeleteHope she has a great party. I can't wait to hear all about it.
God bless your little heart! Ladies of that era are so.....honest and...stubborn. Hubby's grandmother is like that. I love her but she will give you her honest opinion whether you want it or not!
ReplyDeleteThe only favor I can think of is if she has a favorite flower, make a large arrangement and give them to guests as a favor. I think for Hubby's grandmother, they made hand fans out of scrapbook paper and old photos copied onto paper and some cute saying printed on it. I can't remember for sure. I'm not much help. Sorry!
Good luck girl! I can't wait to hear details about the aunt and her husband! I laughed out loud about that! We all have those!
It will all be fantastic and your girls will be angels of course!
ReplyDeleteThe old DeLoreon car manufacturing plant use to be in Cache Valley Utah were I grew up...so it was a big deal when it came out in Back to the Future! Hope your party is great...even with nuts and mints!
ReplyDelete99 year old?? Wow! Nanny is impressive! Your Nanny and her friends are sure to like and appreciate whatever favor you give them. What you did for you sister last summer was super cute.
ReplyDelete