We just recently celebrated my Grandpa’s 90th birthday! He was a state champion basketball player in high school.  It was a big deal for the small town he came from and he remembers those days as some of the best days of this life.  It was a family event with the help of my mom and aunt (actually my whole family contributed).  We put together a party for him to relive those days and allow him the opportunity to share his memories with his family and friend.

The party took place at the assisted senior living center my Grandfather lives at and they allowed us to borrow an activities room for free!!! We did all the decorations and food ourselves (except we bought the cake) thanks to my mom, dad and aunt.  I used a Pinterest board to start pulling together ideas for decorations and food.

For the food we did a mashed potato bar, which happens to be one of my Grandpa’s favorite foods.  It was perfect, probably one of the easiest menus to plan plus with crock pots it made it easy to serve and keep warm without any kitchen at the party location.  We had bbq pork, plain pork, broccoli, green onions, bacon, sour cream, cheese and of course lots of mashed potatoes.

The decorations were all basketball related and based on the birthday’s boys favorite team.  The fun purple t-shirts we all wore with his birthday year where provided by my mom, deRose Promos.  The amazing balloon basketball hoop was made by my brother Travis, Twisted Art Balloons.  The photo backdrop was made by simply draping crepe paper over a projector screen.  The fun signs used in the photos allowed everyone to say happy birthday to the birthday boy however the liked to call him.  The photos afterwards made a great photo album for my Grandpa to remember the day.

For entertainment, my aunt lead us in a game of bingo provided with fun stories about the birthday boy.  In between calling numbers, various family member caught up and shared stories and photos.  It made the party personal and very special.

Hope you find an idea that maybe useful at your next party.  If you do or have tried anything similar please feel free to share.  I would love to hear about it.