I had been planning Dave’s 40th birthday celebration since January. I wanted him to have 40 gifts to open in honor of his 40th birthday.
I got the idea to decorate with balloons from Kim at Let Me Start By Saying. But even though I’m filled with plenty of hot air, I have trouble blowing up balloons. I also have a fear of balloons popping. So I went to the grocery store on the way home from work on Dave’s birthday and asked them for 40 helium balloons, all nonchalant-like.
Their response? “Are you sure?”
Thirty minutes later, I was finally leaving the store and I had trouble fitting through the doors. I had to walk about a half mile with the balloons and I learned some things about balloon transport:
1.) Tree branches pop helium balloons.
2.) There are more trees in my neighborhood than I remembered.
3.) If you decide to carry 40 helium balloons around, people will notice.
4.) When balloons pop, it will scare the crap out of EVERYONE nearby, not just you. Totally sounded like gunfire both times.
We had to pretend Dave turned 38, because two balloons popped on the way home. I had to walk in the street the last few blocks to keep them away from the trees.
Here’s Dave getting a kick out of me “wrapping” a picture of something he had already bought himself months ago. I agreed to “let him” splurge on some guitar-related things and there was no way that stuff wasn’t counting. I took pictures of each item and inserted each into a card for him to open.
Here’s the cute custom card I got him, depicting him with Chuck.
What’s the most elaborate thing you’ve done to celebrate a loved one’s birthday?
Awesome! He looks so tickled over it all. But where’s the pinata? 😉
Also: You could have always asked me for the logistics of traveling with a large amount of balloons. I’m a seasoned pro, here to help you any time you need me.
Kim-I came THIS close to getting this weird-looking blue alien (?!?) pinata at Target, but then I pictured Dave whacking at it indoors and lamps and vases biting the dust with every swing! Next time (not sure there’ll be a next time!) I need to transport balloons I will get your tips.
First off I love the primary colors – you can’t tell if it’s a birthday for a 40 year old or a 4 year old. The best gift I ever gave was a scotch tasting for my boyfriend. It was 8 rare and precious scotches, and what impressed him the most was that I was drinking along. Yuk.
Thanks, Tracy! We love bright colors. An interior decorator once called my bedroom “whimsical,’ which I think was her euphemism for “too bright for an adult.”
I’m impressed you tasted 8 scotches too. Yuk is right!
I once planned a ‘scavenger’ hunt birthday for one of my friends in high school. We ended up at my house for pizza and cake 🙂
That sounds fun…and also like quite a bit of work. You sound like a good friend!
I went wine tasting, and to a ball for my Battalion (I’m in the Army), and had ice cream after. That was on my girlfriend’s birthday a couple years ago. Now she’s my wife. 🙂