We had a Surprise 90th Birthday Party for my Step-Dad, who I claim as my Bonus Dad, and it turned out Wonderful. We pitched in and prepared some of his favorite things as table center pieces, we had a BBQ luncheon, prepared a timeline of his life to go across the room, we prepared a family tree and a shadow box with all his Navy medals. Now, the cherry on the whip topping, was that he never received his Vietnam medal and it was arranged for some officers of the Navy to surprise him with a medal ceremony and the medal. A local tv station came to get it all for the local news and this special day for my special hero and Bonus Dad was perfect.
My next few posts are going to be about the centerpieces and if it looks like it needs to be explained, I will give you an explanation of how it was done. Otherwise, I think a picture basically says it all. :0)
The fishing table because he has always loved to fish.These are the different angles of the fishing centerpiece.The car & truck centerpiece (pictures include are one of his favorite cars and truck.)Different angles of the cars and truck centerpiece.The looking & smelling good centerpiece. Pop has always taken pride in looking his best and his favorite products were incorporated into the centerpiece.Different views of centerpiece.He loves his Braves baseball so this is his Braves baseball centerpiece.Music centerpiece because he loves music. Games and Gambling centerpiece because he loves to play cards, put together puzzles and occasionally go gambling.This is the football centerpiece because he loves his Georgia Bulldogs and Atlanta Falcons.Military centerpiece. Pop served in the Marines and the Navy.Outdoors centerpiece. Pop likes to garden, feed the birds and likes working in the yard.Gedunk centerpiece. Pop loves his snacks. We also did the history of all the important events in Pop’s life over his 90 years. It has births, deaths, weddings, where he was stationed, what war he was fighting, historical events, inventions, etc. We put this along the back wall and also had a copy for him to keep.
We had a place for cards and gifts.
We made a family tree (non-traditional) with his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. We also displayed an old post card that he had mailed to his first wife during the war.
The BBQ Buffet we served was fantastic! (If I do say so myself.). :0-). The flatware was wrapped to match our tablecloths and table runners. We, of course had some cake. We put a picture of Pop when he was younger and now on the cake along with “90” candles. We served sweet tea, unsweetened tea and water with lemon We had regular coffee and decaf. Coffee, too. We had a photo station. We brought a flag, tree and chairs and set up a place for Pop and Mom to sit and family could take pictures with them. We had a slideshow presentation of his life as people were eating.We presented him with a shadow box of his it medals with a couple of newspaper clippings, a photo of him and a Weatern Union Telegram. The extra big surprise is when the officers of the Navy marched in to present him with his Vietnam medal and certificate that he never received.Pop had no idea what was going on and what was about to happen.This was also all covered on the local news. It turned out perfect. Happy 90th Pop! We all love you!!
