Week 25: Host a Theme Party

I love a good theme party. Themes are just great to spark creativity. Whether it be for New Year's Resolutions, gift-giving, figuring out what to write, or having a party, I love having a theme! So that's why this week's goal is #28 from my list:

Host a theme party (Flamingo, Carpe Diem, Wine-Tasting, Murder Mystery, Games, Purple,etc.)

I picked Pink Flamingos as my theme because I have a plethora of pink flamingo paraphernalia that needed to be put to good use! I have really been trying to live by this "use it or lose it" mentality and not just storing a bunch of stuff that I'll never use.

I'm not really sure how my pink flamingo collection began, but I've always been enamored by the whimsical figure and the bird does represent warm, sunny places which I am always lusting after. I happily accept the pink flamingo as my personal mascot and, hence, have enjoyed additions to my collection over the years (Thanks to my kids, sister, and most recently, my favorite blog commenter, MB!)

I even collect pictures and movies of pink flamingos I've seen at various zoos or in unexpected places!

Here's a movie of the Marching Flamingos that my friend, Lisa and I saw at the Ardastra Zoo in the Bahamas last year. I had such a moment of bonding with the confused flamingo who didn't know where he was going.

Yes, I have a lot of fondness for flamingos and we're in danger of getting side-tracked on this post, so let's get back to the party... 

I belong to a women's group who meets monthly for a potluck and this month I'd volunteered to host, excited that I'd be able to fulfill my theme party goal. I assumed women would be much more amenable than men to wearing pink and embracing the silliness of a pink flamingo party.

The women came through with potluck dishes that included salmon, shrimp, crab, beets, watermelon, and strawberry-rhubarb crisp for dessert! We drank rosé and pink spiked punch which tickled us pink!

I made good use of my many flamingo accessories and was touched to get some sweet pink roses from one of the ladies to adorn my table.

My hat and glasses collection came in handy for people to pose in a flamingo 'photo booth' area which added to the flamingo falderal.

The only sad part is that my good friend, Cathy who is the friend who got me involved with this group, wasn't able to come because she's been recovering from back surgery. I did set up a little flamingo card-making area so we could remember our friend and let her know we were thinking of her.

All in all, I would say we successfully flamingled!

What worked well:

• Nice that my friends embraced and participated in the theme by wearing pink and bringing pink foods!
• Had fun putting my various flamingo items to use.
• Nice that I found the flamingo photo backdrop at Dollar Tree! (In fact, Dollar Tree is a good source for flamingo stuff of all sorts!)

What could have been better:

• So sorry that my friend, Cathy, is still in so much pain from her back surgery and wasn't able to make it.