Fall Backyard Birthday Party and Movie Night
Last month we celebrated Brent's birthday in our backyard for a little party and movie night. We had just returned that week from our vacation so the party ended up being fairly simple.
During our trip we had spent a few days in Iceland where we tried, supposedly, the world's best hotdog. It was pretty amazing so I decided to use the idea as the foundation of our menu for the party. Though the Icelandic hotdog is a little different, I did my best to recreate it. The combination of onions and mustard's made for a crunchy and sweet topping. I am not usually a very adventurous hot dog eater, so these came out surprisingly delicious!
A theme for the night made this simple meal feel a bit more special while keeping my jet lagged stress at a minimum.
We also served some homemade chili that I made in advance and then threw in the slow cooker the day of.
Brent set up our movie screen projectos and we played Ghostbuster's during the party. It was a casual and fun evening...even if I didn't end up having time to put together any centerpieces!
The focus turned to the company and catching up with friends we had not seen in awhile. Brent's birthday is usually our last outdoor hoorah for the year as the weather quickly starts to turn at the end of October.
It is always a joy to see the little ones run around our yard. Happy children equal happy parents who get to socialize with other adults!
For the cake, I made my famous ice cream cake. It is always a hit and has become surprisingly easy to make after all these years of practice.
We then ended the night with a few of us watching another movie out on the back patio. We moved the projector and screen over and lit a warm fire and cozied up for the night. Don't worry, I do not make my husband watch Twilight on his birthday! It's just the previews!
October is a busy time of year as we celebrate our anniversary and Brent's birthday just before jumping into the holidays. I am glad that I did not let coming home from vacation stop us from celebrating. I could have gotten stressed and all perfectionist about it. Instead we went with simple. No centerpieces and easy hotdogs. Even in the busiest of seasons, I want my husband to feel special and appreciated as well as welcome people into my home wherever life has us for the season.
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