A couple years ago my in-laws were about to celebrate their 50 years of marriage. They are quiet people and had no expectation of any kind of party in their behalf. A few days after they celebrated the 49th anniversary their children began to talk……we needed to have a party!

Knowing our family and knowing my husbands parents the only thing that had to be included in the party was family and friends. We didn’t need fancy decorations or a catered dinner, we just needed to give them an evening surrounded by the people who loved them the most and let them visit. So my sister and I started planning!

First, some sentiment, Kim made a beautiful video of family photos from the beginning of their lives together to the up to date ones and set it all to the music she grew up listening to them sing to. I’m telling you there wasn’t a dry eye in the house! Then we took a picture to a cousin of their wedding cake and asked her to duplicate it, it was done perfectly! Then Kim took her mom’s wedding dress out of storage and we put it on display.

Second, this needed to be a surprise. We had 12 months to contact every family member and friend we could think of and let them know the date of the party. We told them it was to be a surprise and they came from 4 states to join us. My father in law often gets quite uptight knowing there is to be a large gathering of people and his worry gene kicks in. So a surprise party was the only way to give him the chance to just show up and enjoy.

Third, dinner. We didn’t want or need a fancy dinner and we were having the party in December so, 5 different kinds of soups, some salads and home made breads, rolls and jams, again….perfect! It was easy to put together, there was enough variety to satisfy every taste, easy set up and clean up and “Bob’s your uncle” we had a party. We divided the cooking and baking up between 3 of us, several of us kicked in with setup and cleanup. My grandmother used to say “many hands make light work” all the time, and it’s very true. None of us were over stressed or over worked.

We had about 60 people come, not a huge amount but a large party for our family. Many of those who couldn’t come sent notes and cards which we gave to them later, and that was very nice too. We had the party in the gym of our church, we used the tables and table cloths available there and kept everything very simple. This wasn’t a party about trying to impress someone or outdo the party before. This was purely about celebrating the marriage of two people who are important to us and showing them we loved them.

It was a fabulous night and I count it as very successful. My in-laws were very happy and very flattered at all the people who were there. It took them a while to get over how far some people had traveled for this party, I think it made them feel very special. There was a lot of visiting and remembering and the room reeked of love! It’s just what I think a party should be. Stop being so concerned about what everyone is doing and do what feels like you and your family. But remember, its really hard to beat good friends and family, good food and a good visit for a successful evening, no matter what the occasion.