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Post by savtele on Nov 4, 2016 1:33:56 GMT -5
What’s on your mind – how to make kugel? This week’s Torah reading? Life goals? Prayer? We are all engaged in weight loss/weight maintenance journeys and we are all Jewish or at least interested in Judaism. We like to eat, we like to discuss. It is our goal here to provide each other support on our journeys, to share experiences, to call on our rich cultural heritage and texts, and to help each other grow spiritually.
Some of us take weekly turns starting the thread:
Angelika
Holly
Lee
Louise
Lynne
Peachy
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Post by savtele on Nov 4, 2016 1:53:51 GMT -5
Boker Tov All! I want to thank you all for a very informative & enjoyable week! I loved everyone's input, I'm enchanted with Frieda's sense of humor, and Louise, you always amaze me with everything you get done! 1000 plated desserts - and no noshing!
At this time, I'm planning my mom's 90th b-day party in December. She told me she doesn't want a party - oy, wouldn't THAT come back to bite me if my siblings & I didn't plan one! (she has talked all our adult lives about how it's important to celebrate the decades) So - we are renting the Hall at the Continuing Care Facility where she lives. We're actually planning a luncheon & inviting all her friends (and the facility has already warned me that those who are not specifically invited will probably show up anyway....) One of my sisters is making a playlist. Lunch, cake, music, a lovely basket for Birthday cards. I suggested to my brother that we should probably sing something - he started to laugh & came up with an old "Congratulations" song that we used to mis-sing as children - so that will probably be happening. I'm asking the teenaged grandchildren to serve coffee/champagne.
Any ideas you ladies can come up with? I don't want to wear mom out, but we do want to make it nice for her!
I'm going to bed now - it's late. We'll "talk" in the AM!
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Post by hollygail on Nov 4, 2016 8:50:46 GMT -5
This isn't what you're asking, Angelika, but at my grandmother's 100th birthday bash (also at the facility where she'd been living for about 20 years since slipping on the ice on the sidewalk in front of her home in Brooklyn around age 80 and breaking her hip), someone hired a professional videographer. There were scenes that wouldn't have been remembered since not everyone had seen ALL the action in person ALL the time... Someone introduced (probably to a spouse or perhaps to one of the facility's staff) one cousin as the oldest grandchild, and on the video I watched that cousin chase after the introducer protesting "the FIRST grandchild" (I got more than a chuckle out of it).
Biz a hundret und tzvantzik!
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Post by peachymom1 on Nov 4, 2016 10:32:40 GMT -5
I'm terrible at event planning, so I don't have any ideas, but what you've suggested already sounds pretty good to me. I'm sure she will feel special and enjoy herself immensely. How lucky she is to have you.
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brgmsn
This space for rent
Posts: 14,215 
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Post by brgmsn on Nov 4, 2016 10:58:31 GMT -5
How about some sort of memory from folks who can't attend, or even those who can? Our favorite memory of mom (grandma, great grandma, my friend) is.....either via a card, note, or video?
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Post by gazelle18 on Nov 4, 2016 11:42:12 GMT -5
Beryl took my idea! I definitely think you should get something sent in from relatives who cannot attend.
Also, maybe a new photo of the whole family for her to hang in her room after the event.
Good shabbos all, and thanks for a great week, Angelika !
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Post by happysavta on Nov 4, 2016 12:16:42 GMT -5
Angelika, here's a couple of thoughts:
If your mom enjoyed music, how about researching a hit song of each decade of her life? Make a poster listing the name of the song and the decade it's from. Find it on utube and create a DVD, use it for background music at the party. One song each from the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s.
If there's someone in your family who is a good dancer, pick one of the songs and dance to it with your mother (if she is mobile).
How about a poster with a picture of her in each city or in each house that she has lived in? If she was a gardener, perhaps you have a picture of each of her gardens or pictures of her working in her garden.
If she was someone who enjoyed travelling, how about a poster with each of the places in the world she has visited?
I don't know your mom's name, but how about one group of grandchildren each holding up a sign with one letter from her name and saying something about her that starts with that letter. Example: B E T T Y "B" - Oma is a Best Friend to each of us. Etc.
Someone in your family who is good at telling jokes or speaking with an accentor who can intersperse a couple of German words should tell a joke.
The youngest group of great grandchildren could each hand her a flower and give her a kiss until she has a bouquet in her hands. That would make a nice photo op.
If your mom was a great cook, make a postcard with a picture of her and Oma's Secret Recipe for Something Yummy printed on it and give it away to every family member who attends as a keepsake.
Wish I knew your mom, I could be more on target, but you get the idea, I'm sure.
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Post by savtele on Nov 4, 2016 13:19:56 GMT -5
Thank you all for your wonderful ideas! I will certainly incorporate many of them!
Shabbat Shalom to you all!
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Post by happysavta on Nov 4, 2016 14:44:13 GMT -5
Since there are 4 or 5 siblings (right?), you could do a Sibling Rivalry dance. Each sibling does a couple of steps with Mom, keep very short, so as not to wear mom out.
Oldest sibling starts off with a waltz with Mom.
Then next sibling taps her sister/brother on the shoulder and cuts in, shoos off the older sibling, bows to Mom and holds out hand inviting Mom to dance with HER. Music changes to a tango (for example), do a couple of steps cheek to cheek, like tango dancers..
Next sibling cuts in, shoos off her older brother/sister, bows to Mom, pantomimes holding out her hand to ask Mom to dance with HER, music changes to a cha-cha (for example),
Last, 4th sibling cuts in, bows, etc and the music changes to the twist (for example).
At the end, all the siblings face the audience, arms around each other's waists, Mom is in the center and all the dancers bow to the audience.
You can embellish the performance with a blow up guitar, a balloon hat, a bongo drum or a kazoo, Best Dancer sign, or any other prop.
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Post by louise on Nov 4, 2016 15:27:02 GMT -5
Love what everyone is saying. Some kind of keepsake book would be wonderful with pictures, sayings, greetings, anecdotes from each decade would surely be cherished.
I just got home from the synagogue. The velvets came - a lot of things are not right about them but everything is up. When I see them tomorrow I will probably have a more objective view. For today though, I requested velvet tabs for the valance instead of rings - they charged me extra for that and proceeded to make way too many tabs and way too small (1/4"!). I figured out a way to get it hung for today (stuck in drapery hooks form the back) but will be sending it back to be corrected. The curtain itself is beautiful but they placed the motif and dedication embroidery too low on the curtain, leaving a big blank area at the top and the bottom hidden from view behind the torah table. Nothing to do about that. And then the shulchan (table) cover - had them custom design putting a few leaves in each corner to match the tree on the curtain- they are too big and awkwardly placed so the corners do not fall nicely. Hope they can fix that, but not sure. Finally, they were in such a rush they didn't steam any of the seams or hems. Maybe I'm nitpicking but this was all over $5000 so my expectations are high.
The desserts however - all good. The trays came out absolutely beautiful and the variety and quality of the treats is really high. Very proud.
And that's my story.
Shabbat shalom.
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