So far I have shared with you these details of my 33rd birthday party:
In this post I will tell you about the pampering.
The entire theme of my party was spa & relaxation. This party really wasn't about celebrating my birthday as much as it was an excuse to throw a party. As if I need an excuse, but when you go all out like I did, you need to justify some of the spending when explaining the party to your husband. ahem
When guests first came in, after taking off their shoes, dropping their coats, and signing my house guest book...they were able to have their jewelry professionally cleaned. My husband & I own a cleaning and restoration business. We use this ultra-sonic cleaner to clean jewelry that has been in a fire damage. The solution we use is Dawn dish soap. Super scientific I know. The exciting part is the ultra-sonic cleaner that vibrate and gets all the tiny particles out of your jewelry. It also cleans glasses, actually...this is what your eye care center uses to clean glasses. After my guests has sparkly clean jewelry, they were ushered into my kitchen dining area where the food and drinks were.
They were then urged to sign their name for a time slot on the massage therapists list! She gave 10 minute massages to everyone who signed up! If you choose to do this for your own party, I would highly recommend finding someone who charges by the minute. Although I had 30 women in my home, only about 25 got massages. Who doesn't like a massage? Abbi charged $1 per minute. I knew since I was going to be wrapped up in hostessing that I wouldn't have much time to enjoy a massage, so I had Abbi come to my home a few days before the party and gave me a full hour massage. She brings her table to my home!
The spa zone was in our basement. Which has a second full kitchen. This was the perfect spot to have the pedicures done! Stephanie, my pedicurist, brought her assistant and proceeded to give 20 pedicures! She was here until midnight! It was well worth it though! This was the largest pedicure party that she has ever done. Her charges were per person. Which was nice because only 20 out of 30 got the pedicures done. She did the full foot soak, clipping, filing, massaging, and polish on each of us. Good thing Stephanie teaches Zumba classes because she got her workout that night!
Several times people asked..."It's your birthday, we should be pampering you..not you pampering us". To that I say, seeing my friends sitting back, talking, being pampered, meeting new people, getting out of the norm of their every day lives...is gift enough for me. I also wanted to break the mold a bit for the current party standards that people get stuck in. You know...the parties that we have only if we are trying to sell something...jewelry, make up, food, home decor.
All of those businesses are great, and I have even sold a couple of them here and there. But some times it is nice to go to a party where there are no expectations to purchase anything...or to throw a party where you don't have to worry about how much you are selling. If you sold enough to get the free gifts.
As women, we are by nature always serving people, whether spouses or kids, or other family members, churches. Everybody deserves to be pampered. Every women deserves to feel beautiful, loved, cared for. Every woman deserves to laugh until tears stream down her face. These are all things we forget to stop and enjoy when we get caught up in the norm. I wanted people to step into my front door and feel like they had been transported somewhere farther than just minutes from their homes. To forget about all of their every day worries, even if just for a few hours.
Pampering my friends, was my favorite gift I received this birthday, which I might add was almost my favorite birthday of all. (You just can't beat getting a Rainbow Brite doll, Pony, and dress for your 7th birthday)
I have 2 more posts to complete and close the chapter on my 33rd birthday. Next up is the gifts, and last but not least...the people.
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