Celebrating John {A Snack, A Party & A Dinner}

I never much cared for the Thanksgiving birthday until I realized I’d have a good chance at having my boy home to celebrate with him for a few more years!! He slept over at his best friend’s house, and told me they celebrated at midnight. When he returned home, I had a few of his favorites ready.

We’ve never loved a bakery more than McEntrye’s. I made a jaunt over there to pick up gingerbread men, donut boys and cheese straws. There were more, but they were gobbled up by hungry teens before I could even snap a photo.

The birthday cupcake, plate and elf have been on John’s birthday table for 19 years now! The cupcake and plate were both gifts from sweet friends back when John was an infant, and the elf was an original found at a local market before he was even born (Sister made me buy him….). Of course, my Happy Everything! and Nora Fleming pieces made an appearance. I did add the beautiful birthday runner to my collection this year (April Cornell).

John wanted ostrich boots so I took him shopping for the perfect pair. I loved having an afternoon with him one on one. Those are rarer than ever, as I’m sure you can imagine.

I always give the boys a “forever gift” on their birthdays. This year, I worked on this Sigma Chi cross stitch for months! John LOVED it! As I worked on stitch after stitch (after stitch after stitch…) I thought about how Daddy-O did the exact same for me 29 years ago when he surprised me with the ZTA crest cross stitch!

John had a party at home with his friends last night. The house is decorated for Christmas and and the back yard and cabana were so festive that I didn’t need to add a thing (thanks to Marme for helping me get the last of the garland up!). His high school crew showed up in full – about thirty in total. They blared Christmas music (I’ve shared this about them before and love them for it!), played ping pong, watched sports and enjoyed the hot tub. Honey made more than thirty smash burgers on the Blackstone. My cheeks hurt from grinning and my heart felt like it could burst having these kids back in our home.

Since he was celebrating with friends last night, we did our family dinner on his birthday eve. He picked Melting Pot, per ususal.

He’s easy to love and easy to celebrate. Happy Birthday, John!

(Can’t wait to do it all over again for Whit in two weeks!!!)

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