Whenever it’s someone’s birthday, a friend’s or a family member’s, I can’t help myself but to throw up some streamers, vinyl banners, balloon, and whatever else I can get my hands on. I don’t know what it is about finding every excuse I can to decorate. Lately, however, I’ve wanted to create something a little more personal. With most of the party decorating in the past, I’ve noticed it was pretty generic. Not much about it said anything about the person of the hour. It was just decoration that went up and when it was all over, no one gave it extra thought, other than myself since I was the one taking it all down.
It’s the Thought That Counts
Why would anyone give it any extra thought? Are party decorations something you give extra thought? It depends on the choices you make. Make it look generic, like every other party or gathering, then no, it’s not really worth the extra thought. It’s just there and nothing more than a signifier that something may be going on in this room or home. Even homemade stuff can look overly generic and that’s not necessarily bad, but why do what everyone else has done? However, if you put some extra thought into it, take away the generic and the rudimentary, and go beyond the expectations of party decorating, then maybe the answer becomes yes.
Now, I find people go beyond the expectations of party decorating all the time. I’ve often thought about what that might be, that “place” beyond. I suppose it’s not that far from the ordinary, it just about adding the right amount of extra touches to transform the basic into something more meaningful. And what’s more meaningful than the life of the person who is being celebrated on his or her birthday?
Finding Focus
I couldn’t think of a better opportunity to share this person’s life with everyone at the party than with a banner! I’m only partially kidding, of course. There are tons of great ways to share a person’s life, but at a party, you want to keep the attention more focused and organized and a banner is the efficient way to do that.
What could you put on a banner to share that life story? The possibilities are extensive (but not endless, this person’s only been around for so long and the event is a reminder of that!) and there are plenty of great resources to cull from. Say you want to take a banner and make a chronology of the person’s life. Each segment of the banner could be a different year or chapter of his or her life. Tell a piece of their life story in individual pennants, then line them up to tell the complete story (well, close to complete, I’m sure the birthday boy/girl might appreciate discretion! Or not!).
Telling Stories
For the next birthday party I’ll be throwing, I plan on finding as many photos of my best friend as I possibly can. I’m sure it won’t be hard, since she was excessively photogenic from before she was born. My goal is to arrange the photos in chronological order, then blow each one up to a specific size so I can cut it into a typical triangular pennant shape, then attach each one—in order—to string. The banner will literally be my best friend’s life story, a tale of images from her as a happy, bald baby to successful, full-head-of-hair twenty-something. I can’t wait!
Annie Harrington is a small business owner, writer, and amateur photographer. In her free time she enjoys writing about ways other business owners can positively impact their brand image with unique custom poster and other printed material.
Image credit: http://www.marthastewart.com/266051/birthday-banner
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