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!
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
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!
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! 🙂
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!
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.)