Feel Like Party Planning?

Browse the Bitches

Bitchin' Blog Posts

by SB Sarah | January 27, 2012 | Friday at 2:18 pm | 45 Comments

I received the following very sweet inquiry this week, and thought maybe you'd have some good ideas to help Val out. Val wants to throw a surprise party for her mother in law, and center the party on a romance-novel theme. Here's her message:

I have no idea how to give my Mother-in-law a surprise 80th birthday party
in April with a romance novel theme.

This has been her quiet hobby for at least the last 4 decades that I have
known her.

She's a widow with eight grown (obviously) children, as well as
grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and almost all of us have given her
romance novels for all occasions, or when she's not feeling well.

I realize this isn't your usual, but would appreciate any input you
have.

I think that is such a nice idea, and so generous! Off the top of my head, if Val could find out what her favorite romances are, each table or different parts of the room could be dedicated to those books, or the settings of those books, especially if they have a setting or theme in common.

But I also know that y'all are some seriously creative people, and if you have any ideas for Val, I'd love to hear them!

Filed: General Bitching, Random Musings

Tagged: romance, awesomesauce

| |

If she's a fan primarily of historicals/regencies, a genteel afternoon tea party with a sunset champagne toast conclusion might suit a mature lady better than a nighttime bash. I'm thinking Shabby Chic-ish fabrics, very romantic and you can repurpose stuff you or a friend already have (sheets, lace panels, etc.) for table linens, anything silver or silver plate (candelabras!), pretty containers holding aromatic flowers (again no need to buy vases if you have some glass or plain white ceramic pitchers), individual rosebuds in tiny glasses, tiers of goodies mentioned in so many of the books (cucumber tea sandwiches, scones, raspberry or lemon tarts, etc.)
Posted by JuJuBee on 2012-02-05 03:54:23 Use book pages for decor! Rip up old ones, or freebies from the library discard/recycle pile. Some cute ideas:

-Turn pages into confetti using kid heart-shaped hole punchers!
-Cut the pages into large hearts and use for decor! tape on walls, string them from the ceiling/light fixtures, write names on them for assigned seating, or use for the invitations!

-If you can't bear to deface a book, then scan pages! Make scans of your favorite covers, pretty chapter titles and title pages and frame them! They look adorable sitting on your bookshelf in pretty frames, or around the house for party-decor. You could also blow up your favorite images for posters!
Posted by Amy on 2012-01-31 00:19:32 I love this idea! There are so many cute crafty things you can do to help DECORATE! I love recycling almost-dead books by taking out the pages and using them for all sorts of projects.

-Cut out pages into small hearts for confetti(can use heart-shaped paper hole-punches). Or cut them into large hearts and slip them into invite envelopes, or write people's names on them for assigned seating.

-Use the pages as invites themselves, print out an invite and glue it to the page for a cute border, or scrawl across them in bold red ink.

If you can't bear to cut out pages of your own books, check out you local libraries to see if they have a discard pile/give-away book shelf (a lot of libraries just recycle old books if they smell a little mildew-y or are too out of date !!!) I've gotten over being embarrassed when a librarian catches me going through their recycle bin. Lol.

Also you can scan the covers, pages featuring favorite passages, or chapter titles etc etc and print out the images. I do this for particularly pretty covers, or title pages. Frame them, and they look adorable sitting on your bookshelves, or on tables for party decor. Blow up the scans to make posters, whatever!

Merrian above had a lot of other cute suggestions too, like pages as table runners, or origami roses! Thank you for those links, I've always secretly thought of a literary themed wedding! :)
Posted by Amy on 2012-01-30 00:49:33 If you have a college nearby that has a drama department, or even if there's a good community theatre, you might be able to get some actors in period(s) dress to be on hand to either work the crowd or host any games or announcements.
That was how I made some money in college at ren faires, but I do remember friends working some sort of 1940's party, murder mysteries, and performances like Tony and Tina's wedding.
I have a feeling this is going to be a great party- updates would be welcomed!
Posted by Jamarleo on 2012-01-30 00:11:07 Contact your favorite authors and ask for bookmarks as decorations. They may even send you promo! I would be happy to send you a few Hawaiian treats since Paradise is so romantic!

sos.aloha@yahoo.com
Posted by Kim in Hawaii on 2012-01-29 17:31:18 I have a ton of older (90's) romance novels (harlequin, silhouette, etc.) that I would be willing to box up and mail to Val for the cost of postage, if needed. My husband would be so grateful to get them out of the house :)
Posted by Mary on 2012-01-28 15:06:39 I was thinking something similar, the game "Who am I?" where each person has a nametag /ID stuck to their forehead or back and have to ask other guests questions about themselves to discover their identity. For a romance themed party, it might be fun to have the IDs be tropes: Devastating Duke, Redeemed Rake, Feisty Scottish Lass, Wallflower, Rogueish Recluse...

Maybe tables with different games set up on them, if you have a large crowd, so that some people could play madlibs, some could play dress-up, and some could play piquet or whist!
Posted by Faye on 2012-01-28 14:27:07 It was a while ago but we did a romance novel bridal shower for one of my friends. I doubt you'd want to do Pin the Kiss on the Frog, but we bought used romance novels for favors, and everyone picked a passage from a book and substituted the bride and groom's names for the main characters, which we read aloud. We were young, poor, and silly... so maybe not for an 80th birthday party. But I remember the readings as being a lot of fun. I think getting a favorite author or signed copies from authors would be a fantastic gift.
Posted by Kirsten on 2012-01-28 14:22:53 Never forget lighting at a party. Strings of twinkly lights/lanterns/heart-shaped Valentine's lights... they just add something.
Posted by Cynara on 2012-01-28 12:10:01 I would get some copies of book covers blown up and used to decorate and also use thing like tiraes and crowns as party favors. I would check to see who some of her favorite authors are for those book covers.
Posted by Kathleen O on 2012-01-28 11:34:49 You could also purchase cookies with edible printing of book covers or favorite pages of books on them. Etsy has lots of bakers who do edible printing. Good for favors!
Posted by Jennifer Evans on 2012-01-28 09:28:30 I've seen photo booths at a lot of weddings and parties lately - hire a stud muffin and rent/gather some props and let her (and her friends) get a 'book cover' shot made with the stud muffin. :oD
Posted by Cayti Lewis Burch on 2012-01-28 08:27:04 That Fabio switchplate is hilarious, and makes me think of games like Pin the Tail on the Donkey: Pin the Mullet on the Hero?

And you could cut up old Harlequin titles and do a Dada drawing of random words: The Virgin Sheik's Billionaire Secretary?
Posted by Daisy on 2012-01-28 05:52:00 A friend of mine combined the Literary, Genius, and Porn magnet sets on his fridge. It's brilliant. ;-)
Posted by Bets on 2012-01-28 01:09:09 What a cute idea. I don't know what your budget for this party is, but if you don't mind spending some money, you might check out one of Anderson's Prom catalogues (www.andersons.com). For my sins I was the prom coordinator at my school for several years running, and they do provide nice favors as well as giant kits (assembly required) which are all fairly romantic, and could be adapted to various romance themes (Arabian Nights, the Eiffel Tower, Manhattan Art Deco etc.). The only thing is that an entire themed thing can get pricey.
Posted by Rebecca on 2012-01-28 00:58:44 I think you have to begin with understanding what her favourite books and stories are and go from there. Also have a look at 'offbeat bride' blog http://offbeatbride.com/ search 'books' and see how people have followed through on ideas and their shared love of reading and genre fiction and there are DIY tips too:
e.g. http://www.flickr.com/photos/k... books and cake decor
e.g. http://offbeatbride.com/2011/0...
e.g.http://offbeatbride.com/2011/04/monda... round up of book themed weddings
e.g. http://offbeatbride.com/2011/0... DIY anyone can do e.g. you could colour photocopy romance book covers for this
e.g. http://www.flickr.com/photos/c... paper flower bouquets made with book pages
Posted by Merrian on 2012-01-28 00:40:34 What about a more personal message? Find out who her favorite authors are, and, if they're living/still writing, try contacting them to see if they'd send you a personal birthday message to her? Or if you have the $$$, get a book from each author signed with the birthday message?
Posted by Lynda the Guppy on 2012-01-27 23:59:24 Mad Libs would be a fun party activity, either based on actual passages from her favorite books or some you've made up. "Amelia's heart [verb, past tense] at the sight of Adrian's [adjective] [body part], but she couldn't imagine how it was going to fit into her [noun]." Etc.

For treats (or just for decoration) you could stock up on conversation hearts at Valentine's Day. And if she feels weird about eating Fabio (or isn't a Fabio fan), maybe a cake in the shape of a stack of books where each of the books is one of her favorites?
Posted by Elizabeth on 2012-01-27 23:23:24 Themed table variant - if her favorite books are similar enough that non-readers might not understand the differences or, if she's like my grandmother who loves them all... What about themes involving types? The pirate romance table, regency, Scottish highlands, western, Sheikhs, time travel, mystery/suspense, etc.

If you do a contemporary or category table, you could have a toy plane or sportscar and a keyboard to indicate billionaire and secretary with a picture taped underneath the keyboard of a baby. It's a 'The Billionaire's Secretary's Secret Baby' table!

I liked it. :(
Posted by Jen B on 2012-01-27 21:09:36 In fact, if she likes historical romance but doesn't know the Bridgertons, buying her the entire set would be an awesome gift idea because of the parallels to her own family.

Are the men in the family all game for anything? That would be something to keep in mind when planning group games and activities.

Another odd question, but you mentioned that she is a widow- Assuming she hasn't been keeping company with male friends (how's that for old-fashioned phrasing?), I would suggest that, along with any other romance stories or themes, you create something as a sentimental memento of her own romance story.
Posted by Bev (QB) on 2012-01-27 19:39:29 With Valentine's Day coming up, there will be lots of pink/red/silver/gold/heart decorations and paper goods on sale on February 15th. A more general association with romance, but there might be things you could use to fill in around some of these wonderful, crafty ideas...
Posted by Guest on 2012-01-27 19:15:07 I like the idea of games related to romance novels! How about a pantomime guessing game with cliche romance plots/situations?

If you know some of her favourite romances, you could also go for a themed decoration evocative of one of the books' scenes/settings. Just to make it more obvious, you can have some sort of banner that mixes the idea of a happy birthday with the words in the title...

Good luck, and I hope you have fun! :)
Posted by Asia M on 2012-01-27 19:14:38 Hahaha! I have that set too! It distracts me (and everyone who wanders into my kitchen) all the time. We have the most random and disturbing sentences all over our refrigerator.
Posted by DreadPirateRachel on 2012-01-27 18:25:15
There are lots of games people play where they talk about what record was number one for the important events in their lives or every year of their life. You could find out what the best-selling books were when she was born, when she got married, etc. or for every year of her life and either have people guess or see how many they have read.
Two a lot people seem to think Fabio is a good idea. So you could hire a Fabio impersonator like Rod Blagojevich did when he sang Elvis's Treat Me Nice. ( I am not very good at linking things, but you can look it up on youtube.) You could try getting an author or someone to attend. (As a gift you could get a writer to write the story of your mother-in-law and her late spouse.)
Three have a dramatic re-enactment of one her favorite scenes from one her favorite books at the party. (A very Julia Quinn idea see my first post) I would let her grandchildren do most of the staging unless your mom-in-law wishes to take part. Otherwise let her sit on like a decked out throne. (not a toliet) Or let your mother-in-law write a romance for others to act in.

Posted by Emily A. on 2012-01-27 17:42:40 If you don't want to get a fabio cake, what if you got someone to design a photo that looked like a romance novel but the center circle pic (ala harlequin or Silhouette) was a photo of her and her husband (assuming married) or her as a mom holding your husband as baby. Could put a cute title on it "Together they loved" or something goofy like that.

If you can find out who her favorite author is, you might contact them to see about a signed copy or birthday card?

Posted by Abigail Goben on 2012-01-27 17:00:52 I absolutely agree. Some friends of mine used piles of books as centerpieces at their wedding, it was so cool.
Posted by Alexia on 2012-01-27 16:46:30 I was thinking trimming them down and making them bookmarks! Punch a hole, add a tassel...this is the best thread ever.
Posted by Alexia on 2012-01-27 16:45:57 Hallmark lets you custom order party plates with pictures on them. I'd have some made with her favorite book covers on them, or if you're feeling campy, why not have relatives pose in cliched romance cover poses and have plates made from those pictures? http://www.hallmark.com/produc...
Posted by Lily on 2012-01-27 16:42:30 BWAHAHAHHAHA! That switchplate is hilarious!!!!
Posted by Taylor Reynolds on 2012-01-27 16:36:03 Congratulations to Val's mother in law who obviously is Violet Bridgerton! Does she like Julia Quinn/Bridgertons? If she does, then you definitely need to play this up. I recommend tying in the Bridgertons. One game you could play is to have people make up teasing things about others and try to guess which Lady Whistledown said it. Other options include playing croquet, taking tea, etc.
Another idea is a what we did at my cousin's wedding shower. We played a first game in which they put name tags on peoples backs with the name of one half a famous couple on the name tag. You then walked around and had people read your back and give you clues about who were. So I had Miss Elizabeth Bennet on my back, another person had Donald Duck on hers, etc. We both guessed them pretty fast. Then you had to find the person who had the other person in the couple on their back. So as Miss Elizabeth Bennet I tracked one of my cousins who was Mr. Darcy and Donald Duck found Daisy Duck.
Once we were paired off as partners we answered questions about the couple. You could have your guests do something else in pairs or even answer trivia about your mom-in-law.
Hope that helps! Sounds like fun! Good Luck!
Posted by Emily A. on 2012-01-27 15:48:45 What about hosting the party along the same lines as those "murder mystery" dinners. Depending upon the numbers of guests, you could have quite a cast of characters. You MIL could be the heroine of course. :)
Posted by Lovecow2000 on 2012-01-27 15:36:34 Wow! This request is generating some very cool ideas. I was wondering if games or ice-breakers would be appropriate. If so perhaps a game for pairs or small groups could be modeled on "Caption that Cover." Just speculating here, but if you did find a cache of secondhand romance novels, the cherce covers could trigger some righteous giggling. Also, if Val or someone of her acquaintance is a romance reading wordsmith, how about a romance trope mad-lib-like game?
Posted by PamG on 2012-01-27 15:27:27 This is free...have you ever used Face in Hole website? You just put a picture of your MIL in the photograph and it is super easy to do.
In this case, you would slide her picture in behind this heroine for Loretta Chase's Lord of Scoundrels.
http://www.faceinhole.com/us/c...
It would make for some funny party favours. Just complete and print on a colour printer.
Posted by MichelleKCanada on 2012-01-27 15:08:39 There are all sorts of crafts you can do with books...purses, lamps, tables. One made out of Romance Novels would be cool.
Posted by Bclotildes on 2012-01-27 15:04:02 Also on Etsy--a Fabio switchplate. Hilarious.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/68...

Posted by Susan on 2012-01-27 14:58:19 Go to Etsy and search under All Items for "romance novel." They have a variety of different stuff: drink coasters, jewelry, cards, journal notebooks, bookmarks, magnets,

They even have a lot of actual old romance novels.

http://www.etsy.com/search?sea...

Also, Janet Hill is a wonderful artist on Etsy and she has a variety of prints of ladies reading books, including romance/saucy books (Lady Chatterly's Lover, Peyton Place, Wuthering Heights, etc.) In addition to the stuff currently in her shop, you can check the sold items for others and she might custom make you a small giclee print or mini canvas print (that can fit on an easel).

http://www.etsy.com/shop/janet...

I LOVE Etsy!

Good luck w/ the party. (Let us know how it goes if you have time.)
Posted by Susan on 2012-01-27 14:54:30 Going along with worthafortune's idea, there's a book of romance novel cover postcards out now called "Unbridled Passion" - http://www.chroniclebooks.com/...

Also, I know that one of our independent bookstores has notepads that feature vintage romance novel covers as the notepad cover. You might be able to find some for prizes/decor.
Posted by sweeks1980 on 2012-01-27 14:45:31 Y'all have the best ideas. I hope Val invites all of us!!
Posted by SB Sarah on 2012-01-27 14:38:19 They also sell whole boxes of assorted romances, with AMAZING covers for like 20 bucks with free shipping. (http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html... I think they could be deconstructed for invites to the party.
Posted by worthafortune on 2012-01-27 14:38:18 I love the idea of the themes, Sarah. You can expand that to music of the period and/or food. The Supersizers videos are super for that. Here's a link for the first installment of the Regency one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Otherwise, I'd say hitting up the second hand bookstore for piles and scads of romances to use as props - centerpieces, side tables, anything you can think of that can be built of books. Guests can choose a title to take as a party favor and your MIL can keep the rest if she likes.

Also - does she have a preferred author or genre? If she has a favorite author, see if that author has promo materials you might get - most authors are super-approachable about stuff like that.
Posted by Elise Logan on 2012-01-27 14:37:33 I want my wedding to be romance novel and comic book themed so I am totally going to be monitoring this thread!

A photo booth is a perfect opportunity for this! You could thrift some amazing costume-y outfits, (I have been saving an 80's Dior nightgown for years for this!) some crazy long mullety wigs and a fan and a backdrop of some kind and do a romance novel cover photo booth. If you have someone who is computer savvy, they could green screen the back of the photo booth and put funny and exotic locales as the background.
Posted by worthafortune on 2012-01-27 14:34:41 I'm voting for a cake in the shape of Fabio.
Posted by Teshara on 2012-01-27 14:34:35 I love the idea of themed tables (and a romance novel theme for a party in general)!

Depending on what type of books she likes, I would suggest hitting up BookMooch, library book sales, used book stores, etc. to get lots of copies of Harlequin Presents (or other romances) to give out as party favors/ice breakers. Harlequin Presents and most mass markets are usually pretty cheap if you buy them second-hand, and you can get them free through a site like BookMooch (if you have points and an account).
Posted by sweeks1980 on 2012-01-27 14:34:26 I agree that finding out what her favorites are would be good.

Val might want to see if there's any interesting food and drinks mentioned in the books she likes, or memorable meals - then you can use those for the party (here's one example of romance-related cooking and baking: http://everyneelsthing.blogspo....

At the book club I go to, we've performed short scenes from the books, and played games based on them. I guess you could do trivia, too.

And if she's into historicals, maybe people could dress the part, or at least accessorize accordingly?

Posted by Yulie29 on 2012-01-27 14:31:08 Fabio! Or at least a huge poster of him. That'd scare the men of the family away (and most of the women, too. And probably small children and pets).

Is she more into historical or contemporary? Paranormal or inspirational?

Oh, oh, a friend of mine gave me a magnetic poetry set with romance novel phrases. ..
Posted by PhyllisLaatsch on 2012-01-27 14:29:41

Looking for a book?
View our past advertisements!

Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

Recent Entries

Recent Reviews

Browse the Bitches

Recent Comments

Bitchin' Calendar

To the Bitchmobile!

Bitchin' Blog Posts

Feel Like Party Planning?