Take the Party Outside!

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When considering where to host a special event like a birthday bash or a large dinner party, it seems that most of us limit our thinking to either having it inside or paying to have it somewhere else – when all along there’s very likely a great space just outside our doors.  With just a little bit of creative thinking and preparation, an outdoor party can turn a fairly run of the mill get-together into a much more unique and personal gathering.

That’s exactly what Britt’s and my dear friend Jen did for her hubby’s 40th birthday party last year.  (You might remember Jen from a post she did back in February about how her neighborhood made the most of Atlanta’s freakish slew of snow days.)  Knowing her husband well…Jen combined Bryan’s love of the outdoors, friends, beer, and music to throw a party that we’ll all remember…especially and most importantly Bryan.

(Truth be told, Britt and I couldn’t make the party…we were filming the RYG video…but it sounds like they were still able to have quite a bit of fun without us! Good for them.) 

Here’s Jen’s take on the evening.

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As we get older, sometimes we’d like to skip right over the day that marks the truth…that another calendar year has passed us by.  We’d like to silently move through the day trying to forget the new ache in the knee or extra girth around the middle.  We’d like for those closest to us to celebrate just enough so we feel loved and we’d like for them to tell us that we don’t look our age and that 40 is the new 30.   However, there are some birthdays that are worth a big time, let down your hair, pull out all the stops, noteworthy scene!  One of those birthdays happens to be when your hubby turns the big Four Zero.

I did do some research about having his party at a favorite restaurant, but holy smokes that would have been expensive and I would have had to cut down the invite list.  No thanks!  So, I decided to show off our new back yard (we had just moved in 6 months before) and host this shin-dig on Ground That We Are Redeeming! This was also very convenient for our neighbors, who we were just getting know, because they could just walk on over.

I don’t pretend to be host extraordinaire, or party planner supreme…but by golly, I can pin a cool looking mason jar candle – so that’s how I planned things.  I poked around on Pinterest, made note of the things I thought I could easily pull off on a small budget and did a few crafty things on Saturday mornings.  I also asked a friend to help me in this area, because we all have friends who are so great with stuff like this…so why not have them help the craft-challenged?!

Overall, I wanted the evening to be about things that my guy just absolutely loves: great friends, great music, great beer.  And when those things get to collide in your own back yard, it makes turning 40 an absolute blast!

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Thanks Jen for sharing this with your fellow ground redeemers.  Very cool.  I look forward to actually attending your next shin-dig…but it sounds like that might not be until Bryan turns 50!

Take care all,
Doug initial

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