A 90th Birthday Garage Party

The best parties are in garages!

That may sound funny coming from someone like me who loves to throw a fancy party. I love to fuss making fancy food, centerpieces, and table settings with a thematically, color coordinated spread.

But, when I told friends in St. Louis about the garage party we were attending in Wisconsin last weekend, more than one of them immediately smiled and said, "Oh, the best parties are in garages!" It really got me thinking. What made them say that? I think what they meant was that the best parties are casual, informal, and in places were the focus is on the guests having fun more than anything else. And, the fun doesn't come from a fancy, expensive location with elaborate decor and food, it comes from everyone being able to relax and enjoy the day. No worries about what to wear or if something gets spilled; just have fun.

That's exactly what happend at my father-in-law's 90th birthday party on the family dairy farm in Wisconsin last week. (I wrote a previous post about a photo collage I made for him.) The party took place in a giant garage on the farm. It's a HUGE garage used for repairing tractors and other enormous farm equipment. It was the perfect setting to celebrate the 90th birthday of a man who had farmed his whole life. Approximately 50 family and 40 friends from the surrounding farm community attended. What a blast! It was truly one of the most fun parties I've ever attended.

The day before the party, my brothers- and sisters-in-law and their families who now run the farm transformed that garage into a party room. We all pitched in, clearing out the tools and machinery & washing the floor.

Freezing temperatures and a blizzard outside meant we needed a place to hang coats for the party. Only on a farm would this happen . . . my nephews made a coat rack by welding a big horizontal bar across this enormous thingie (that's my city girl lingo) that is normally used for lifting motors and other heavy items out of tractors. . .and things. Fortunately, I took photos to show you; so, I don't really need to know what all of these thingies are called. That was the sturdiest coat rack ever, believe me!

My sister-in-law had gathered mason canning jars to decorate with ribbon and use to hold flowers for centerpieces. Perfect for a garage party. Bowls of mints and peanut M&Ms kept the flowers company.

We set up tables and chairs that had been borrowed from family and folks nearby. No need to spend money on rentals. These people are happy to share and pitch in. A food buffet was set up with fried chicken, roast beef sandwiches and a pot luck of salads and snacks. Good country food. That's the best kind. Ever. 

This farm-theme cake was perfect for the occasion. The cousins had fun eating and talking. This group is close in age to our sons who weren't able to attend. Pardon the cliche, but, boy, the years have flown by too fast! That's always so evident at these family gatherings. Seems like yesterday day they were all wee ones crawling around.

Here I am with two of my brothers-in-law and sharing some wine with my sisters-in-law. Wine out of plastic cups was just fine with us. I love these people!

Here's a cutie-patootie great-grandaughter. And Grandpa holding her baby. Way to represent the Packers, Grandpa! (They won the Super Bowl, in case anyone needs reminding.)

Ruff the doggie had the run of the place--no problem at a garage party. My sister-in-law showed us one of many quilts she'd recently made. Gorgeous!

It's not considered a party in this family until a card game breaks out. There were two full tables of Sheepshead being played. This is a favorite card game in this area. It's when the party get's the rowdiest--lots of free advice gets thrown around.

Every generation learns to play Sheepshead. It's a right of passage in the family to join the card table.

Here's King-Man's uncle, with a few tricks up his sleeve. 

Of course, we had to line up for group photos. My nephew who was taking these photos likened it to herding cats. It took a few tries to get everyone to look at the camera. The first photo is of Grandpa with 9 of his 10 kids and their spouses. In the second photo, he's with his grandkids.

And, here are King-Man and me with Al, the birthday boy. Two King-MEN that I love.

Did I mention we had a blizzard during the party? The horizontal snow kind. The next morning as we headed down Grandpa's driveway to drive home, we got stuck in a snowdrift. That's right, didn't even make it out of the driveway. Our nephew, Jonathan, came to the rescue with shovels. I watched he and King-Man shovel from the warmth of the car. I'm no dummy.

This was the road as we were driving away. Covered in snow, a bit of a treacherous drive, but peaceful and beautiful, too.

As we drove the 8 hours back to St. Louis, I reflected on the party and realized that it was one of the most fun I'd ever attended. I'll continue to have fun throwing my fancy, fussy parties, but I think I'll be throwing some garage parties, too. Because, the best parties are in garages. Lesson learned.

Birthday congratulations and a blizzard of love to my father-in-law, Al. For 90 years, he's led a life of hard work and integrity. He earned all of the love that was showered on him at the party. We're all looking forward to his 100th birthday!

Have you been to a garage party? Fun, huh?

Make it a yummy day!

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