I went to a party store and bought several feet of table paper covering (I chose green since that is Mom's favorite color). Mustering my inner amateur artist I proceeded to make a giant "Happy Birthday Mom" sign that would cover a fence that Mom sees when she looks out her kitchen window.
In the week before her birthday I asked her what her favorite all-time cake was. She gladly replied that her fave was one she made for years but hadn't made it for many years. She then promptly pulled out her recipe to share. I took a picture of that recipe so I could make that cake as a birthday cake. Her daughters live in other states so, really, she didn't have the benefit of enjoying holidays or birthdays with the special attention that a mother deserves, so I took it upon myself to make up for lost time. My in-laws are SO good to me (us). They so crave time and attention that they simply are game for anything at all that we plan for them. This leaves us lots of room for creativity for planning days in, or days out on roadtrips. We are also very lucky that both of them are healthy and mobile well into their 80's.December is a cold month here in Wisconsin but we still proceeded to cooked some simple food on the grill outside as the main dish and served it with her favorite chilled red moscoto wine. Grilling outside reduces the cleanup and dishes.
As several of us gathered around to celebrate, Mom was in heaven with a day built around some of her fondest memories!
For the sign, all I needed was an ultra-thick sharpie, 15' of paper table covering, and a staple gun. That's it!
By the way, no one cares if your sign isn't perfect. In fact, the less perfect it is the more endearing it becomes because it shows that you proceeded to put effort into something for them that was not necessarily your strong suit. You have nothing to loose so go ahead - channel your creative goddess and write your message big and bold! You will be rewarded with heartfelt smiles and a happy visiting session for the occasion.
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