designed by Diana: Mom's 60th Birthday Beatles Party

So it's finally done! I've been super busy the last few weeks with work and secretly planning my Mom's 60th Birthday Party! Mom loves the Beatles (and so do I) so a 60s Beatles themed party was perfect!

Last minute it got a little hectic, since Mom stopped by my house while we went to pick up the cake and saw some of the food. But luckily, we got it under control and she was still surprised when she got there.

But let's start at the beginning. First was the invitation. I took the album cover (yes album, not CD!) of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and altered it. I covered all of the faces with my Mom's pics. The Beatles in the front are Pop (as John), Angel (as Ringo), Mom (as Paul) and Richard (as George). Now I couldn't let my brothers have all the fun, so I put Grandma and myself in there too. I also added Grandpa, Angelito (my Mom's brother) and Mama and Papa in the background.

The invite wording had to be Beatles-y too, so I incorporated 7 song titles (and some lyrics at the bottom) to let everyone know about the party. Even the people that weren't able to come were totally psyched about the invite.

I themed out the food to all have Beatles song names as well. This got kinda hard when it came to the croquetas, but I figured it out. We had: Let It Brie, Chips & Glass Onion Dip, Octopus's Garden Potato Salad, Wild Quiche-y Pie, Cheese Please Me Taquitos, And Your Bird Can Wing, Piggies, Because the World Needs Croquetas, Something Bocaditos, and Happiness is a Warm Meatball.

The decor was pretty easy, just making sure my colors (teal, red, orange and yellow) were out there. I floated some balloons in the pool (which all got caught in the tubing for the vacuum), and with $2 worth of tissue paper, I made tissue paper tissue paper pom poms. You can see a couple under the slide.

I also placed a few pom poms underneath the tables on either end of the pool area. These tables got yellow tablecloths, which was a bit of a mission, since I had to cut them to get around the unbrella poles.

I pulled out the pop-up tent (to protect us in case of rain) and put the food under there. I had initially planned another table for the desserts, but the threat of rain all day on the news had me scared, so I kept it to one table. I did use the lanterns I bought for the cousins party on the tent again. I also put up some streamers behind the food table, but the humidity made them droopy.

The favors were fun but simple, love beads and buttons. I had buttons for each Beatle and ones that said Rosie's 60th too. Having a button maker does have its advantages. And everyone got into it and put on their buttons and chose which beatle they wanted to represent.

Of course it wouldn't be a Beatles party without the music, so I had all of my Beatles music on repeat throughout the party. Everyone loved hearing their favorite hits. And I had my Mom's (and some of my brother's) original Beatles records out on display.

I asked my guests to come in Beatles chic/retro 60s attire, and they didn't disappoint. I had some hippies, greasers, preppies and awesome mod girls. I went for the girls waiting for Beatlemania look. I even brought over some clothes for Mom, so she could change and be in fashion for the 60s!

One of the highlights of the night was the photobooth. I found this great free software on Curbly.com that made the photobooth super easy. Even my great aunts and uncles had a great time in the booth. The pics are so awesome. The software is for Macs, but all you need is a printer and a computer and you're good to go.

After we had all the photobooth fun, it was cake time! I had some desserts in addition to the cake: Apple Records, Strawberry Fields Forever, Marmalade Skies Cookies and Marshmallow Pies.

The Birthday cake was so fun. I had it made at Publix and it came out so cute. I wanted something more than just the regular cake we usually get to make it special.

After the cake we watched a video I made of Mom's pictures, from when she was a baby until now. Everyone loved seeing the pics. Then, like they did in New York back in the day, Mom opened all of her presents.

It was a great party. Mom loved it, she told me she just wished she could have helped with the planning. I'm so glad she had a good time and everyone else did too.

I gotta thank everyone that helped me: my assistant photographer and sneak Mom around guy, Pop.