Paris, France or Paris in Texas

A friend celebrated her 50th birthday a couple of months ago. While it might have been on her wishlist to celebrate it in Paris, France, the celebration materialised right here in Texas, and not Paris, Texas either. The inability to do this in France was not a deterrent, in fact it was an impetus to see how close we could come to the French vibe. We celebrated with a decidedly french brunch in her living room for 30 guests. We did one of those quick change transformations I have become known for. So we started with her living room as it was, and within an hour - voila - her own French bistro, named after her, emerged.

The setting: A complete mock-up of a bistro "Chez Lesley" situated in sight of the Eiffel Tower. the bistro sign showed weathering giving the impression that it had been in existence for some time. A nine-foot Eiffel Towel fashioned out of foam core was built and lit with twinkle lights and was central to the bistro space. We used the "fleur de lis" as a motif. French signs and mini french flags were hung around the space.

Card tables were covered by checked tablecloths, iron lanterns and fine tableware from the guest of honor's stash. An artist took a break and left his beret, his easel and his shoulder bag un-attended nearby, along with a huge basket of gift bags for guests to take home french pastry goodies and flags as favors.

The food: For starters guests (bistro patrons) were served sliced red, juicy strawberries with blackberries and blueberries, drizzled with cointreau and orange custard in black martini glasses. French delicacies from La Madeleine, yummy crossaints with a variety of meaty fillings, and luscious french pastry filled with cream and fruit were then served restaurant style along with cheese cake and french wine. Are you salivating? I am. By the way, La Madeleine was very helpful and was able to have our order ready on very short notice.

$TIP: Most servings are larger than the average person can or will eat, particularly dessert items, so cut larger dessert servings into two or three. Moving towards a healthier lifestyle is becoming more mainstream and so sometimes just a taste of a rich dessert is quite enough. You will find that this also tends to reduce waste. After all, you can always come back for seconds, or thirds.

The music: I lucked into finding a wonderful French CD that was just sitting on a sale table at Pier One just begging to be used in just this way. I was happy to oblige.
$TIP: Scout around on sale tables for items that are a little different that will add pop to your celebration and elevate it with a little oomph. Pier One among other lifestyle stores is a good place to do this.

The extra detail: A bottle of french wine was tucked on the couple's bed with a note in french, asking "voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir?" Hopefully it was the right question and that the answer was "oui."

This entire surprise event was planned and executed within 72 hours.

First we decided on a theme. Themes tend to make party design come together much easier. This one was easy, since the guest of honor had expressed her desire to celebrate in France, in the past. Once a theme is decided, everything else falls into place, as you simply follow the cultural components or the popular characteristics of the theme. So the setting, food, music in this case, all took on a decidedly french flavor. The internet is a great resource for locating or validating the authenticity of your theme components.

If you don't have a party planner involved, make sure you create a list of tasks in each area - for example: guest list and invitations, site preparation, food, music, lighting, decor, favors and entertainment - that need to be accomplished and assign someone to complete each one. Make sure there is someone to lead the effort and follow-up the delegated tasks, and ensure that they are all on track. My years of project management experience has been immeasurably helpful to me as an event planner.

The guest of honor was overwhelmed with the accuracy of the details, she felt very special. We made a lifelong memory. Details will do that.

For a cost of under $350 the effect was "this is priceless and I won't ever forget this day" (direct quote from the guest of honor, as she beamed endlessly). We were able to keep the cost down by shopping the guest of honor's house first, and re-purposing several objects, for example, french wall plates became a part of the decor, and some became serving plates.

Remember, perfection is not the central component in making a memory - its possible that it may play a part - but I would venture to say that the simple act of trying to be perfect probably severely inhibits any organic ability to create a genuine feeling of giving a gift, imperfect though it may be. Ina Garten (the barefoot contessa) loyalists recognize this. Most of us, by now, realize that few things go perfectly, and so the positive energy of "doing for someone else" that emerges when pulling together a "special" event is what promotes the feeling that recipients and guests never forget. Everything you did was singly channeled into this gift.
So quick, what can you transform your deck, your patio, your family room or your favorite event space into and who can you make a memory for? What you come up is only limited by your imagination.
Send me a comment to let me know what you did., or what you want to do. If you need help in fleshing out the idea let me know that too.