Crafty Kreations Fun! Affordable, Retro Glam Birthday Dinner in 3 Days!

To celebrate my mother’s birthday, at the last minute, and only a few days prior to, I decided that I was going to cook her a 3 course dinner.  Within a few hours of my original thought, the creative juices in my head started to flow and the thought of a simple dinner transformed into a quick and affordable 50’s Retro Glam Dinner Party.  See how I pulled it off in 3 days below.

1. It’s all in the details.  Set the tone and theme of the event with the invitation.  In Microsoft Publisher, I used a simple border and font to mimic the look and feel of a diner in the 50’s.  I saved the document as a picture.  Because of the time constraint, I sent the picture invite out as a group text to family and friends.  Cost:  $0.00 
   
   
   
2.  Plan your menu.  Try to stay consistent with the theme throughout the planning process.  I thought of foods that were reminiscent of the 1950’s, and foods that I could actually pull off cooking and enjoy eating.  Cost:  less than $100.  Our traditional 50’s menu items included: Deviled Eggs, Pineapple Honey Glazed Ham, Pot Roast, Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes, and Ice Cream Sundaes with all the fixins.

   

   The Melt in Your Mouth Pot Roast was phenomenal if I say so myself!

    
3. Set the scene according to your theme.  I actually prefer vintage, rustic home decor so this wasn't really a stretch for me.  To add some 50's character to my home, I printed out memes of 50's pinup housewives, printed them on card stock and placed them throughout my house.  You can get memes from Pinterest or Google images.  I also printed out name cards for all of the 50's menu items, and a diner sign.  To decorate the table, I used a plain black Dollar Store table cloth, and wrapped my existing place mats in red and white tissue paper (this made for easy clean up as well).  Pull in other items that you may have around the house to use.  Cost:  $3.00
   
4. Your entertainment should match your theme as well.  I played music of the 50's using Pandora's 50's Rock and Roll station for free.  For this event, I suggested that attendees dress for the occasion, which was entertaining in itself to see what they came up with.  Keeping with the 50's theme, we had a hula hoop contest.  I also did a 50's trivia game by researching current events of the 50's and quizzing the guests.  Cost:  $3.50
   

Overall my mother's 50's Retro Glam Birthday Dinner was a success.  It came together in 3 days and approximately $105 for a party of 10-12.