My Hippie Dippy 60th Birthday Party!!!

I turned 60 a couple days ago...Happy Belated Birthday to me!!!

I'd been wondering how to celebrate, and finally settled on a combined joint birthday party (with my husband, Alan, who turned 60 this past June) and an Open House. We invited our pals to drop in, see our new "pad", and celebrate with us.

We decided on a "Hippie" theme, since we grew up in the 60s and 70s. Groovy, right?

The "dippy" part of the invitation referred to the food. I invited guests to bring their favorite dips (the kind you eat, not your date). I love dips of all kinds! I also made Alan's favorite food - sloppy joes - and updated them by doing sloppy joe sliders with yummy Hawaiian rolls.

I encouraged/invited guests to wear hippie clothing, and told my family they HAD to wear some groovy hippie threads for the big night. And here's what went down...from left to right....

Husband, Alan, ordered a giant Afro wig that I vetoed, but he wore anyway (sigh). Ali (oldest daughter) wore a vintage mumu from her friend's grandmother's closet. She did a leather headband, and looked very "flower child" to me (and I would know...I lived through the 60s!).  She also crafted a little fringed leather collar for her dog, Henry. That's me in the middle with my love beads and John Lennon rose-colored glasses. Sarah (youngest daughter) is wearing my friend's vintage dress from the 60s. It reminds me of something Twiggy used to wear - so authentic it makes me think of middle school. Son-in-law, Jeff, was rocking the love beads, glasses and some giant bell bottoms!

We greeted everyone at the door and handed out funky love beads to get them in the hippie groove. 

And guess what...some other hippies showed up at our party, too! This groovy couple was practically unrecognizable to me!  Jean (left) is usually in conservative banker clothes...but who knew about her inner hippie? I'm still finding strands of her luscious blond hair around the house. Her husband, Dennis, is always hilarious, but his "tattoo sleeves" were a real hoot.

These flower children were also a big transformation from our usual longtime friends, Steve and Saundra. It was hard to tell who was hiding under all the punk hair and heavy beard. Their sparkly glasses were definitely very "Elton John-ish".

The ladies below won the prize for coming the farthest, for a non-relative (my daughter and husband came from Chicago). Look familiar? It's Lindy and Mona from The Silver Needle in Tulsa. Thanks for making the long trek to/fro Ta-town on a Saturday night.

Here are some other hippies enjoying their dippies in our living room. 

And a few more hipsters hanging out in our sunroom. Check out the open windows...the October weather is gorgeous. I just love having my birthday in October, because I never know what the weather will bring.

Alas, all groovy parties must come to an end. So we ended with a "selfie"(below). Clearly "selfies" weren't around in the 60s, but they're sure a part of life now, and so much fun.  

Thanks, everyone, for making our 60th birthdays a really groovy affair! It's back to daily life, so we're trading in our John Lennon specs for our "readers" and our platform shoes for comfy, sensible shoes!