40th Birthday Surprise Tea Party
Yesterday I mentioned that I recently turned 40. And I think it has actually been the best birthday I’ve ever had!
At the beginning of February, my two oldest daughters began talking about what they could do for my birthday. They decided on a surprise party, knowing full well how much I hate to be the center of attention. I mean, I really don’t like to be focused on at all, and they know this. So, they hesitated at the thought of throwing a big party for me, but they went ahead with it anyway. And I’m so glad they did!
I really would have never guessed what they were planning. My oldest daughter goes over to my parents’ house once a week to clean for them, so she was able to do a lot of the planning over there, and I didn’t notice anything unusual happening at home.
Around Valentine’s Day, when my husband and I had a couples-only dinner party to go to, my mom came over while we were gone to do a bit more planning with the girls (again, I was completely oblivious to this!).
They planned the entire menu, which included chocolate-dipped strawberries, whipped cream and scones, cucumber sandwiches, cake, and of course tea!
So many friends chipped in to help, and our very sweet friend Kristin supplied the most beautiful tea pot cake I’ve ever seen (made by her mother-in-law, who makes cakes professionally). That cake (and the cupcakes that went with it) really made the whole tea party super special–I loved it! Thank you so much, Kristin! Another friend made the delicious scones, a friend made cucumber tea sandwiches, and other friends helped decorate and let the girls borrow some of their tea things, including tiny tea cups for the little girls’ table.
It was such a nice afternoon just enjoying being with friends and feeling blessed.
The gifts were so special and thoughtful. Handmade soap, handmade candles, a beautiful tea cup and saucer (and a box of tea), handmade jewelry, chocolate, a lovely vase (photos of that are in yesterday’s post), a $40 gift card to Hobby Lobby (one of my absolute favorite stores!), money for paint and the offer from another sweet friend to help me paint my kitchen (so sweet and creative!).
My mom gave me this very lovely Willow Tree figurine:
I love that it’s called “Simple Joys,” and says, “You’re simply a joy in my life.” ♥
And two other friends (a mother and daughter) made this beautiful hand-quilted table runner:
I love that they embroidered my name and the date on the back:
And then my precious children chipped in to make this beautiful basket of gifts for me:
They bought me a Lily’s chocolate bar (my favorite!), a vanilla candle (another favorite!), a pretty journal and some special pens, a Burt’s Bees chapstick, a handmade bracelet, and this pretty necklace:
I felt so loved this past weekend, and I’m so thankful for my wonderful friends and family! These girls did almost all of the planning for the party, including making the cloth birthday banner behind us:
My husband and other children also contributed a lot to the planning, including getting me to the party! My oldest son was our sound man, and kept lots of beautiful classical music playing in the background. My family also made a beautiful birthday video for me that they played on a video screen during the party.
So thankful for my mom and three daughters:
And I’m so thankful to my friend Kristin for this photo and several others in this post!
“I thank my God upon every remembrance of  you.” ~Philippians 1:3
What a beautiful day and the most gorgeous cake ever!
Thank you! I know, that cake was just amazing! I'm so glad we got pictures of it before we cut into it!
Oh my! I couldn't get enough of all the exquisite beauty in this post! The pretty tea cups…the table settings…the cake! Oh! The cake – how beautiful and special! What a blessed birthday celebration and aww! Such lovely gifts, too! I'm so pleased to be visiting from The Art of Homemaking Mondays today!
Blessings and thank you so much for sharing this truly lovely post:)
Oh, thank you so much, Kelly-Anne! And thank you for visiting!
How sweet! And that cake looks amazing. Happy birthday!
Thank you, Amy! Yes, that cake was so special!
This is just the sweetest most beautiful party! What a special celebration! I love the theme and especially the banner and cake. Your girls did a marvelous job! Happy 40th!
Thank you, Kayla! 🙂
Happy Birthday! What a beautiful party! "Her Children shall arise and call her blessed!"
-Hannah
Thank you, Hannah! I'm very blessed with such a sweet family! ♥
Happy 40th birthday! I enjoy your blogs very much. This one especially, seeing that I recently turned 40 as well. It wasn't until I saw the date on the beautiful quilted table runner that I realized, we even share the same date!!! Makes me love you even more��. Thank you for sharing your special day with me!
Yvonne
Thank you, Yvonne! And happy birthday to you, too!! ♥
Happy birthday! What a special and fun surprise for you! 40 is a different age, I'm now 41. You start to think about what difference you have made in the world, in your world like the home and outside. I have become more reflective.
I wish you many blessings of another year.
Christina
Thank you so much, Christina! ♥
Oohh!! Last month I had that same one of my own! It was a very special blessed moment to turn 40 with all your loved ones and beautiful (handmade) gifts, right?!
Happy birthday!!
Happy Belated Birthday to you! Yes, turning 40 with friends and family making me feel so loved was a huge blessing! ♥
WOW!!! Love all of this Joy; it's all so beautiful! My goodness lady, you sure did get loved on. (: Thanks for sharing your photos – – lovely indeed. Have a nice weekend!
Mitzi
Thank you, Mitzi! I hope you have a great weekend also! 🙂
Wow! What a special day that must have been! I love all of those handmade gifts. The table runner from your mom and daughter will be such a cherished item, I'm sure!
It was very special! I really love the table runner–a friend and her daughter made it, and I'll cherish it always! Made me feel special that they went to all that trouble just for me! ♥
Happy Birthday!! I remember my 40th!… almost two years ago now… and how special my husband pulled it off to surprise me!! It would have been, too.. except that someone (old acquaintance) who I hadn't heard from in "years" had sent me a birthday card (kind of shocking in and of itself) and then said "sorry, that they wouldn't be able to make it"… of course, I then knew something was up. Oh well… I'll never tell them. and it was still very wonderful.
You're special day – looks/looked fabulous!! Very nicely done.
Thank you, Bevy! That's so funny about the friend apologizing about not making it to your surprise party–I'm actually amazed that nothing like that happened with the party my girls planned! 🙂
Wonderful!! Happy Birthday!!!
Thank you, Christy! 🙂