Tom and I had a wonderful time celebrating his birthday together, but I knew that he would want a party with all of his friends as well. Several months ago, I contacted pretty much everyone we knew to see who would be interested and available to come to a surprise birthday party for Tom. I also solicited ideas about where and when we should have the party. We decided on the weekend following his birthday, and decided to have a big camping party. In college, camping parties were a staple, and I figured it would be a nice throwback. So I rallied the troops, roped some folks into helping out, and jumped into party planning mode with both feet. It was not easy keeping the secret from Tom, and there were MANY logistical details to work out and coordinate, but with lots of help from friends, and some good luck from the weather gods, I was able to pull off the surprise.
We ended up camping at Penrose Point State Park, which is south and west from Tacoma. I reserved three campsites, and got as many people to come as possible. Folks arrived around 4:00 to start setting up tents, food and of course, booze. Tom and I arrived a little after 5:00, and everyone was there, waiting at the site, with party hats and noise makers. He was totally surprised. It was wonderful!
We spent the evening with our friends, laughing, drinking, and grilling. There was a dinosaur cake, cheese balls, snacks and many grillables. There was a whole picnic table for drinks. There was swimming in the ocean, and staying up late talking around the fire. I was so glad that everything came together in the end, that so many of our friends were there to celebrate with Tom, and that he was, indeed surprised. Thank you so much to all of our friends who helped out! It was great!
Wonderful! What a great surprise. Love the cake too 🙂
Awesome idea, good times. And hey look, a photo I took! In focus, even.
So much fun – thanks for planning it! Did anyone get a picture of the epic booze table?