Outdoor Movie Birthday Celebration

My son turned 12 this year.  I am still in disbelief and constantly asking, “Where does all of the time go?”  It seems like yesterday when he was born.  Not only is he getting older before my eyes, that means I am getting older too.  (I always say every year is a blessing, so I consider it a good thing to get older and older).  With that said, my son has never really had a BIG Birthday Party.  When he was younger, yes, but the last few years he has had a friend or two over with no big celebration.  This year he wanted a party, an all day into night party…  an Outdoor Movie Birthday Celebration.

I wanted this day to be special. 

I wanted him to remember his last Birthday before his teen years. 

This is what I did in hopes that he will remember his special day.

To create a festive rainbow of color I filled the pergola with hanging balloons.

I wanted to create a balloon ceiling and knew the globe lights at night would give a magical glow.

Using different sizes of balloons created interest and dimension.

Before the gang arrived, I set up a vintage table to house all of the goodies for the night.

I also grabbed the moss covered letters from my dining room.

The boys love Lemonade and that was definitely the drink of choice for the night.

Notice… I tried to encourage water. 

I can only try.  🙂

I had to add my favorite flower – hydrangea. 

I think this helped to give the vintage feel I was going for.

While the kids played games, dinner was prepared.

Hamburgers, corn on the cob, watermelon and chips were served.

Notice the rosemary in the vintage Coca-Cola bottles. 

This was used to keep the flies away. 

The citronella candles and rosemary really did the trick.

My kids love a homemade cake, so I made a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.

At sunset, the kids left for a scavenger hunt and the outdoor movie preparation was set into motion.

My neighbor made the screen and set up the projector.

It was really quite a treat. 

We also hung Chinese Lanterns to give a true theater feel. 

I purchased the lanterns at Target, which were on clearance for $13.98. 

They worked great!

To keep with the vintage feel,

vintage furniture was placed outside for comfort. 

Ottomans, chairs and outdoor furniture was used to

create a cozy outdoor theater.

The sun set and it was movie time.

 

 Popcorn and Candy was offered for a perfect outdoor movie treat.

The lights and balloons were glowing.

Most of the balloons made it through the wind and rain that we experienced for a short period during the party. (Phew).

Lights… Camera… Action…

The movie began…

It was exactly what I envisioned.

I think the kids enjoyed it.

Most importantly… I know my son appreciated it.

At the end of the night, he came over to me and gave me the biggest hug. 

He said, “Thanks mom for working so hard to make this a great birthday!”

Then he went over to his dad and gave him a big bear hug

and told him how thankful he was. 

Those are the “priceless” moments Joe and I live for.

***I couldn’t have done this alone…

it was quite a day, so I do have some peeps to thank***

My thanks go out to my in-laws, Joe and Connie, for being a tremendous help.

Dave for making the movie screen, setting it up, and being a huge help.

 

Also, my husband for always trusting my vision and for

putting up with all of my crazy ideas.

I hope you all have some amazing Birthday Celebrations this year!

Celebrate!

You deserve it!

Every year is a blessing!

Enjoy!

Angie