Operation Fiesta Forty

For the past couple of months, I (along with 7 other hosts) have been planning a surprise 40th birthday party for my coworker and friend Tara. Tara is a wonderful person who constantly thinks and does for others. She was very deserving of a special party. So, a group of us got together and developed Operation Fiesta Forty.

If you know me well, you know I am all about a theme. When planning an event, a theme helps me to stay focused and organized. AND, I am all about a Spanish/Mexican feel for a party. I mean, who doesn't like chips, salsa, margaritas, etc.?!?!?!

We began with securing a location (Manzanillos in Sango). Then we worked on setting a menu as well as creating and sending invitations. To make sure we had everyone invited, we stole her cell phone from her classroom and wrote down the names and numbers from her contact list. We began calling key people to get names and addresses. The invitation list was probably the hardest part because we didn't want to leave anyone out. Then, I called her other job to make sure she was off for the night of the party. Other details were taken care such as getting her hair done the day before, making and fluffing paper flowers, getting her to the party without suspicion, etc, etc. There was a lot of planning involved (THANKS to the other hosts for allowing me delegate responsibilities), but it was, without a doubt, worth all the hard work when she walked in and all 75 of us yelled "SURPRISE!"

Above are a few pics I took while we were setting up...big thanks to Norm for taking pics for the night. Once I have those, I will post some more!