Steve's 40th Birthday Party

In my opinion you can’t ignore your 40th birthday so why not shout it from the rooftops and organise a party to celebrate.

Jo got in contact with me after the two of them went on holiday to South Africa to visit Steve’s family. Whilst they were there, they asked Steve’s sister when they might come to visit them in the UK. Knowing Steve was turning 40, his sisters reply was ‘If you organise a party for Steve’s birthday then we will come over’. Well with that reply, there was no question that Jo was going to plan a party so they could all get together again.

Initially Jo was going to organise a surprise party for Steve but finding it hard to keep it a secret she decided to tell him.

Jo  got in contact with me when she realised there would be quite a few jobs that needed doing on the evening itself. With Steve’s family coming all the way from South Africa she wanted to be free to spend some quality time with them and to chat with all their friends and family.

We met up a couple of weeks before the party so Jo could share with me what she had planned and what she wanted to happen on the night. These meet-ups give me the information I need to write up a detailed time-plan to ensure no job big or small gets forgotten...

I met with Jo during the day of the party to help her set everything up and to decorate the venue with her own decorations. With balloons, to blow up african animals and streams of fun and embarrassing photos of Steve it was clear this was going to be a fun evening!

In the evening I arrived early to meet with one of Jo’s little surprises... Becky and Matt from Bloc Photobooths with their fabulous photobooth.  

After finding them a big enough space, Becky & Matt set up their awesome photobooth with amazing props, some which they had personalised especially for Steve...

Not long after, Shane from DJH Entertainments arrived and I showed him where to set-up ready to blast some tunes to get the party started!

Soon after, one of Jo’s work colleagues and friends arrived, Elliott, who was going to capture the evenings events on camera. Elliott usually photographs cars for a living so Jo had asked me to chat with him about what would be good to capture images of throughout the evening.

In the kitchen was Jo’s mum and step-mum who had been busy preparing some of the food. The main dish was one of Steve's favourite South African dishes called ‘Bunny Chow’. This is a lamb curry served in a bread roll which I have to say tasted absolutely amazing. It was served with a side of curried potato which was a super yummy accompaniment. Prepping the rolls by taking the lids off, together we made sure everything was ready to serve once their guests arrived.

It wasn’t long before guests started pouring through the door and of course the birthday boy himself!

Everyone soon took a shine to the photo-booth which kept Becky & Matt busy by printing out the photos and giving one copy to the guest and sticking one into a photo album. Having the photo album meant the guests could also write Steve a birthday message which is a really nice keepsake to remind him of his 40th birthday.

Whilst all the guests were mingling, I laid out the other more traditional party food Jo had cooked and quickly got on with serving up the bunny chow with Jo’s step-mum and mum in the kitchen. Offering around this South African speciality it went down a storm and guests kept coming back throughout the evening for more!

After clearing away all the plates it meant it was pudding time and you can’t have a birthday without a cake.

One of Jo’s friends had made a fabulous cake with a South African vibe and decorated it with Steve’s favourite sweets.  Not only this she had made a mountain of yummy cupcakes which didn’t last long!

Of course, cake time meant it was perfect timing for a mini speech from the birthday boy and it gave his family a chance to say a few words of embarrassment as well as some heartfelt words which was really lovely to hear.

Alongside the cake, Jo’s mum had made some wonderful puddings so there was a huge selection of sweet treats for everyone to dig into...

Once everything was eaten and everyone was full, I cleared away and reduced down what was left in case anyone wanted seconds later on!

The party was now in full swing, so once all the jobs were done it was time for me to leave, say my goodbyes and let everyone get on with having a good time.

When I caught up with Jo after the party it was so lovely to hear what a fabulous time they all had and reading her lovely review it just makes everything worthwhile...

Take a look at my website www.tasha-mae.co.uk for more information and get in touch with any questions...I promise you no question is a silly question!