6 Week Stories: Hippie Chick 60s Birthday Party

My grandma wanted to throw my mom a surprise party for her 60th birthday. I suggested we do a 60s themed party to celebrate and it was far out! I’m ready to lay it on ya.

Decorations

I wanted bright colors to match my mom’s cheerful disposition. The really nice thing about having a tie-dye, flower power theme is that you don’t have to get too matchy on the colors. On the invitation we asked guests to dress in 1960s attire. Everyone really got into it and that added to the fun.

Favor table- temporary 60s tattoos, John Lennon glasses, and rainbow peace sign necklaces

Basic balloons and crepe paper

60s plates and napkins from Oriental Trading

Tie-dye lollipops from Oriental Trading, cellophane grass from Dollar Tree, bucket from Target Dollar Spot (with rocks it the bottom to weigh it down and a piece of Styrofoam to hold the pops)

Flower garland and large cut out flowers from Dollar Tree

Food

We decided to keep the food simple as surprising my mom was quite a fete. We ordered pizza and had chips and dip. But the cake was outta sight! I took a design idea to my mom’s favorite bakery, McArthur’s and I loved the finished product.

Hippie Birthday!

Fun

I didn’t want to be a square so we planned some groovy activities. Who could throw a 60s party without some tie-dye? But I knew that could be messy so I did a little research and found a spray tie-dye kit– same effect, less mess. I bought some DIY white bandanas, typed out some simple instructions and brought my drying rack from my laundry room. It was a gas!

I was really psyched about our Hippie Photo Booth. A backdrop from Oriental Trading and a couple disposable cameras provided us with TONS of fun photos to remember the day.

My mom’s favorite game show is Jeopardy (which originally aired in 1964) so I created a 60s Jeopardy game.

Here’s a sample of some of the questions:

Music trivia

1.       In the song, “Fun, fun, fun” by the Beach Boys, she loves to drive her t-bird. And they claim she makes the Indy 500 look like a ______? (Chariot race)
2.       Leslie Gore sings “It’s my Party” in which Judy and Johnny walk through the door. What is Judy wearing? (Johnny’s ring)
3.       Who did the original version of ‘I Heard It through the Grapevine’ before Marvin Gaye in 1967? (Gladys Knight And The Pips)
4.       In 1969, “A Boy Named Sue” won a Grammy for Best Country song. It was performed by Johnny Cash. But the song was written by a well-known children’s author. Which of the following authors wrote this song? (Shel Silverstein)
5.       Who was the first act to perform at Woodstock in 1969? (Richie Havens)

What year did?

1.       President John F. Kennedy Jr. moves into the White House. (1961)
2.       Beatlemania sweeps the nation after the Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show.  (1964)
3.       Martin Luther King Jr. makes his historic “I Have a Dream” speech. (1963)
4.       John Glenn becomes the first man to orbit the Earth. (1962)
5.       The rock musical Hair opens on Broadway in New York City. (1968)

TV and Movies

1.       The word supercalifragilisticexpealidoius is from what 60’s Disney Movie? ( Mary Poppins)
2.       Which Simon and Garfunkel song is featured in the 1967 movie, The Graduate?( Mrs. Robinson)
3.       In what sixties TV comedy did a horse talk to his owner, Wilbur Post? (Mr. Ed)
4.       What followed the names of Rowan and Martin in the classic 60s comedy series? ( Laugh In)
5.       What was the name of the popular 60s TV series in which Marshal Matt Dillion and his deputy, Chester Goode, held up law and order in Dodge City? (Gunsmoke)

 

Mandy Trebek

And of course, you know how much I love favors. In addition to the party flavor on the favor table, (with the help of DJ Daddysaurus) I made CDs with hits from the 60s. Several guests contacted me after the party and said how much they enjoyed the CDs. It was relatively inexpensive and something that wouldn’t wind up in a trash can after the party. A fun way to end the day!

Also, I’ve got to give some photo credit to my Aunt Ronda- thanks for the great pictures of the favors!

Up next is 5 birthday cake ideas for your next party- can you dig it?