A Barbie-licious Birthday

On Sunday night, I attended one of the best birthday parties I've ever attended. And, the best bit was it was a SURPRISE birthday party for me. I was caught off guard because like all surprise parties, there was a lot of secrecy involved. Also, my birthday was the last thing on my mind as I approached my Aunt's home. Remember,

• I was visiting my Aunt's for dinner (natural event as I had not yet seen her since I had come back to Canada)
• my birthday was over 15 days away
• this year is NOT a big birthday
• it wasn't my birthday
  

So, the last thing I was thinking when I walked in to my Aunt's home was that I would be met by all the wonderful women in my family* dressed up as their favourite Barbie waiting for me. Yes, that's right. It was a surprise birthday with a theme - A Barbie Birthday. And this big girl loooved Barbies as a child and was more than happy to partake in this fun-filled craziness.

My first thought was I wouldn't get to dress up as Barbie as I hadn't brought a change of clothes. Boohoo! I'd miss out on the dress up component of this soiree. Oh no! Thanks to my Aunt and her many visits to Value Village I had a wardrobe of clothes & accessories to choose from and felt right at home in my Barbie-wear. [I'll post all the outfits of the evening on my other blog.] However, I wanted to share some of the decor and silliness here that my Aunt Kathy had planned so perfectly.

Here's a few shots of the evening's antics.

Here's the amazing woman behind the craziness
dressed in her Barbie outfit:
yellow polyester pant-suit with wig (which no-one realized it was one)

All of my remaining Barbie stuff made an appearance at the festivities
(including the United Airlines airplane, bungalow and bathtub)

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Here are a few of the presents & cards I received:
Did you notice the 41 year old princess card?

I received a new carry-on suitcase (I think it's my colour).
It's ideal for all my work travel

Turns out it's better built for Barbies than a laptop.

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I also received a new matching handbag (backpack) and wallet.
My cousin embellished the wallet with small hearts

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My family thought this sleeping bag would be perfect to keep me warm on all those Trans-Atlantic flights.
I'm tempted to pull it out on flight back to London on Virgin-Atlantic.

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Given my reputation of being late for events, they felt an alarm clock was in order:

And even more Barbie themed gifts:



Other gifts included a foot-care & massage set (for the days out in heels),
a fun desk emoticon calendar and a Barbie Video.

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Here is the dinner table with guests from the soiree:


This was a special glass for the Princess Barbie (moi).
In fact it was a glass from my grandparent's
50th anniversary over 30 years ago.



My Barbie Pink Cake

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Now for the thank yous. I want to thank everyone for coming to my birthday party and playing along (i.e. dressing up, bringing their Barbie and sharing their Barbie stories). In particular, special thanks to Aunt Kathy for the idea and the organization of the party. Plus a call out to my very own Aunt Barbie (who also happens to have the same last name as Barbie and is married to her very own Ken-- how cool was I growing up?) for hosting the festivities at her home.

Finally, an artsy shot of me in my Barbie attire

PS if you loved Barbie's too, you might enjoy E's post about her Barbie collection.

PSS More photos from the evening can be found on flickr.

*sadly, Julie was sick; Al & Maggie were across the country. Yet, my other sister was there (E)