Planning parent’s anniversary party on your mind?
It’s customary for siblings to get involved in planning a parent’s 50th-anniversary party. And while it’s easy for some families that chose to reside in the same hometown state as their parents to coordinate such an affair, nowadays it’s not that uncommon for siblings to be scattered across different states or even a different country.
But distance shouldn’t prevent you from getting involved or celebrating with your family. In fact, living overseas might drive you more to do it.
As much as my parents were hoping to travel for their 50th wedding anniversary, last-minute developments in my mom’s cancer journey put those plans to a halt. With only 30 days to go till their golden anniversary, my siblings and I jumped into action to make this milestone extra special.
Whether you choose to just be informed, to be assigned tasks, or even take the party planning wheel, here are 10 tips to plan an anniversary party while living abroad.
How To Plan An Anniversary Party From Another Country
Photo courtesy of Zac Taylor Photography
1. Talk To The Guests Of Honor First
While an anniversary party might sound amazing to some, to others it can be their worse nightmare or fear. In fact, my parents had zero interest in any sort of anniversary party. They repeatedly informed us 6 months prior to their 50th anniversary that they did NOT want a party.
They had their minds set on St Maarten if the doctors cleared my mom for travel. In anticipation of that approval, they wanted nothing more. So when the news came through that she couldn’t travel for a while, my sister and I set into action to create plan B.
With WhatsApp we collaborated on options, “the message”, and who would be brave enough to ask my parents for the umpteenth time if we could throw them a 50th anniversary party.
After waiting a couple of weeks for mom’s cancer status to settle, I braved the question via WhatsApp video call with Mom and Dad.
Without asking twice, they agreed. And so with a sister in Georgia, a brother in Maine, and myself in England, my lead role in planning an anniversary party from another country officially kicked off.
2. Agree On Roles & A Budget
Before any decisions are made, talk to your other siblings or joint party hosts about how involved they can be. Don’t get far into party planning without setting clear expectations. Establish roles and be honest.
This can be as simple as saying, “I don’t have the time. Can you just let me know what you need me to do?” to “These are the ways in which I can help.” And then be specific.
If you know your siblings or joint party hosts well enough then setting expectations or knowing what’s possible can be pretty easy and straightforward. Just have the conversation.
And don’t be afraid to take the lead organizing a party just because you live abroad. In fact, living in another country might be the perfect opportunity to do something special for your family that you rarely get to see or perhaps didn’t have the time for while living stateside.
Although it sounds like organizing a party abroad would be a ton of work and completely impossible to pull off, the truth is it’s not that hard if you follow this guide.
3. Get The Invitation List & Create A Google Doc
To keep your parents and your role simple with who gets invited, have your parents provide the invitation list and contact information.
Take the invitation list and turn it into a google doc that can be shared among the siblings or other party helpers. This way everyone has the same information at all times, which is incredibly helpful when you live across different timezones.
4. Decide The Venue & Date
Once roles are clear and a budget has been established, start getting quotes from a few venues. If making an international call isn’t possible, most venues have websites with online contact forms and social media profiles.
If time is of the essence, contact the venue directly by email or use social media to get in touch. Download Facebook Messenger app if emails or online forms aren’t generating a response.
Narrow party location choices based on:
- Party Budget: Consider the total estimate based upon an 85% attendance rate and 10-20% service tip if the party is in the USA. List out the total estimated expenses. Use my Simple Party Planning Expense Spreadsheet.
- Convenience: How much time will you have to set up, take down and clean up? If you have help and the time then doing it yourself works. But, if you don’t have the time or local hands to help and want to enjoy the party without all the stress of doing it on your own, consider a venue that does it all for you.
- The guests of honor: What do they want? Not sure? Then ask them.
5. Send The Party Invitations Through Social Media
Paper invitations are tricky to send abroad because postage is more expensive and can be a hassle on both ends. And if you’re organizing a party within 30 days, mailing paper invitations overseas is the least realistic option. There is simply not enough time for the invitation to arrive and return RSVPs.
There are a couple of ways to make invitations work. I used two strategies to quickly inform all attendees and to start receiving RSVPs. This way all travelers can make arrangements, and also accommodate any invitees that don’t use any form of social media.
Create a party invitation on Facebook.
Even if the invitation list includes people that aren’t part of your Facebook friend list, you can find them and add them to the Facebook event.
Use Shutterfly or enlist local help to mail party invitations.
Ask a friend that lives in the same country or state as the party location to create and mail invitations on your behalf. Despite social media being a great invitation option, it does require every invitee to be on social media. And for a 50th-anniversary party, I can promise you they won’t.
Include your email address on the paper invitation or a Google Voice phone number to manage the responses. As responses arrive update the Google party doc.
6. Get Inspired On Pinterest But Keep It Simple
Use Pinterest to get inspired by selecting a style, flowers, or overall vibe you want to create for the party. The trick here is to keep it simple. The more elaborate choices you make the harder it is to pull off from another country.
Pick a theme and party choices that you like but easy to do.
Consult with siblings and the venue organizer before making decisions to be sure what you want to do can be accomplished, like making a seating chart, a DIY card box and wood slice displays as shown here.
7. Enlist Local Help To Receive Packages, Party RSVPs & More
If you’re trying to manage a party from another country you absolutely need the help of someone on the ground local to the party location. This might be your sibling, another member of the family that lives locally, or even a neighbor.
Your peep on the ground can receive packages you need to ship, research the party venue on your behalf, run errands to pick up items you can’t buy online, provide local suggestions that you need help with for out-of-town guests, or even dry clean that wedding dress that’s been stored in a 50-year-old plastic container so it can be put on display at the party.
Put the wedding dress on display
You’ll be surprised how many local people want to jump in to help with special occasions like a 50th-anniversary party!
8. Use Family Talents To Make The Party Extra Special
For a 50th anniversary party, leverage your family and close friends to add a personal party touch. Leveraging family talent typically costs nothing more than time and bravery to pull off. You simply have to ask.
A few entertainment options to consider beyond a traditional dance floor include a classic slideshow and leveraging the talents of the grandchildren.
While a slideshow always goes over well, it’s also more time-consuming and can be complicated to pull together while living abroad.
Collecting pictures, relying on people to contribute, and annotating photos can take a really long time.
So what’s the alternative to hiring anniversary party entertainment? The grandchildren.
Nothing will move the guests of honor more than a personal show put on by the grandchildren.
Consider asking family members to:
- Play an instrument
- Sing a song
- Read a poem
- Draw a work of art that can be put on display
And not just isolated to entertainment, leverage family talents where they exist, like these wood centerpieces and cake stand made by my brother who’s a local craftsman and entrepreneur in Maine.
Photo courtesy of The 1812 Farm, Bristol, Maine
Or even baking the cakes, like a couples cake made by my aunt and a grand one made by a very special neighbor.
Photo courtesy of The 1812 Farm, Bristol, Maine
Without a doubt, the unique creations of friends and family all coordinated from a distance will create lasting memories.
Photo courtesy of Zac Taylor Photography
Your part is asking for help and sharing a vision, which can be easily done over email, Facebook Messenger, Pinterest, WhatsApp or even Instagram for your millennial relatives.
9. Shop Local And Keep It Simple…On Both Sides
Minimize the risk of exceeding the 22kg luggage limit and order everything you need online for the party in the country where the party will be. Choose retailers that make returns easy and try to buy most items from the same place. This way you simplify returns and your time on the ground when you arrive.
The simpler you keep the party, the easier pulling the party off from another country will be.
Best retailers for party purchases in the USA that can be easily accessed from another country are amazon.com and walmart.com. Walmart stores are nearly everywhere in the USA so returns are made easy. And Amazon is, well…Amazon. What’s not to like when it comes to convenience? Including flowers, like this babies breath that was used to fill Mason jars for table centerpieces and the cake decor.
Anniversary party photo display
And let’s not forget about what to wear. Rather than haul formal wear from one country to another, use Rent The Runway. With their guarantee of two sizes and even one backup dress for the first customer order, what’s not to love whether living abroad or local.
With reasonable prices for a dress you most likely won’t wear again and space you can use for other things you need to pack, Rent The Runway is the perfect solution for any party anywhere. In fact, I even got my mom to wear one.
Capture a photo of mom with her original wedding dress
With more space available in the suitcase and as your budget allows, add your own living abroad touch to the party. Consider something from your local country for the party hosts to wear, like these hair fascinators. My brother didn’t wear one, but my sister-in-law did.
The girls wore hairpieces delivered from England
10. Crowdsource The Spotify Playlist
Avoid the hassle of hiring a band or DJ and use Spotify instead. Not sure what to play? Post a request on the Facebook event page for every guest to recommend a song. Before you know it you’ll have a custom playlist created by the entire party.
Crowdsourcing the playlist creates a personal interest and makes them vested so that when their favorite song plays, you know you’ll have at least one person on the dance floor.
A Spotify playlist is easy to create from anywhere, making it a super easy and hassle-free solution living abroad.
Final Tips On Planning Parents Anniversary Party While Living Abroad
Remember to enjoy it! With all the party planning for your parent’s anniversary, don’t forget to watch your parent’s anniversary party unfold and simply enjoy it before you have to fly back.
It’s easy to get caught up in making sure the party details go flawlessly, but this 50th party is one to truly celebrate and keepsake forever. And you need to be engaged with the guests to do that!
Follow these 10 tips to plan a parent’s anniversary party from another country and create an unforgettable event – even if you only have 30 days to do it. You can create a life you love, including amazing parties, wherever you are!
Looking for more living abroad resources? Try these.
- How To Plan A Texas Hill Country 40th Birthday Party From Abroad
- 11 Good Things About Living In The UK (And Why I Want To Stay)
- Moving abroad? You NEED this: moving abroad checklist
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