My Favorite Things 2018

One of my favorite parties of the year continues to be Margaret Ann and Nancy's My Favorite Things. If you're not familiar with this party theme, check out the details here. While some items shared throughout the party might be your typical "tried and true," most are new to me, and I love to get new ideas!

This year, I brought a collection of several items: stainless steel condiment cups that I use for so many things such as ketchup, barbecue sauce, pancake syrup, etc. I also brought my favorite baking cups that are about 4" in diameter. I first found these several years ago and have been using them to make individual cinnamon rolls. They're also great for making muffin tops . . . remember the Seinfeld episode? Lastly, I included four homemade cinnamon rolls to round out my gift. Mmmmm. 

Keely's favorite thing for this year was a metal plaque that read: This is Our Happy Place. She found them when we went on our trip to Vancouver in the fall. It's such a cute addition to her front door!

Although I wasn't able to capture everything, here are some of the other favorite things shared from Thursday night (in no particular order):

• Floating wine glass (Won "Best Overall" award)
• Champagne and Anthropologie candle (Won "BS" award)
• Collection of toiletries (Won "Best Value" award)
• Holiday ornament glitter studs
• Chick-fil-A gift card to buy chicken tortilla soup
• Collapsible water bottle
• Letters to my Mom paper time capsule
• Water color Christmas gift tags from Red Bird Paper
• "Fixin' To" notepad from Draper James
• Salted caramel chocolates from Trader Joe's
• Lip balm
• Convertible gloves that you can wear as mittens from J Crew
• Flannel blanket scarf from Old Navy
• Recipe for grit souffle
• Le Creuset mini round baking dish
• Sugar cane cookie candle from Southern Firefly Candle Co.
• Face mask from Beauty 360
• 1000 piece puzzle from White Mountain
• Hot tamales candy
• Candied jalapeños from the Pepper Palace (Tip: place on top of deviled eggs!)
• Glamorous Wash from Tyler Candle
• Dryer balls from Laura Ashley
• Toboggan by Ann Taylor Loft
• High Beam from Benefit
• Buxom lip gloss and mascara
• Sadie Robertson Scripture Shareables
• Ice Cubes gum
• Christmas cards from Sketch + Co
• Vodka soda
• Haven Honey
• A New Day crew socks

This is still one of my favorite ways to get great ideas for stocking stuffers!

Come On Down!

About eleven years ago, I was keeping Mom company one day while she was recovering from knee surgery. Everything came to a halt when The Price is Right came on TV. She is one of those over-the-top fans of the show. I never realized just how much until I asked, "Wouldn't you like to be there?" She quickly replied, "Oh, that's my dream." Seriously? It happened to be Bob Barker's last season. I knew I had to make this happen. I planned the whole trip, got tickets way in advance, etc. The two of us set out on this crazy adventure. Once there, I quickly learned that the so-called tickets were only tickets that allowed us to wait in line for the "real" tickets. Craziest thing ever. Even though we got to the show well over an hour in advance, that wasn't enough to get in. As you can imagine, Mom was so disappointed. What would it take to get in? Start standing in line the night before. That's right. That's what the others did. I was so shocked, especially given the targeted demographic. So, we joined the craziness and stood in line all. night. long. and were able to attend the next day's show. Dream fulfilled. Mission accomplished.

Last week, Mom turned 80. She really wanted to go back for this milestone birthday. Unfortunately, we couldn't make that happen this time. Keely had the perfect idea. Let's bring The Price is Right to her! I'm all about a good theme, and that's all it took to begin the planning process, starting with the invitation.

Since Mom's party happened to take place on Cinco de Mayo, we wanted to serve Mexican food. While Cinco de Mayo parties are fun, I didn't want it to take away from Mom's theme. How do you combine the two? Start thinking of food labels that used popular The Price is Right games with popular Mexican dishes. Admittedly, this step is my favorite in the planning process. I used similar food labels for Keely's UT graduation party, Hayley's POP! baby shower, Hannah's book-themed baby shower, Natalia's Georgia Southern graduation party, Olivia's Doc McStuffins birthday party, and Lindsey's Cinco de Mayo bridal shower.

We kept the menu pretty simple: tacos and petros . . . but The Price is Right style:

We also had a variety of dips for snacking:

Drinks included:

Cake, cupcakes, and Rice Krispie treats satisfied everyone's sweet tooth.

(Free printables from www.southernmadesimple.com)

Other fun touches included price tag name badges for all of the party-goers as well as a Showcase Showdown game. Congrats to Silas for the win!

Prices from 1938 can be found here.

Silas won $20 (80 quarters in Mom's honor) as well as a BRAND NEW CAR!!!!

The main decoration included a wall-size Mom version of Cliff Hangers. It showcased some of our favorite pics of her 80 years.

Needless to say, Mom was surprised and quite pleased with the party. She especially loved spending the whole day with family and friends. All of us brag about how she doesn't look 80. She's not over the hill---she's still climbing! And we're all very grateful for that. Happy birthday, Mom!

The Birthday Girl

Host and hostesses:  Scott and Tina, Jackie, KK, and Vicke