Monday, June 22, 2020

This 1980s Themed "My Little Pony" Party Is Going To Make You Smile SO HARD

 
Epbot reader Meghan turns 40 this week, and her sister-in-law Paula - another one of us - threw her the surprise party to end all surprise parties. Buckle up, you're gonna love this.

Just to introduce you, here's Paula and Meghan at 2018's Dapper Day:

John and I actually got to meet them last year! Though now I wish we'd hung out more, ha. (Ladies? Future date?)
 
They both very sweetly gave me permission to share the following photos & some of Meghan's captions, so get ready to grin.

  Meghan writes, "I turn 40 this week. I didn’t expect anything for my birthday except my family watching Hamilton with me in a couple weeks. No big. Nice, quiet occasion. But inside, I’m 5. I’m remodeling one of the rooms in my house to display all my vintage 80’s toys. Everyone is different, this is me. 

"My mother and SIL conspired to throw me a surprise birthday party for my 40th. It was all ponies, all 80’s, all glorious retro-ness."

Ready to see?
 
 
ERMERGERSH

 
EEEEE
 
Paula made all the big pony cut-outs. Each one is a pony she knew Meghan had as a kid. D'awwwww.

 

 Meghan says this Pony Surprise will live in her office now. Love it.

They even found vintage party decorations from the 80s!
 
(They found a lot of this on Etsy, surprisingly enough.)

  
 This was Meghan's view when she walked in: 


Sea Ponies!
 
And you guys, LOOK AT MEGHAN'S MOM:

 
 Meghan writes, "My mother. Literally the cutest thing ever to exist in this universe. Ever."

I think I speak for us all, Meghan, when I completely agree with you and also ask, "Where did she get that fabulous dress??" She looks amazing!
 
 
 
They had all sorts of 80s treats, including "Cheez Balls, Doritos, and those horrible-tasting barrel-shaped fruit punch drinks that were at every single 80’s birthday party, even though everyone hated them."

  "The children quickly and inexplicably claimed the barrels." 

Ha! Proof some thing never change.

 Meghan chose a much more refined drink for herself:

 Mountain Dew in a margarita glass with a Doritos garnish. :D

 And for dinner?
 "Mac N' Cheese in a classy margarita glass with Dino chicken nuggets as a garnish."

Meghan says she asked for this as a joke, but Paula delivered!

 
 Spinning for Pin-The-Tail-On-The-Pony. I love that they used a masquerade mask for the blindfold - and check out Meghan's dress!

Her family all cheated so Meghan could win, haha:


 And then LOOK WHAT THE PRIZE WAS:

A vintage 1980’s Dream Bride makeup kit, whaaaaaat. I have such a nostalgia rush seeing this. Do any of you remember these play makeup kits? Pretty sure I had a plastic lipstick just like that.


For dessert: rainbow cake! Though I have to admit I'm mostly staring at Paula's gorgeous painting of Sugarberry here:
 
 
 Megan writes, "I wished that the house wouldn’t burn down because I insisted on ALL 40 candles being lit before I’d blow them out. We got lucky, is all I’m saying."

 :D

But wait, there's more! Check out one of Meghan's birthday gifts:

 Tiny MLP earrings, hnnnng. These were also made by Paula. 

(If you're like me and about to google where you can buy teeny tiny MLPs: I found them on Amazon!)

Meghan writes, "Then my brother programmed Google to show pictures of me through the ages on the main TV, so we spent hours laughing and reminiscing as a family over days gone by. How could you ask for more? And to top it all off, my mother gave me an acre on Mars. Y’all, I OWN AN ACRE OF LAND ON MARS. 

"I’m just....I just can’t. I’m so lucky and so happy and still teary about the whole affair hours later. I couldn’t have wished for more."

****


I don't know about you guys, but this was just the bright spot I needed to start my week. I know it's hard being separated from so many of our friends and family right now, but this is a beautiful reminder that all we need is a few people that love us to make all the difference.

It's also a reminder to revel in every drop of joy you can find, and when possible, to dress like a My Little Pony and take epic birthday photos like this:

AW YEEEEAH.

Happy birthday, Meghan! 

And thank you and Paula for letting us celebrate with you!


*****
 
P.S. While we're on the nostalgia train, here's a fun DIY from the archives:

One of my favorite crafts! John still has it proudly displayed in his game room.

21 comments:

  1. I love all of this. What a fantastic surprise.

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  2. The mother's dress makes me think of that candy that was popular when I was a kid in the 60's - and still was sort of available in the 80's - long strips of white paper with little pastel half dots stuck to them. They tasted like: nothing? But they looked so great and inviting!

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    1. Yes, especially the scarf. I never cared that much for the candy, but I loved the look. Apparently they're called candy buttons and are still available.

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    2. Candy dots! That's exactly what the ribbon around her neck has on it!

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    3. And you got more paper than candy because the candy never came off cleanly!

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    4. I was thinking the same thing. They were called Dots. Remember how you'd inevitably end up eating some of the paper too?

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  3. Little Hugs!!! I loved those as a kid - I only ever had them during softball games, so they're permanently linked in my mind. XD Also they still exist, wildly enough~

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  4. Paula is amazing! She also coordinated our Alice in Wonderland Dapper Day in spring 2018!

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  5. I'11 be 40 in a year and a half, and this is the *exact* party I want!!!
    Plus a cake smash photo shoot!!!

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  6. This is amazing, everything about this post reminds me of being a kid in the late 80s/early 90s and so wanting a huge collection of ponies. The new ponies are quite cute but they can't beat that solid chunky shape that just fitted in my child hands so well. The vintage party things and the cute decorations just bring it all back... Also those dress, so colourful.

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  7. My two worlds are colliding!! I love it!! This is absolutely amazing, happy birthday fellow pony girl!

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  8. Fun Fact: they still make those makeup sets, they just all have disney princesses on them. :-D

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  9. Well done Sister! I threw myself a Lego party for my last major birthday (I bought a huge set for myself and displayed all my Pirates on the table). Gifts were donations for the local animal shelter.Had a blast. Not so much this week - just 1 sister to celebrate with due to Covid....

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  10. Oh my gosh, that's the cutest thing I've ever seen! <3 Happy birthday, Meghan!

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  11. Happy birthday Meghan and props to Paula and your adorable mom. So, I am having some major eye problems right not (not funny) but they are causing me to make very funny reading mistakes. I just read "acre on Mars" as "acne on Mars" and couldn't figure out why Meghan would be excited about that. (My mind came up with several crater jokes. About myself! I'm 52 and still get acne.)

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  12. Dress is this years offering from the official Dapper Days people! Scarf on her neck was a freebie with purchase I believe.

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  13. The Dress (along with LOTS of other clothes you will love): https://modernmillieshop.com/collections/new-items/products/sandra-dress-in-dot-candy-by-tatyana :)

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  14. I love posts like this, something about a perfectly decorated theme party is just so fun to look at. It doesn't even matter if I'm not a fan of the specific theme, seeing the creativity that goes into the party always puts a smile on my face.

    Also is it weird that I'm sort of in love with the Mac N'Cheese/Dino chicken finger margarita glass? That just feels so convenient to me! It would not fit aesthetically with my typical party themes but I want to steal it and use it all the same.

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  15. OMG I love this!!! I'm having flashbacks of my 7th birthday, which had those EXACT party decorations (cuz i'm old, yo). This made me so happy.

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