Surprise 40th Anniversary Party

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I realized early this year that my parents would be celebrating a big anniversary, 40 years. I knew we needed to do something special for them so my brother and I put our heads together to see what we could do.

Since their anniversary date was on Easter Sunday is wasn’t odd that we would be in town visiting them. It also didn’t cause any flags that my Aunt and brother would be around. So the idea of making it a Surprise celebration was totally in our favor.

I enlisted the help of one of my Moms friend who found us the perfect venue, Loblolly Acres. Not only were they the right price, but we were able to ask guests to bring a covered dish in lieu of gifts. Which helped keep us on budget and everyone feel a part of the celebration.

We decided to tell my parents we were going to visit a our friend Denise, but secretly we went to set-up.  I managed to find a lot of photos of Mom and Dad and used double sided frames from Michaels as the centerpieces. I also found their Wedding Album and Ring Pillows to put out. As a guest book I bought a photo matte and asked everyone to sign it. I’ll add a then/now photo and frame it for their gift.

In order to keep it a surprise we decided to tell them we were taking them out for dinner. I wouldn’t tell them where but we had a reservation, this ensured them they should dress nicely. My brother went back to the house to pick them up and blindfold (toilet paper) so they couldn’t see where they were going. Since Loblolly Acres is only a few minuets away they were totally stumped. As they walked in we yelled “SURPRISE”! They where shocked. They had no idea we were doing this, and they were also shocked that we had a lot of friends and family pulled together.

We had a few things lined up. My brother and I both gave a toast, a prayer was read from their Marriage Ceremony and we had them play a flashback game. We asked them the cost of a stamp, who was President, how much did milk and eggs cost, and what was the average price of a car or house. It’s crazy how much inflation we’ve had in 40 years!

Overall it was an amazing success and I was so thankful to have the help from family and friends. We know that life is often too short, and we should live in the moments. The one think I know for sure is after 40 years my parents still have an amazing love for each other and I am thankful that we are able to celebrate.

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