The Raddest Surprise

I've been working every spare minute on a huge project.  If you will recall, when Mr. Man turned 40 last November, I swore I would throw him a surprise party in the summer.  Listen, I never break promises and I never wear black & navy together.
This surprise party was a huge undertaking with over 50 guests, and guests arriving from 5 different states.   Have you met Mr. Man?  Let me tell you something, Mr. Man is a homebody, he can't stand running errands, and doesn't like to leave the house unless he has to.   How on earth would I pull off a surprise party with Mr. Man home all the time?   
Enter my genius idea...  Mr. Man is a generous man, who will do most anything if asked nicely.  So one of his very dear friends asked if we would host an 80's theme party for the youth (ages 14-18) of our church. Mr. Man said yes, and happily helped set up for what turned out to be his very own party. Lots of people ended up having to lie to Mr. Man, and what good lying friends I have, they all did their job beautifully.  Mr. Man had NO clue as he worked so hard.

 

From 6:30-7:15, guests were stashed at the Neighbor-steins house.  That was a last minute decision, as Mr. Man was supposed to be outside setting up his DJ equipment for the dancing portion of the evening.  However, he finished the set up early, and was lolly gagging around in the bustling kitchen while I panicked and watched people drive up.  Cinnamon was gracious enough to stealthly deliver the guests to the Neighbor-steins.  The Neighbor-steins  were dressed to the nines, I love them so much, you have no idea how awesome this little tiny neighborhood is. Mr. Neighbor-stein was dressed like Michael Jackson, with the sequined glove and socks.

 

At 7:15, I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown trying to hide everyone.  I got the guests while Mr. Uncle went out to distract Mr. Man with some questions about equipment. 

The dozen or more guests who arrived on time gathered in our drab boring living room.  Their jazzy 1980's outfits really snazzed up the room, I'm thinking I need to add some 80's flair in there. 

 I went and got Mr. Man and begged him for help cutting up watermelon. He was shocked, when everyone said, "SURPRISE, HAPPY BIRTHDAY"

It took just a minute for everything to click, and he realized, "Wait, this is a party for me? For what? My birthday was 6 months ago." 

 I cannot believe I pulled it off.  It took oodles of white lies, and I had to be incredibly nosey for weeks to find out just who Mr. Man hangs out with at work, basketball, and socially.  Mr. Man doesn't talk a whole lot, so it took some stealth detective work.  Mr. Man may never trust me again, but who cares I did it! I pulled off the "Ultimate 80's Surprise Party!"

And look at how happy he is greeting his guests!

 Our guests had THE BEST costumes.  This is Mrs. Neighbor-steins socks!

 We had lots of fun activities for people to do at leisure. A Coke vs. Pepsi taste test. 

 

Mr. Boy helped man the firepit and helped serve s'mores.

We had Atari's set up for our friends to play on, 80's Rock Band, and a yearbook (photobook) for people to sign. 

 

By far the most popular activity was the "Glamour Shots by EllJayJay."  She was awesome, and captured the most insanely awesome pictures of our guests in all their glamour glory. 

 

I could not have done the party without a whole host of people, including Cinnamon, who was able to track down some missing guest contact info.  Here is Cinnamon with Super Cute Pregnant Jill. (Hi Jill's mom,Lynn!)

I was tempted to push these gentlemen into the pool, but I tried to be a gracious host. 

That's a lot of candles!

Happy Belated Birthday Mr. Man!

All in all, it was a huge success. Totally worth all the time and effort.  Happy Belated Birthday Mr. Man!