more 30th Birthday Party Ideas

Hey! Let's get back to the party! Last week I posted some of the festive food ideas I made for my friend's 30th birthday surprise pool party. Now let's take a look at some decorating and other little quick and inexpensive ideas I pulled together.

30th Birthday Gifts: 3 token gift ideas: Bath & BodyWorks lotion to prevent old lady skin ... Chocolate for coping with the emotional upheaval of aging ... and of course, a bucket list.  :-)  I made my own wrappers with little notes and added a flower hair clip for the birthday girl to wear at the party:

The numbers "3-0" cut out of a 12 x 12 inch two-sided scrapbook paper and hung from a chandelier with curly ribbon decorated the space over the desert table, shown in my last post:

Something I stumbled upon for a 1st birthday party I did a few months ago, I tried again - tissue paper bouquets! Unless you have a large cutting flower garden on your property, you can't get much cheaper!  :-)  Tissue paper is colorful, inexpensive and as a centerpiece, can pack a wonderful visual punch:

My three pendant lights over the kitchen island often get dressed up:

For legal purposes I must advise you to never, NEVER, TRIPLE DOG EVER try this at home ... or please, at least check to see if your lights get very hot before attempting such a decorating exercise in ribbon. I use regular curly ribbon, as well as pre-curled, pre-packed, gift box ribbon. They come in sets of three at the dollar store and have a self-sticking tab ... not that you're ever going to do this:

In the center over the island, I also hung a two-sided sign:

"Happy 30th Birthday!" and "We Love You, Rachael!" I cut circles out of two-sided 12 x 12 inch scrapbook paper and layered them. Tip: print your message on an 8 1/2inch square - if that's as wide as your printer goes and layer it on the larger piece for bigger impact.

Of course, a special Happy Birthday plate for the guest of honor:

I purchased this plate from DaySpring.com a couple years ago and I believe it is now discontinued. But I just searched their site and here are some other neat options, if you're looking for a "special" plate.

And for the buffet ... how about starting off with a nicely printed "Party Menu:"

'Cause it's always nice to know how much room to save on your plate for all the yummy stuff coming down the line, right?!  :-)