Retirement Party with a Valentine Twist

This past weekend I was asked to plan a retirement party for my former boss Pat. She has been a childcare director for years, so holding the party at the childcare center seemed fitting for the occasion. The theme was "We {heart} you, Pat" to send her off into retirement with our love. The main colors used are red, white, and silver with lots of heart embellishments. And with it being after Valentine's Day, I definitely took advantage of all the sales (without the decorations being too "Valentine-sy")! :0)

[The two cupcake wreaths (click HERE to view the tutorial on how to make those) greeted the guests as they walked in the doors. And peppermints in the silver bucket ($1 section at Target last spring) served as party favors for the guests to grab as they left the party. Do you recognize the little frame? I thought it fit perfectly with the color scheme, and it held a sign that said, "Happy Retire'Mint'!"]

[The cake table was filled with all sorts of sugary goodness. There were, of course, the 2 large cakes (one vanilla, one chocolate), and each held a little printable paper cake bunting (courtesy of The TomKat Studio) that said "Happy" "Retirement". The pennant banner and labels on the candy jars are similar to my daughter's Sweet Shoppe Party (click HERE to view posts about that).

[The "Retired" heart sign is attached to the back of Pat's office chair by a thick white ribbon. I found the heart on sale at Michael's and knew I just had to use it! The topiaries are made out of the same cupcake liners (Easter section at Hobby Lobby) as the wreaths. I followed [this] tutorial by Kara's Party Ideas, painted a skewer white & wrapped it with ribbon to give a "spiral" look, and attached the Styrofoam ball and a Styrofoam plant insert with the skewer to help it stand. I then placed it in a small silver bucket ($1 section at Target last spring) and filled it with peppermints. I also found this adorable little DIY Valentine Mailbox on sale at Hobby Lobby and thought it would be perfect to hold little memory cards for the guests to fill out and "mail" to Pat.]

[There was LOTS of food (courtesy of Walmart's fabulous party trays) and even more candy. Yummy peanut butter M & M's, cinnamon hearts, peppermint nougats, and Dove chocolate hearts are just to name a few. The little red branches, heart napkins, cups and wrapping paper used as a table runner on all the tables I bought on sale at Hobby Lobby. The silver square plates and plastic "silver"ware I bought at Target. I already had the tablecloths and heart plates that hold the silverware. The raspberry punch was so delicious! I will have to share a recipe on that soon!]

Not pictured:

I made 8 tissue pom-poms (4 red, 4 white) and held them by fishing wire throughout the room. It brought all the party decorations to a new "vertical" level. :0)

All in all, I think everything came together really well. I just love planning parties!!

Linking up to [these] parties!

[Jen]