planning a 65th birthday party

Since I have only ever hosted children’s parties - when my sisters and I decided to plan a party for my parents’ 65 birthdays, I’ll admit I was a little lost when it came to decor and styling! I didn’t want it to feel cheesy or childish, but I also didn’t want to under-do it, as we were inviting a lot of people and we really wanted it to feel special! So if you find yourself in a similar spot, I hope this post is helpful!

First thing I did was hit pinterest looking for 65th birthday inspo…and trust me when I say, there wasn’t much to be found! Instead, (just as I do for kids’ parties) I focused my search on the overall vibe and colour scheme I wanted to achieve. From there - I started saving images that I liked and created a mood board to get the ball rolling. Here’s what I originally put together on pinterest (did you know you can make collages right in the pinterest app? so quick and easy)

Since we had around 40 guests attending (my parents’ home) for dinner, we needed a place for them to all sit! Outdoors wasn’t going to be an option because it was mid-october, but for a summer party - setting up tables in your backyard would be a no-brainer! In our case, their home has a large sunroom that we figured could hold almost everyone, so we got to work gathering enough tables and chairs. I loved the natural light in the sunroom, and used the warm wood tones in the wall panelling as part of my “eclectic autumnal” cozy party vibe that I was going for!

To make sure the room feel dressed up, I used an assortment of table linens - tablecloths, linen napkins, and a mix of different table runners. I did this so that I could use what I already had, but I actually think it looked great to have a variety of colours and textures, as opposed to all of the tables being the same! On top of that, I decorated the tables with lots of candles (white tapers in candle holders with satin ribbons and assorted tea lights), bosc pears, and bud vases with minimal florals. Then, to add a little colour to each place setting, I printed out menu cards to set on top of each napkin, along with a place card for each guest!

For overall decor in the sunroom, I hung streamers (i used this tutorial to make ruffled layered ones!), a velvet ribbon garland, and a simple “happy birthday” banner that I made from a piece of thrift store fabric and iron-on vinyl!

We still wanted a little decor inside their house, so we decorated their dining room with big “65” balloons, set the table the same way as the sunroom, and then set up a dessert table in their living room. The dessert table was great because it gave their cake a spot to be showcased, and I added trays of sugar cookies that I made as well. We added a balloon garland on top of it and that was it! Overall, I felt like the areas where the guests would be hanging out had a enough “party” decor to make the night feel special and to of course, celebrate my parents!