Celebrate life’s milestone achievements with the ones you love—and lots of cake! Celebrating life’s big moments, whether a graduation, anniversary, birthday or other special event, honors how we spent our days. Milestone achievements bring people together, for big reasons. And who doesn’t love a party? Sharing with those closest to us that make these moments shine.
When Angie Walters threw a fortieth-birthday dinner party for her husband, she opted to forego the “over the hill” themes and throw a party without the stress of planning one. Cue the in-home chef, and this soirée goes from fun to fabulous. Enjoying a menu of charcuterie, pear salad, beef tenderloin, and chocolate lava cake, guests took their time and didn’t feel rushed; they could look forward to a night of catching up and listening to stories about the birthday boy, Bryan. “Even just having drinks and knowing nobody had to travel anywhere—a couple of people spent the night, and nobody felt they had to get up and clear the table,” Walters said. The chef brought all of the food and most of the pans, helped set the table, cleared every course when finished, and even cleaned the kitchen before leaving.
Walters looks back on the night of homemade place cards, personalized and inside joke gifts, and conversations, and recalls her cheeks hurting from so much smiling and laughing. “I’m hoping Bryan felt taken care of or cared for. Having a milestone birthday and going into it with a positive feeling and love from people in your life, it’s important. They are there for whatever is going to be coming in the next year.”
People define milestones in different ways. To celebrate her five-year “cancer-versary” (five years of being cancer-free), young breast cancer survivor Lori Ostreko and her husband took a getaway to Mexico and drank champagne every day. “I called the resort ahead of time,” said Ostreko, who told staff, “I want it in my room when I wake up. I want it for breakfast in mimosas. Keep if flowing.”
Doing something big with her husband by her side was necessary for Ostreko, and “clinically speaking, the five-year mark is a huge mark to hit.” Lying on a gorgeous beach, looking at the water, eating too much, and talking all day was the vacation agenda to properly celebrate and open a new chapter in the couple’s life.
Written by: Click here to see the original version of this article by Missy Black.
