50th Anniversary Party

50 years of marriage. FIFTY. If that's not worth celebrating, I don't know what is.

My dear in-laws celebrated their big 5-0 last year, and I was able to help put together their party. 

I will share some of the ways we made their day memorable through the decorations, food and gifts that honored this amazing couple.

Decorations & Gifts:

These balloons were a big hit. My in-laws had never seen anything like them, and I was so glad I had gone to the trouble of packing them in the car for the drive!  I found mine at a local party store, but you can also find them HERE. Most grocery stores will fill them with helium for a small fee.

Two of the decorations doubled as gifts for the couple. 

One was a bunch of 4x6 pictures I had printed at Costco. I found pictures from when they were newlyweds all the way up until recent ones with their grandkids.  

When I printed them, I chose to have a white border around so they had a more finished look. 

Then I bought jute twine and some miniature clothespins and we displayed their picture memories all around the room. They absolutely LOVED this simple but meaningful display. In fact, they took them home still on the twine and hung them in their own home.

The other decor/gift was a memory poster I bought on Etsy. This party doubled as my father-in-law's 80th birthday, so I bought one board commemorating his birthyear, and one commemorating the year they were married.  You will receive a digital download of the design, then you can get them printed wherever you choose. I used Costco's 16x20 poster board. It is super durable and reasonably priced.

I bought the "50 Years Ago" design from Digital Board. 

I bought the "80 Years ago" birth year design from Little Mountain Top. 

These, as well, were taken home with my in-laws and displayed in their home. 

Food: 

The refreshments were simple, but just right. 

We asked in advance what each of their favorite cakes were (carrot, chocolate, and lemon pound were all listed), so we had some of each. 

Additionally, I bought several "old fashioned" candies and displayed them in mason jars.  Here are some of the candies, along with links to where you can find them:

• Dad's Root Beer Barrels (my favorites)
• Bit O Honey
• Sugar Daddys
• Necco Wafers
• Atomic Fire Balls
• Charleston Chews
• Zots
• Chicklets
• Tootsie Rolls
• Smarties

I used chalkboard labels on each of the mason jars. I love that chalkboard decorations are so prevalent, and they fit with an "old fashioned" theme!

Though the party was simple (by their request), it was filled with love and memories from their many happy years together. 

"New Fashioned" Oatmeal Pie

Oatmeal Pie. If you've never had it, you are missing out. It is NOT like eating a bowl of hot breakfast with a crust around it, so don't even go there.

It is a closer relative to the best pecan pie you've ever had. NOT the kind that is 80% sugary gel sandwiched between a crust and some nuts.  Think about the ideal  pecan pie, where everything is perfectly melded together in each bite. Sweet, but not so sweet that your throat burns and you feel a diet coming on.

An ideal Oatmeal Pie is like the perfect oatmeal cookie and the perfect macaroon were in a tornado and they ended up combined in a way only fate could orchestrate;  and they are resting together after the storm in a flaky crust made of their close relatives, butter and coconut oil.

This is a "New-Fashioned" Oatmeal Pie because I based my recipe on one from a cookbook that belonged to my grandmother, but I changed it to make it more conducive to today's health knowledge. (i.e.: ALOT less sugar, more oats and coconut).

We had it last night for our family night treat, but since I was out of natural light by that time, I had to vigilantly guard the last piece so I could get a decent photograph this morning to show.  My boys wanted it for breakfast, for lunch, for snack, etc.  I think I may need to whip up another.

Here it is fresh out of the oven. The house smelled heavenly.

"New Fashioned" Oatmeal Pie

Ingredients:
1 unbaked pie crust (I used Yesterfood's Coconut Oil Pie Crust #1)
3 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup flaked coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.

Beat together eggs, sugars, and butter.  Add oats, coconut and vanilla and mix well. Pour into pie crust.

Bake 30-35 minutes, until no longer liquid in the middle.

Allow to cool at least 1/2 hour before serving. Delicious warm or cold or in-between.

This post is partying at: 

Saturday Dishes