A Chance to Celebrate Others

Long ago, I knew I wanted a party for my 40th birthday yet I hesitated to ask my family and team to have to do such a thing. One thought kept coming to me though, that I wanted to thank all our local friends here in Bombarral who have helped us so much over our years. A party would be the perfect chance to honor them. So, amongst other great celebrations for this milestone birthday, my family, team and I pulled off the event!

The invitation was the choice that set the décor for the party. It was ordered from the Green Cherry Factory on etsy. She has some of the most beautiful invitations I’ve ever seen! Unbeknownst to me, my friend and teammate, Anne, ordered a matching print from this shop with sweet words for my 40th! She brought it to put out the night of the party:

Anne, Linda (another teammate) and I scavenged our stashes for items that would work with the colors and décor. Anne let me borrow her amazing chalkboard for the wall behind the food table. Linda sewed garlands made from floral and coordinating color scrapbook paper. I added pink glitter to the rims of some green glass votives.

Anne and my girls hung up old photos of me in the shape of 40 on our entry wall. It was a hoot to share my past big hair with others!

We used a recent flea market buy, a pink chenille bedspread, as the table cloth and a bin that normally holds the garden hose for our flower container.

We had lots of yummy food contributed by many people. It was fun to have such a variety! Our menu included Hawaiian sliders, kabobs, orzo salad, spinach dip in a bread bowl, potato salad, a cheese plate, layered dip in a cup and meatballs! We got to use my vintage glass hostess set plates for the party—it  might have been the first time they’ve been used since we moved to Portugal!

The dessert table about overflowed! The pièce de résistance was Linda’s Andes Mint cake (recipe from Bird on a Cake). We also had chocolate almond cake, key lime pie fudge, make your own fruit pizzas and two kinds of cupcakes.

Here I am giving a personal thank you to each guest and sharing about the great things I see in their lives. It was wonderful to see people be encouraged and even shed some tears. It was worth all the effort for this opportunity!

A few shots of guests—not everyone, but you can get a feel for the party!

A special thank you is in order for my family and my team for helping this event be such a memorable occasion! I am so grateful!!!