The Surprise Party

One fateful night in early October, some of my friends and I got together and decided to throw a surprise 40th birthday party for my dear friend Tali (the last one to turn 40).   The key to the successful party was that everyone would make a firm commitment to show up and they all came through with their promise.  We decided to have everyone come up to Hayward where Tali would be visiting the weekend of her birthday.  We also rented a Famous Dave's Villa, because Tali mentioned how much she loved staying at the Famous Dave's Villa.

October, the planning begins!

The afternoon of the party, we frantically labeled all the beer, wine, set-up the food and decorated.  Here's the wine labels:

Personalized Wine Bottles

Personalized Beer Labels

The hardest part was waiting for the birthday girl to arrive.  We rented Famous Dave's Villa #1, so we were 4 houses down from the Famous Dave's restaraunt, but it seemed like forever for them to arrive.  Here we are waiting:

Patiently Waiting

We hid in the bedroom and did a practice Skype run with Susanne from NY before they arrived.

I left Tali, Jodi Gullucksrud, and my old college roommate Val Pederstuden at my house while I was supposedly delivering boy scout popcorn.  I asked them to meet me at Famous Dave's at 4 p.m.  When they got their, my friend Angie Beckman who manages Famous Dave's gave Tali and the girls a beer with a "Happy 40th Birthday" label on it along with a red balloon.  Tali and the girls were told to follow the trail of red and orange balloons (her favorite colors).

The Balloon Trail from Famous Dave's to the Villa

Did I mention there was a mini-blizzard outside?  Eventually, they found the path of balloons and we were able to surprise our long-time friend Tali.

Angie reads her letter to Tali

When she arrived and the shock and excitement wore off, we played "Tali, this is your life".  Before the party, we made a photo book with pictures and letters written to Tali.  We each read what we wrote, and each one of us cried as we recounted our Tali memories.  We've been friends for a super long time (27 years?), so sometimes we get sentimental.

And then, it was time for some bevies and food.

The Beverage Table

Let the festivities begin!

Let's Eat!!

We had an awesome pot-luck of chili, hot beefs, cranberry salsa, veggies and dip, and oatmeal chocolate bars.  My favorite treat of the night was Angie's oatmeal chocolate chip bars.  They were so moist and delicious, and I'm just sorry I didn't take a picture.  Here's the recipe:  Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars

After we ate, Tamara lead us in a game of sculpting soft fruit with our teeth. Needless to say, we all enjoyed it and shared in a good many laughs.  I'm afraid the pictures might look a little too x-rated for a food blog, so I'm keeping them locked in the vault.

Let the Scavenger Hunt Begin

Next, the 40th Birthday Scavenger Hunt began.  Here's what the girls were looking or:

• Have your picture taken with someone with a mullet
• Play the tambourine on stage
• Get a phone number from a stranger
• Have a picture taken with an outrageous belt buckle
• Collect a business card from someone
• Get a kiss that leaves lipstick on your cheek
• Find a coin with the year 1971 on it
• Find a lettered tattoo with your initials in it
• Get your picture taken with someone dressed in all blaze orange
• Drink a shot with a stranger
• Find a person with a concert tee
• Request a Motley Crue song
• Find someone with a piercing (not ear)

Tamara Performing with Westlake

 

Here's Tamara checking the "tambourine on stage" off her Scavenger Hunt.  Let me tell you something about this woman.  Number 1, we spent a LOT of time traveling because the roads were horrible, but Tamara had us rolling with laughter for hours.  Ask her to do her Norwegian accent sometime, OMG, hilarious!  She's also a gifted psychic / hypno chick who found my lost phone in a snow bank in Stone Lake.  Wow, I was so grateful. But, I digress.

The only picture with the whole crew

The sober mini-van driver (me) drove us to Anglers, Wild River, Stone Lake, and then to the LCO Casino to hear the most amazing band (Westgate) perform.   If you get a chance, I'd recommend checking them out.  Wow!

Here's the band singing Happy Birthday to Tali.  She went to bed early, so poor ol' Tammy had to stand in.

So, I pulled off my first surprise party.  I've been planning this for so long, that I almost feel a sense of disappointment that it's over.  Have you over thrown a surprise party?  OMG, I had so much fun and hope everyone else did too!  After I finish putting everything away, I'm going to bed.

Kristin