Katie09
My parents' 50th Wedding Anniversary is in June 2012, and I don't know where to start with planning something. So, here is the background. There are 3 of us siblings, me and my 2 brothers. My parents, at this point in their life, are retired from their office jobs (ages 72 and 69) and they don't socialize too often anymore other than with 5 friends they see once a month and with only (2) living relatives which is my mom's brother and his wife. My father came down with Parkinson's Disease about 8 years ago, and now is starting to have problems walking and I will have to figure this into where we go or what we decide to do (No anniversary couples dance). So, my question is, if I decide to do a dinner (30 people) at a restaurant (which I am thinking the restaurant they had their wedding reception in 1962), what do we do the entire time? There will be no dancing, so should that mean no background music either? I was thinking of doing a video montage of photos to music of them throughout the years which could be played after the dinner, and order an anniversary cake to be delivered to the restaurant/reception hall? Any input on how to have a small 30 person "anniversary dinner" at a restaurant would be greatly appreciated. :)
Answer
I think that planning this far in advance should make this so much easier for you next June and is a smart way to go about something which is obviously creating some stress for you. .
There is nothing wrong with planning an evening which includes dancing. As a matter of fact did you know that people with PD who can barely walk can get out on the dance floor and tango? Something about the rhythm of the music. But almost any type of dancing might be fine for your father especially if he and your mother like to dance. If he doesn't dance, there's nothing stopping her and he can just enjoy watching.
Even if you don't have dancing background music is a great idea.. Just make sure that you chose selections of your parents favorites or from the decade in which they were married. Assign the task to create the CDs to be played that evening to one of your brothers if possible. Some people have pieces which they especially associate with other good memories - how appropriate for a 50th wedding anniversary.
That said, you'd be surprised at how a slide show and/or video montage will entertain everyone, especially if you can get photo and video contributions from all beforehand. You can even ask or make videos of friends and family members just for the occasion. That way people can be comfortable and prepared when the videos are made.
One important thing is to get everyone to contribute. People like to be involved and I'm sure that your parents will appreciate the results.
Keep the crowd as small as possible so that your father isn't overwhelmed but don't leave out people who would like to be there for your parents.
Take into consideration the difficulties your father has when he moves so that the tables can be set up with sufficient space for navigation. Ask your mother if your father has any other needs with which you might not be familiar.
I do not recommend a buffet when the guest of honor has trouble walking. I would suggest talking to the restaurant for their suggestions and options. You might be surprised at their familiarity with different scenarios. You want to make sure that your parents are seated in such a way that they can see the room and greet people.
Make a tentative program of events. People arrive, the guests are greeted, is there a cocktail hour our a time for hors oeuvres? and so on. You will probably want music from the start so that the room never feels empty. I think that actually printing a program which can then be a keepsake is a great idea. To continue, do you want to have the video after dinner or break it into segments? Some before and others afterwards.
Don't try to take on all aspects of the evening yourself. Please share some of the tasks with your brothers. You don't want any hard feelings but of course, someone has to be the leader and I think that task is obviously yours. Others can help you with your golden anniversary elements. Your limits are a reasonable budget.
A couple of last things. Ask you mother if your father has any problems eating or swallowing as that could mean that he needs a different meal or that the menu needs adjustment. Also inquire about the timing of medications - if your father gets tired easily (both a symptom and a medication side effect) you'll want to plan the timing around that.
A wonderful present for both of your parents would be massages - not spa massages although that would benefit your mother - but real medical massage sessions which can be very beneficial for your father to aid in symptom and pain relief. For your mother, to help her relax from her caregiving.
I think that planning this far in advance should make this so much easier for you next June and is a smart way to go about something which is obviously creating some stress for you. .
There is nothing wrong with planning an evening which includes dancing. As a matter of fact did you know that people with PD who can barely walk can get out on the dance floor and tango? Something about the rhythm of the music. But almost any type of dancing might be fine for your father especially if he and your mother like to dance. If he doesn't dance, there's nothing stopping her and he can just enjoy watching.
Even if you don't have dancing background music is a great idea.. Just make sure that you chose selections of your parents favorites or from the decade in which they were married. Assign the task to create the CDs to be played that evening to one of your brothers if possible. Some people have pieces which they especially associate with other good memories - how appropriate for a 50th wedding anniversary.
That said, you'd be surprised at how a slide show and/or video montage will entertain everyone, especially if you can get photo and video contributions from all beforehand. You can even ask or make videos of friends and family members just for the occasion. That way people can be comfortable and prepared when the videos are made.
One important thing is to get everyone to contribute. People like to be involved and I'm sure that your parents will appreciate the results.
Keep the crowd as small as possible so that your father isn't overwhelmed but don't leave out people who would like to be there for your parents.
Take into consideration the difficulties your father has when he moves so that the tables can be set up with sufficient space for navigation. Ask your mother if your father has any other needs with which you might not be familiar.
I do not recommend a buffet when the guest of honor has trouble walking. I would suggest talking to the restaurant for their suggestions and options. You might be surprised at their familiarity with different scenarios. You want to make sure that your parents are seated in such a way that they can see the room and greet people.
Make a tentative program of events. People arrive, the guests are greeted, is there a cocktail hour our a time for hors oeuvres? and so on. You will probably want music from the start so that the room never feels empty. I think that actually printing a program which can then be a keepsake is a great idea. To continue, do you want to have the video after dinner or break it into segments? Some before and others afterwards.
Don't try to take on all aspects of the evening yourself. Please share some of the tasks with your brothers. You don't want any hard feelings but of course, someone has to be the leader and I think that task is obviously yours. Others can help you with your golden anniversary elements. Your limits are a reasonable budget.
A couple of last things. Ask you mother if your father has any problems eating or swallowing as that could mean that he needs a different meal or that the menu needs adjustment. Also inquire about the timing of medications - if your father gets tired easily (both a symptom and a medication side effect) you'll want to plan the timing around that.
A wonderful present for both of your parents would be massages - not spa massages although that would benefit your mother - but real medical massage sessions which can be very beneficial for your father to aid in symptom and pain relief. For your mother, to help her relax from her caregiving.
What would go well with this entee for our dinner tonight?
His Angel
We are making a whole chicken BBQ style.. We always remove the skin, and then we put butter and garlic/ onion powder on it, and poke holes in it so it seepes into the chicken... After it cooks for awhile we put the barbeque on ...Does this sound good??
What two sides could we make?
Answer
Duke's Potato Salad
2 pounds red potatoes, boiled and cubed
3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 cup Dukeâs Mayonnaise (Hellmanâs also works)
½ cup finely chopped red or sweet onion
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup sweet-pickle relish
½ cup finely chopped cooked bacon
1 (2.25-oz) can sliced black olives, drained (optional)
1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
1½ teaspoons sweet-pickle juice
1½ teapoons distilled white vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Salad may be made ahead and refrigerated overnight.
--Dukeâs Mayonnaise
----------------------
Mock Bok Choy Cabbage Salad
3 oz ramen noodle soup mix - Oriental flavor
¼ cup salted sunflower seeds
¼ cup slivered almonds
3 Tbsp. butter
2/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/3 cup cider vinegar
2½ Tbsp. sugar (or 4 packets Splenda)
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
½ head of cabbage, sliced very thinly
2 shredded carrots (or sub 2 bags of cole slaw mix for cabbage and carrots)
5-6 green onions, sliced diagonally
Remove flavor pack from soup, set aside. Melt butter in small nonstick skillet. Break ramen noodles into pieces and place in skillet with butter; add sunflower seeds and almonds, and saute 5-8 min or until toasted, stirring occasionally. Drain on paper plate or paper towel.
Whisk flavor pack, oil, vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce in bowl until blended.
Place cabbage and carrots in a large bowl, add sliced onions. Mix dressing into cabbage mix. Place noodle mix around the outside edge of cabbage. (Makes a nice presentation, but for our family I just toss it all together).
(If you need a large quantity, use the big bag of coleslaw mix from Sams and doubled the other ingredients.)
---------------------------
Mamaâs Baked Beans
1 cup ketchup
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
¼ tsp garlic powder
1 small can french fried onion rings (about 1½-2 cups)
1 med green bell pepper, cut into strips
1 med. whole onion, chopped
5 strips bacon, chopped into ½â pieces
72 oz. canned baked beans
Preheat oven to 300ºF. Put bacon into a 2 quart casserole dish and place in oven, about 7 min.
Whisk together first 6 ingredients. Remove casserole dish from oven. Combine all other ingredients, place in casserole dish, and bake uncovered 2½ hours.
--Edible magazine
------------------------
Conniosseur's Casserole
1 (12 oz) can white shoe peg corn drained
1 (16 oz) can French cut string beans drained
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup onion chopped
1 (2 oz) jar pimentos chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of celery soup
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Topping:
1 cup Ritz cracker crumbs
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/2 cup slivered almonds
Mix all ingredients except topping. Place in 1 1/2 qt. casserole. Sprinkle topping over casserole. Bake at 350ºF for 45 minutes. Serves 8.
(I have subbed chopped water chestnuts for the celery and it is very good.)
--âTea Time At the Masterâsâ cookbook
Duke's Potato Salad
2 pounds red potatoes, boiled and cubed
3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 cup Dukeâs Mayonnaise (Hellmanâs also works)
½ cup finely chopped red or sweet onion
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup sweet-pickle relish
½ cup finely chopped cooked bacon
1 (2.25-oz) can sliced black olives, drained (optional)
1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
1½ teaspoons sweet-pickle juice
1½ teapoons distilled white vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Salad may be made ahead and refrigerated overnight.
--Dukeâs Mayonnaise
----------------------
Mock Bok Choy Cabbage Salad
3 oz ramen noodle soup mix - Oriental flavor
¼ cup salted sunflower seeds
¼ cup slivered almonds
3 Tbsp. butter
2/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/3 cup cider vinegar
2½ Tbsp. sugar (or 4 packets Splenda)
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
½ head of cabbage, sliced very thinly
2 shredded carrots (or sub 2 bags of cole slaw mix for cabbage and carrots)
5-6 green onions, sliced diagonally
Remove flavor pack from soup, set aside. Melt butter in small nonstick skillet. Break ramen noodles into pieces and place in skillet with butter; add sunflower seeds and almonds, and saute 5-8 min or until toasted, stirring occasionally. Drain on paper plate or paper towel.
Whisk flavor pack, oil, vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce in bowl until blended.
Place cabbage and carrots in a large bowl, add sliced onions. Mix dressing into cabbage mix. Place noodle mix around the outside edge of cabbage. (Makes a nice presentation, but for our family I just toss it all together).
(If you need a large quantity, use the big bag of coleslaw mix from Sams and doubled the other ingredients.)
---------------------------
Mamaâs Baked Beans
1 cup ketchup
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
¼ tsp garlic powder
1 small can french fried onion rings (about 1½-2 cups)
1 med green bell pepper, cut into strips
1 med. whole onion, chopped
5 strips bacon, chopped into ½â pieces
72 oz. canned baked beans
Preheat oven to 300ºF. Put bacon into a 2 quart casserole dish and place in oven, about 7 min.
Whisk together first 6 ingredients. Remove casserole dish from oven. Combine all other ingredients, place in casserole dish, and bake uncovered 2½ hours.
--Edible magazine
------------------------
Conniosseur's Casserole
1 (12 oz) can white shoe peg corn drained
1 (16 oz) can French cut string beans drained
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup onion chopped
1 (2 oz) jar pimentos chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
1 (10 3/4 oz) can cream of celery soup
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Topping:
1 cup Ritz cracker crumbs
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/2 cup slivered almonds
Mix all ingredients except topping. Place in 1 1/2 qt. casserole. Sprinkle topping over casserole. Bake at 350ºF for 45 minutes. Serves 8.
(I have subbed chopped water chestnuts for the celery and it is very good.)
--âTea Time At the Masterâsâ cookbook
Powered by Yahoo! Answers
