After a long day of work, it was so nice to come home to a BIG box full of goodies. After a solid week of rainy days, this box certainly brought some sunshine into my home! After opening up to see what Diane sent me, my first thoughts were, "Do we know each other?". Checking her return address again, I know I have never had the pleasure of meeting anyone from Alabama. So, as I took each item out of the box, I began wondering how she could have selected such nice items just for me! In this fat box were the following items which she creatively tied our swap theme into: *A baggie full of green candy (yum) and green berry rush Hawaiian punch, and green Mojito Crystal Light (Diane, I immediately unwrapped the caramel apple lollipop!) : ) *A bag of Million Dollar Buttermint Creams. It held 20 pieces when I got it, but I think it's half full now! Can you tell I like candy? : ) *A bag of 40 flavors gourmet jelly beans - love these! *A pack of Strawberry Fields Tic Tacs. *A deck of cards with a beautiful floral design. *A large bag of Wint O Green LifeSavers. *A green expandable vase - perfect for my desk at work! *Village Naturals Therapy Mineral Bath Soak for Aches & Pains Relief with a Delicate Bath Pouf... such a nice thought! *Mandarin Orange Spice Herbal Tea - (I drink tea everyday!) *A darling 2013 Monthly planner with a floral design. *A Home Finance Bill Organizer. The cover and every page sports beautiful photographs of flowers and nature. *The Haul Helper. My husband tried to confiscate this one, but I told him hands off! I relented then when I saw his face of disappointment and said he could borrow it - once in awhile. *"Lift Your Spirits" wall calendar, which includes a small monthly planner. So colorful with lots of words of inspiration. *A little yellow canary that I think may be either a wall vase for rooting a plant or a decorative item to put in a planter to keep it moist. Diane, can you let me know? *A pack of "Dutchman Pipe Vine" seeds! I always wanted to grow these and Diane says I can grow them inside the house and outside, so I am looking forward to starting them. Thanks a million Diane for your creativity, thoughtfulness and generosity!

gellchom - Thanks for the reply. The indoor party was borne of so many years of late summer parties that have been much too hot for the comfort of guests who are a bit older. I love to cook and will probably do some of my best appetizer recipes with additions by professional catering. I guess I am most interested in what would have been served back in 1958 as a place to start. If I don't get much in that regard, I will proceed with my own recipes. Unfortunately, I am a control freak about food and usually give the caterer recipes I want done, but don't have time to do myself. I always enlist help with serving, re-filling bowls, freshening drinks, etc when I host parties. I want the party to have a casual elegance. I like the catering/service people to be a bit "invisible". Even my annual 4th of July party is so much easier with a couple of extra hands. I think it is money well spent as it takes alot of the stress away and enables me to mingle and enjoy the party so to say. I am definitely utilizing help in that regard. I am looking for some unusual or time-reflective recipes that were served in 1958. My parents had a modest wedding by today's standards. Their receiption has been described as something like a beef and beer to me. LOL While they had a modest wedding, they had attendants, etc. The receptions back in the day seem to have been less elaborate than those of in the past couple of generations. The lollipop lamb chops are a great idea as they really can be handled as an appetizer. Besides my dad loves lamb. I love your ideas. I am going to look into some music options. I am a bit limited space-wise for a quartet, so a single flute player would be lovely in the background. I had planned using fresh flowers for decorating and for my parents. I did a 25th and 40th anniversary party for them, dry runs for the 50th! Sangria is a great idea. I have many summer and winter sangria recipes, so I will dig those out. I am thinking a champagne toast before I serve cake. I am a bit stuck as to the signature drink. Don't want something martini-like as a majority of my parents friends take medicines for cholesterol and the like, so I am not sure how well hard alcohol mixes with different meds. I also worry about guests driving. With lite fare, appetizers and desserts, I don't think strong drinks would be a good idea. I was thinking maybe weak whiskey sours? The invite including a request for a memory or anecdote is another great idea. I planned on copying my parents' wedding album photos for display on the buffet and throughout the rooms in my home where the party will take place. Perhaps I can go through all my photos and incorporate them into the album and insert the contributions of the guests. I gave DH a surprise 40th b-day dinner party years ago, and the pics I had copied and enlarged for display were a huge hit. They were displayed in a subtle fashion - on the buffet, in the enclosed porch where the bar was set up, you get the idea. DH b-day party was an intimate dinner party with 10 couples and about 15 family members. DH hates attention so the surprise dinner party was just perfect and was hosted at the home of our closest friends. The party atmosphere was understated and lovely. It was more about great food (we all belong to a gourmet club so we served my husband's favorite meal). I didn't want to go over the top with peripheral decorating as my friends' home is beautifully decorated. I spent a majority of my budget on great food. I guess that is the "feel" I am going for with this party as well. A special album for keepsake would be wonderful. I will have to enlist the services of my SIL who is a big scrap-booker. She, I'm sure will have some ideas! I will also need to chose a unusual invitation. Once again, thanks for getting my brain functioning. I know it is a year away, but I like to have things planned to the T. A total list maker am I! Thank you again.

Congratulations on a hugely successful party. You gave your mom a memory she will treasure long after your legs and feet have returned to normal. :) I, too, get very tired legs and feet when I prepare for entertaining, and I do a lot of it because I really enjoy it. I've learned that I cannot delay shopping until the day before the party. I need to shop 3 days or so in advance, and do as much prep the day before (or even 2 days before, if the recipe allows). Several days in advance I plan my table settings, linens I'm going to use, etc. so I don't waste valuable time the day of the party figuring out how to set up. I try to save until the party day only the things that must be done at the last minute...and I try to plan menus that don't have many last minute elements. And, I always try to shower and get ready 1.5 hours before guests show up, so I have time to relax and mentally rest before the entertaining part of the job begins. And, you are so right....the more often you entertain, the easier it becomes. Again, congratulations on a super party!

You definitely are on the right track. I recently did an album for my aunt and uncle's 50th. What I did was similar to your thought. I had a two pages of my uncle growing up, 2 pages of my aunt growing up, the engagement, the wedding, the reception, 2 pages of their only son, then various pages offamily and friends (many that had already passed on). I included a few pages of their 25th anniversary party and random shots of the year since then. I left off with a decorated page of the invitation/menu and guest list my cousin had put together. I then took extra pages to the party and had the guests write something on the pages to be added to the book. I put additional blank pages in the book with a note that these were for the 50th party pictures and for year to come. My aunt told me, with tears in her eyes, it was the best present she has every received because it was the memories of her life and the times they had shared together. I will treasure that always. Hope it is helpful.