An Out of this World (not End of the World) 80th Birthday

My dad turned 

80 on December 21st.

We had a small family celebration, 

and wanted to make sure he knew how special he is to us!

He loves to travel and is a very "worldly guy" 

so we went with a 

"Global" Theme for the centerpiece and place cards...

He is proud of his Northwestern upbringing,
(which is also the subject of many classic stories and memories)
so we also focused on where he was FROM... 

my son hit the jackpot when he found this topographical map of his small town

at the USGS!

and my mom worked on where
HE HAD BEEN...

colorful pushpins marked their travels over the years...

we had such a good time looking at them all 

and hearing his funny travel tales 

Of course, 

we could not ignore the Mayan prediction of the World ending on 12/21/12.

We made some silly gifts, just in case!

The End of the World Crisco Candle...

my dad's mom loved to cook with Crisco and it is the butt of many family jokes

and this is supposed to burn 40 hours!

Crisco is amazing stuff...

I got the idea from HERE, 

but opted to just use a tapered candle instead of trying a wick.

(if you need a laugh, read the comments people made on her post, they are hysterical)

and The End of the World Bacon Habanero Vodka, 

perfect for Bloody Marys after the Apocalypse.

It was smoky, spicy and surprisingly good...

the recipe can be found HERE...

So glad the Mayans were wrong,

Happy Birthday Bob!

also on Tidy Mom, Tatertots and Jello, Six Sisters, Be Different Act Normal, skip to my lou, Today's Creative