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Elegant Over-the-Hill Party Ideas
by Tiffany Roberts
(Apr 9, 2008)
I can't think of anything more fun than celebrating the birthday of someone I love. I enjoy showering my family and friends with attention on their special day. Nothing is more special than hitting a big milestone birthday such as 30 or 50 years old, and what better way to do that than with a little gentle teasing and some Over-the-Hill-themed decorations and keepsakes? Here are a few ideas for your next Over-the-Hill celebration. I've taken a girly, elegant approach since my next soiree will be given for a good friend of mine. You can do something bold, something silly, or scrap convention all together and use a color scheme other than black and white.
I've used lots of black-and-white patterns mixed with punches of pink and orange since those are the party girl's favorite colors. I've also mixed in a fair amount of girly bling and glitter, just because it's so darn fun! Invitation: Every good party starts with the invitation. Mine is a computer-generated, post-card-style invite with all of the information printed on the back side. This is a quick and inexpensive way to create fun invites for all your occasions. This works especially well for those occasions where you are inviting a large number of people, and you simply don't have the time or money to create an elaborate card-style invitation for each person.
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French Memo Birthday Board: One of the things I like to do at Over-the-Hill celebrations is to ask each person coming to the party to find their funniest, oldest, or favorite photo of the birthday boy or girl. These custom French Memo boards are very easy to create, and become a wonderful photo gallery for everyone to look at and oftentimes to have a good chuckle over! With less than a yard of fabric, a canvas and a few brads and ribbons you can create a one-of-a-kind memo board that can be sent home as a gift with the guest of honor after the party.
Supplies:
Special Instructions: Use a light coating of spray adhesive to stick the fabric to the front of the canvas. Pull the material tightly to the back and staple all round the inner edge to create a smooth base. You can cover the staples in the back by using the easy squeeze glue gun and adhesive to glue a ½"-wide strip of grosgrain ribbon over them for a very finished look. To add the ribbons to the front, start from the top left, laying your ribbon on the diagonal to the bottom right corner. Work in one direction at a time. Use a ruler to keep even spacing between your ribbon strips. Mine are spaced 4 ½ inches apart, but you can do anything from 3 ½ to 5 inches depending on how large your canvas is. Once you complete all ribbons in one direction then do the same for the opposite direction. Wherever ribbons cross use a mini brad to secure them to the canvas. A needle or paper piercing tool helps to poke through the canvas. You can leave the brads just as they are, or for a bolder look you can glue buttons over the brads. I went one step farther and glued gems over the tops of the buttons for added girly flair. For a more masculine memo board you can use elastic or canvas strips in place of the ribbons, and alter your fabric choice to something cool and chic like leather or colored burlap. Food Picks: I like to have fun with the food at the party. Coming up with silly names for the dishes and decorating food picks will give your buffet a whimsical touch that your guests will enjoy. My food picks are for Lost Marbles (grapes), Oil of Ole'! (spicy cheese dip), Wrinkles and Bags (lasagna or pasta salad with wavy noodles), Denture Cream (cranberry and orange cream cheese on crackers), and Senility Salad (any kind of salad). You can be quite creative here. Think of all the funny aspects of getting older. Balding Bacon Wrap anyone? I also create one larger 3" x 5" post-card-sized sign in a wire stand to place next to the punch bowl. For an Over-the-Hill party this says "Fountain of Youth...Drink Up!"
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Tissue Paper Flowers: I decided to decorate my table with tissue paper flowers and tulle, all in black and white of course! These flowers are very simple to make and they can be used for any number of occasions where you want a hand-crafted center piece.
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Special Instructions: Stack six sheets of tissue paper. Cut pieces into 10" x 10" squares. Freehand cut four of the pieces into large, dinner-plate-sized, circles. Cut the last two sheets into slightly smaller circles. You don't have to be precise; once they are crumpled up you won't see any imperfections. Stack all six pieces together with the smaller two pieces on the top. Use a paper piercing tool or needle to punch two holes side by side though all layers. Use a chenille stem (also called a pipe cleaner) and put each end through the holes, and pull all the way down. Twist the ends together under the flowers to create the stem. Next, fluff up and crinkle the tissue to create the flower. Arrange the tissue petals until you get the look you want. You can spray glitter mist or dye onto the tissue for extra pizzazz. You can use different colors of tissue for each layer, or you can use decorative-edged scissors when cutting your circles. Party Favor: I think giving away a party favor is such fun! It's a wonderful opportunity to show off your creativity. For my elegant Over-the-Hill party I'm gifting my attendees with a black Chinese takeout box that features velvet stickers, acrylic gems and ribbons.
My Chinese takeout box was purchased from my local craft store, and it's made of thick plastic. You can purchase takeout boxes in many different colors both online and at specialty paper stores. While writing this article I discovered that Accu-Cut has a large die cut that is a Chinese takeout box. Check with your local store to see if they carry this die cut for an economical way to customize your party favors. If you would like to create your own takeout boxes from 12" x 12" paper, you can use the Coluzzle Template sold at Scrapbook.com. Supplies:
Other ideas for party favors are mini old-age survival kits, small altered picture frames, simple glass candle holders decorated with rub-ons and ribbons, black silk roses, hand-made magnets with a picture of the guest of honor and the party date, hand-made or store-bought wine glass charms, or custom-wrapped chocolate bars. I hope you enjoyed these projects. Remember, while I chose to take an elegant approach to my party decorations each of these ideas can be altered to make them more masculine, or brighter and more funky by choosing different papers and accents. Have fun with this, it's not every day someone goes Over the Hill!
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