Whether it’s a celebration for a 30th birthday or a 100th birthday (or anywhere in between!), a milestone birthday party is a special birthday party!  The festivities surrounding another decade of life deserve extra attention, no matter how simple or elaborate the actual party is.  With thoughtful planning and preparation (and organization! Check out my helpful Party Planner Pro organizer download), a party can make the birthday boy or girl feel appreciated and celebrated, and these tips for hosting a memorable milestone birthday party will help ensure that the special day goes off without a hitch! 

Thank you to Celebration Stadium for sponsoring this post.  Celebration Stadium reminds you to always use care and caution when lighting candles and celebrating around open flames.  Celebration Stadium advises you to remove all flammable items (including added decorations such as those featured in this post) from the Celebration Stadium prior to lighting candles.  The projects and opinions are all my own.

Tip No. 1 – Involve the Guest of Honor (If Possible)

Unless you’re planning a surprise birthday party, the guest of honor should be in the loop on what’s happening for his or her party.  (If you are planning a surprise party – keep reading!)  At the very least, he or she will be able to give you names and contact information for important people that should be invited to the birthday celebration – making your life significantly easier when it comes time to send out the invitations!

Further, the guest of honor will be able to help you figure out essential details of his or her milestone birthday party, such as the overall feel of the party (formal or casual), location (at a venue or someone’s home), and theme.  Involving the guest of honor will make the party one that is truly meaningful for him or her!

Now, if you are planning a surprise party, don’t despair!  You can still make a milestone birthday party everything the birthday boy or girl ever dreamed of by simply involving a person or two that are close to the guest of honor.  Use these people to conjure up a guest list and contacts, and put your heads together to come up with party details that fit the guest of honor.  Even if the birthday boy or girl would have done things slightly different than you do, he or she will be flattered and excited to have such a special party planned for him or her by a special person.

Tip No. 2 –  Start Planning Early

Typically for milestone birthday parties, close friends and family will not want to miss the party.  Because of that, it’s important to give guests enough notice so that they can save dates and plan travel, if necessary.  For my grandma’s 90th birthday last year, for example, my aunts notified us of the party date three months in advance, and followed up with a formal invitation closer to the date.  (P.S. I can only HOPE to look as good as my grandma does at 90!)

In just about a month I am going to become an AUNT for the first time in my life and I could not be more excited!  My brother and sister-in-law are expecting their first baby (a little girl whom they call Peapod for the time being (I think . . . who knows, maybe that will be her name upon arrival, too, if they take the celebrity baby naming route, that is.)).  Although she’s not even here yet, my family is already spoiling Peapod, and we were so happy to celebrate her and her mama at a sweet Secret Garden Baby Shower at my mom’s house last month.  Beautiful flowers, shades of purple and green, and butterfly accents set the scene for a joyous day.  

Thank you to Minted for providing product used in this post.  The opinions expressed herein are all my own!  Also, this post contains affiliate links.  To read my full disclosure policy, please click here.

To set the tone for this elegant shower, we chose these beautiful floral invitations from Minted.  (I blocked out some of the personal information in these photos in case any of you were thinking of stalking me or my mom. ;-)).  Not only is the design gorgeous, but the invitations had rose gold metallic accents that just made them shine.  Even the envelopes were stunning!  And I’m not going to lie; using Minted’s envelope addressing service was such a huge timesaver that I will never hand address a party invitation again if I can avoid it!

Every person who came to the shower or RSVP’d commented on these invitations and how beautiful they were.  That has never happened to me before, so these definitely made an impression!  

This secret garden baby shower fell right in the middle of my master bathroom makeover and about five-hundred-gazillion other family events, but I didn’t let the timing impact the effort put into the shower.  Instead of DIY’ing the majority of decor, as I usually do, I just relied on outside sources like Minted to make it easier on me.  Their Party Decor Suites (complete party decor packages), and Party Products made it easy for us to get a beautiful and cohesive secret garden look despite all of the other things going on in our lives!

Case in point . . . this customized Botanical Wreath Sign, in the same fonts and color scheme as the invitation, welcomed guests as soon as they arrived.

Once guests entered my mom’s living room / dining room area, they were met with a beautiful custom banner that read “Sweet Peapod.”  So cute for the baby of honor!  My sister-in-law plans to hang this banner in the nursery.

Adding to the day’s festivities was the bar area, complete with a signature cocktail (or mocktail for the mom-to-be).  

The sticker straw flags were such a cute touch!

Round banner pieces used as giant confetti, and rhinestone butterflies added to the fun at the bar.

My mom has a giant picture window in her living room where the mom-to-be was opening presents, so I created a hanging flower garden with a giant stick from the yard and faux flowers.  It looked so pretty in that window!  

It made a great photo backdrop for a secret garden baby shower!

Beautiful flower arrangements in vintage baby vases (this pink one is my mom’s from when I was born!) . . .

 baby socks tucked into floral garlands . . .

and cute planter bingo prizes were just some of the other decorative touches we used to pull this baby shower together.

And once the fun was done and everyone was saying their goodbyes, we gave them glass tubes filled with wildflower seeds so they could plant their own secret garden at home. 

It was the perfect way to say thank you for a perfect day.

From the moment the invitations went out until the last person said goodbye, we made sure to make my sister-in-law feel special and know how much she and her new baby girl are loved.  It was a beautiful baby shower that I think will not soon be forgotten by those who shared in the day with us.  I’m glad I got to share it with you, too!

-Bre

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How to Host a Big Party on a Little Budget

Thank you to Cost Plus World Market for sponsoring this post!  The beer tasting party ideas you’ll read about here are all my own!  Also, this post contains affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission at no added cost to you, should you purchase through them.  To read my full disclosure policy, please click here.

I think I’ve mentioned before that I am obsessed with country music.  Literally . . . obsessed.  I first discovered country music when some strange country music video channel suddenly became available on my parents’ non-cable TV.  Toby Keith’s “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” was on all the time, and I remember loving that song (and Toby’s mullet), and watching the video through the grain and interference of our rabbit ear antenna TV.  I was hooked!

My love for country music grew even more in the early 2000’s when the Dixie Chicks were turning Nashville upside down.  I headed into a broadcasting major at college and got an internship at Milwaukee’s country radio station.  It was the BEST!  I was backstage at tons of concerts, meeting country artists, and having the time of my life.

I ultimately took a different career path, but to this day I can’t get enough country music!  The first two presets on my car radio are country radio, and I’m working on turning my kids into mini country fans.  Because of that, I’m super excited that “The CMA Awards” are airing again soon.  I love watching as the country music industry honors its best entertainers, and dozens of my favorite artists perform live on stage.  It’s like some of my best friends come right into my living room for one night each year!

Now I’m not delusional.  I know these country music superstars are not my friends, but I can share my love of country music with my REAL friends by hosting them for a beer tasting party while we watch “The CMA Awards”!  Country music + beer = a guaranteed good time!  If you want to have a good time, too, keep on reading for my five tips on how to host a beer tasting party of your own!  

Five Tips for How to Host a Beer Tasting Party

Hosting a beer tasting party is a fantastic way to get your friends together because it’s a low-cost, low-stress, high-fun gathering!  With these five tips, you can host a beer tasting party of your own during “The CMA Awards” or any other time, and your friends will love it.

Tip One – Simplify Your Shopping

I believe that the key to enjoying parties you host is keeping things simple!  And that simplification starts with the planning and preparation process.  Instead of being stressed out by making trips to several stores, get all of your beer tasting party shopping done at one store.  I got everything I needed for my beer tasting party at Cost Plus World Market.

Cost Plus World Market has a huge selection of beers in so many different varieties.  You’ll definitely find something to delight your guests’ tastebuds in their beer section.  I chose the fantastic Local Brews 9-packs for my beer tasting party because I got a variety of different beers all in one package.  Variety is important for a beer tasting party; it’s the whole point!

I was also able to buy lots of snacks for the party at Cost Plus World Market.  Their Barkeeper’s Mix, Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels, and Flatbreads are the perfect items for guests to much on in between sips.

If you need any other entertaining essentials for your beer tasting party, you’ll also be able to find them at Cost Plus World Market.  I cannot tell you how much easier this made my party shopping!  I had both of my kids with me and was still able to finish all of my beer tasting party shopping in under 45 minutes.  That’s incredible!

Tip 2 – Label, Label, Label

Beer tastings are often blind, meaning that the guests don’t know the brands or types of beer that they’re trying.  If you want to host a blind tasting, simply cover the beer bottle labels with decorative paper and label them with some type of designator, such as a letter or number, so that guests can judge the beers they taste.

If that sounds like too much work, no worries!  Leave your beers as they come and let guests knowingly pick which ones they want to try.

One type of labeling that definitely should be done is of your guests’ glasses!  Who wants to accidentally drink from someone else’s glass?  Gross, right?  Chalkboard labeled glasses let guests keep their drinks straight.  Plus they’re super cute (and wash up just fine in the dishwasher).

Tip 3 – Incorporate Simple Beer-Themed Decor

Since you want your beer tasting party to be low-stress, keep your decor on-theme but easy!  My favorite decor item for this beer tasting party is glass beer mugs and country jar glasses filled with beautiful flowers.

I also took some simple brown kraft wrapping paper and used it as a runner on the coffee table.  Since this is a beer tasting party celebrating “The CMA Awards,” it seemed appropriate to add some country music beer quotes to the runner!  Let me tell you . . . there is no shortage of drinking songs in country music. 

And of course, every beer tasting party needs a beer tasting score sheet!  Let your guests keep track of their likes and dislikes by printing out these score sheets right here.  (They’re free.  You’re welcome.)

Tip 4 – Keep Your Guests Hydrated

In order to let your guests really enjoy the flavor of each beer you’re serving, make sure they are able to cleanse their palates in between selections!  Keep fresh water easily accessible so that your guests can do this.  Using a beautiful glass jug with a sealed lid will prevent spills at the bar, and decorative plastic tumblers will add a pretty look to your set up!

Having lots of fresh water available is also important for any designated drivers in the group!

Tip 5 – Have Some Entertainment

Although a beer tasting party is an event in and of itself, it’s a good idea to have some kind of entertainment happening to make sure your guests have a great time!  Host your party during “The CMA Awards” and keep your bar nearby – the performances and award presentations will keep your guests happy!  Or, download a great beer drinking playlist and pull out some board games.  The point is to have fun and give your guests something to talk about, in addition to the beer they’re drinking!  

Shop the Post – Get all of Your Beer Tasting Party Supplies

 Scroll through to shop the beer tasting party supplies used in this post!  Easy, right?

You know I’ll be watching the CMAs with a cold beer in hand!  Cheers, friends!

-Bre