Happy 30th Birthday Shea!

The makings of a non-surprise party

My friends and I tried to throw our dear friend Shea a surprise party for her 30th birthday. Too bad she's way too perceptive! Though the shock-factor didn't pan out, the party was a success, and while I could gush about our radiant birthday girl or our hostess's perfect backyard (oh could I ever!), I'd rather let the pictures talk. 

The Theme
It started when we found out Shea shares a birthday with JFK. Obviously that meant throwing a Kennedy garden party! In my friend Erin's backyard, we had champagne punch, lots of flowers nestled here and there, and of course a cut-out card of JFK.

The Food
With the punch, we dined on cucumber sandwiches, orzo salad, a big bowl of fruit, curry chicken salad, and a cheese and charcuterie plate. Friends, take note of the crowd favorite aged cheddar cheese — Prairie Breeze. Wisconsinites can find it at Metro Market.

The People
Friends from high school, three of Shea's four siblings, and a handful of cousins came out to celebrate 30 years of Shea. Luckily Erin's backyard has a lovely fence which she strung with garden lights — a perfect background, even if we don't all take a perfect photo. 

Fun & Games
We had two party games — the "Who Am I?" game (which I'm sure goes by many other names) and a "So You Think You Know Shea" game. "Who Am I?" is where everyone has a post-it on their forehead with a famous person or fictional character and has to ask questions to guess who they are. We also added to the rulebook — like, down a glass of punch if you ask a stupid question. It was a hoot!

For "So You Think You Know Shea," we made a list of very important questions about the birthday girl: What was her first date with her husband? True or False — Shea has been to a Neil Diamond concert. What is Shea's favorite Backstreet Boy song — bonus point for naming her favorite Backstreet boy. The list goes on. There was also a photo portion: What is Shea thinking in each of these five photos? What would Shea pick from this brunch menu? Then we asked Shea for her answers on the spot — points awarded if yours was the same as hers. 

Shea's birthday kicked off a year of 30th birthdays in my group of friends. It's a brave new frontier, but if her birthday party was any indication of the good times in store... 30 years old? Bring it on!