A surprise birthday party!

In the dead of winter, it is easy to feel uninspired, no matter how busy a person actually is. At least, that was the case for me. When I then realized that my cousin, Ulrika, was about to have a birthday, and that she is in Uppsala, hours away from her family...the plan formed. We should host a birthday party for her--she is turning 30 after all--but we should make it a surprise!

Tomas was supportive of the idea, although he did wonder if I had time for it. No, probably not...but sometimes a little perking up is in order. I love to have parties, and to make it a surprise would be a fun challenge.

Setting the table the morning of the party. Candy sprinkle confetti was added just before the party, so we wouldn't eat it all ahead of time... 

First, I contacted Ulrika's husband and asked him to get her class schedule so that we could find a date. Then I contacted Ulrika's circle of friends and we all started sending messages to each other. Once a date and time were established, I started planning the fun details, like the menu and decorating. (See menu, below). The day of the party I studied while I prepared the food, in advance, and decorated. Decorations were simple, but I was quite pleased with the result. Since we have a two-year-old, I wanted decorations to be safe as well, so I bought a container of candy heart confetti (and the pink color comes from beets). First I covered the table in a dark patterned tablecloth from Yunnan, China, and then sprinkled it generously with pink candy hearts. For all courses we brought out different dishes, for fun and variation. The only other decoration we bought was Tomas bought one bunch of 10 tulips. I trimmed them down and put them in cleaned baby food jars that I have saved, with a little ribbon around the top for fun. These make a very nice table; they are a good height so they don't interfere with conversation, and they are inexpensive since you only need to buy one bunch of flowers!


Since I am also studying and both busy and not making any income, we needed to make the party festive, but not super pricey. It all turned out great! We finally invited Ulrika who thought she was just coming over for tea, but in reality, her other friends were here, ready to celebrate her birthday. It ended up being a hit! We all talked and laughed until much too late at night; we all ate way too much; and the evening was over much too quickly!

Menu
Appetizer: Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with cousin Helene's homemade organic bread and two kinds of cheese

Main course: Two kinds of quiches: Mushroom and broccoli quiche and smoked salmon quiche, served with mixed green salad with pears

Dessert: Tea and coffee served with generous pieces of carrot cake, served on white plates with candy sprinkles and topped with a heart-shaped piece of Swedish chocolate. Bonus: a plate of chocolate chip walnut cookies for the table.