Never Host Your Own Party – JoAnn’s World

What a great day! Today is the 28th anniversary of my 30th birthday.

When I was growing up I don’t recall ever having a birthday party. As a matter of fact, I only have one birthday memory of my childhood. I was about 10 or 11 and that was the year my mom said I could have a small birthday party.

For my birthday, some of my friends were going to ride the school bus to my house after school. I was soooo exited I felt like an over-filled balloon that could burst at any moment.

On the morning of my birthday, I jumped out of bed to get ready for the best birthday ever. However, Mother Nature had other plans. We were having a blizzard. School was cancelled…. and so was my party.

Despite the lack of childhood birthday parties, time passed and I grew up unaware that I had missed out on anything special. As an adult, birthdays came and went with a few small celebrations with my children.

A couple of months before the 20th anniversary of my 30th birthday, I figured it was time for me to have a birthday party. After all, you are only half-a-century old once. I also wanted to combine it with another major, American, high-school tradition that I had missed out on – a kegger.

The planning began.

The party was going to be at our house – we had plenty of room for a party and parking. I would be setting up my turntable and bringing out the old 33’s from the 60’s and 70’s. I took a trip to Party American and picked up party supplies for “The Big 5-0,” including a “photo booth.” Well, actually, it was a cardboard cutout of a scantily-clad Hawaiian couple with their faces cut out.

I arranged for the cake, the food, the beverages, the ice, and the keg of beer with the tap. My sweet husband even drove me all the way to Kalispell and bought me a propane fire pit at Costco that I wanted for the party. I put the word out and invited the guests.

The day of the party came, everything was moving like clockwork, and it was a beautiful day. I was set.

We have a covered porch out our back door that is about 8’x24’. It was the perfect spot to set up. I put a table between the back door and the sliding door that goes into the dining room for the turntable, speakers and LP’s. The BBQ grill was set up to one side and a food and beverage table was set up on the other side.

On the lawn was the fire pit with chairs around it. Placed about the yard were more tables and chairs, as well as helium-filled “Big 5-0” balloon displays. To the back edge of the yard was the “photo booth.” Our garage is separate from the house and sits off to the side a bit. We opened the garage door and kept the keg in ice in the garage to keep it out of the sun.

Everything was ready and it looked great.

Guests started arriving, the music was playing, and my sister-in-law’s roommate stepped in to be the grill master.

I can tell that you are asking yourself, “Okay, so far so good… sounds fun…what’s the problem?”

I’ll tell you the problem… The problem was I was so busy being the party planner I only had the time to invite about half of those I intended to invite; and as the hostess I was making sure that each guest got a picture in the “photo booth,” and going around trying to make sure everyone else was having a good time. I was so busy in the planning and hosting I forgot to take the time to actually enjoy my own party… before I knew it, it was over.

One guest lingered until late in the evening and that’s when I finally sat down, put my feet up on the fire pit, and relaxed – something I should have been doing the whole time.

What I learned…. Next time, I will have someone else handle the planning and hosting so I can focus on invitations, talking with the party guests, and enjoying my own party.

If you want a party for yourself and are tired of waiting for someone else to throw it for you, my advice to you is to set it in motion, then, if no one volunteers to be the host, pull out your wallet and hire someone to be your host.

The cost will be worth it, after all, everyone needs a memorable party just for them, at least once in their life.