Kes and I love to entertain. One of the things we’ve looked forward to most throughout this whole Dreamhouse journey has been finally being able to invite our family and friends into our home. So when my father-in-law turned 70 a few weeks ago, we took the opportunity to host a small gathering of family to celebrate.

Today’s post is the first in a ‘Year of Feasting’ blog series we’re participating in along with 11 other bloggers. We were invited by Danyelle of Life is a Party, to join her as she makes more of an effort to connect in-person with family and friends throughout the year.  Each of us will be playing host to our loved ones and then sharing our real-life parties for each season. For Spring, we were fortunate to partner with Giant Tiger who generously provided a gift card for us to pick up some of the decor and food items we used to help pull things together. Be sure to check out everyone’s amazing Spring parties at the bottom of this post. Maybe you’ll even be inspired to host a party or two of your own!

We planned Kes’ Dad’s 70th birthday party together with my mother-in-law which helped take a lot of the pressure off. She provided pretty much all of the food for dinner so Kes and I literally just had to provide the decor & the space.

I made this fun oversized garland to hang above the dessert table after being inspired by Colleen over at Lemon Thistle. I was actually surprised at how easy it was and it turned out so much better than I expected (it may or may not still be hanging there 2 weeks later)!

I picked up these pillar candles which were a great addition to the tables. I had also initially planned to use clear glass vases for the floral centre pieces, but once I started putting everything together the dining table needed more color.  At the last minute I decided the cups that came with my punch dispenser could do double duty as vases and they worked out perfectly!

I was pleasantly surprised to find that Giant Tiger boasts a large grocery selection.  I was especially happy to find that they had  one of my favourite guilty pleasure sodas.

And of course what party would be complete without cocktails?

Kes is typically the resident bartender in our house. He gets a kick out of making special drinks for our guests – and he’s definitely not shy about having one or two himself – even if the other men in the room would rather just have a beer.  Yea…He’s fancy like that. LOL!

Life is often so busy that times where we get come together and sit down to have a meal as a family can seem so few and far between.  I guess that’s part of what makes gatherings like this so special.

Everyone really enjoyed having a reason to get together….and in this case we had 70 pretty good reasons. 🙂

Now be sure to check out all these amazing Spring Feasts and get inspired to have your own #yearoffeasting

THE DIY MOMMY – LIFE IS A PARTY – VINYETE ETC.

PERSONALLY ANDREA – KIM POWER STYLE – THE LEARNER OBSERVER

WOMAN IN REAL LIFE – FLOURISH AND KNOT – LOVE CREATE CELEBRATE

AMIDST THE CHAOS – PMQ FOR TWO – THE DREAM HOUSE PROJECT