This year’s birthday “theme” was “It’s the End of the World!” Do I think the world is ending today? Nope. Did I have a blast planning an End of the World themed party… YOU BET!

This was absolutely my favorite birthday party to date. I didn’t have to clean or cook! Myself and about 28 of my friends went to The Original— a Dineraunt here in Portland, OR. The food was SO good (hello, donut burger sliders—YUM), the drinks were great, and the service was really wonderful.

I’ve put together some of the images taken from that evening, along with some DIY tips that you can incorporate in many different themed parties.

Invitations: If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times… the invitation sets the tone for the entire party. I wanted everyone to know that we’d be having cocktails and yummy food. But, I also wanted to relay the message that this was going to be a FUN party. My favorite part of the invite was the little dino reminder. It had a glittery eyeball and a message reminding guests that the party was on 12/12/12 on the back. People could hang them on a tree, the front door, or their fridge!

Decor: The Original has such a hip, fun decor already that I knew I didn’t need much to make this party stand out. And, I’d never suggest to anyone to bring in a ton of decorations to a restaurant. (See my post on hosting events at a restaurant here.)
So, for decor at this party I made little flags, glittery dinosaurs (they were at the last end of the world!), some “fortune tellers,” and a few activities. I sprinkled the tables with the items. I then used the favor bags as part of the table’s centerpieces. Balloons and party hats finished off the party space. I loved how bright and celebratory everything looked!

Activities: I tried to keep the activities simple for the party… I didn’t want to annoy other guests or anything. But, I still wanted some activities that guests could do because not everyone knew each other and activities are a great way to break the ice.

I made little “Draw Your Future Action Figure” sheets for people to “tell future inhabitants of earth what your action figure should look like… don’t want to end up with short little arms like T-Rex!” I the fortune tellers (or cootie catchers) and small talking cards with bucket list items.

Mostly everyone chatted and enjoyed the food… but, it was fun picking up the action figure sheets at the end of the night!

Photo by Bee of The Spicy Bee, Instagram @thespicybee

• Beer: “The end is near… time for a beer!”
• Chapstick: “If I’m going out… I’m going out MAKING OUT!”
• Chocolate: “The first end of the world would have been much more enjoyable with chocolate.”
• Mints: “Just because the end is MINT to be… your breath doesn’t need to be so stinky!”
• Bubbles… well, because Bubbles are fun. 

I didn’t take many photos… but, I loved seeing the Instagram photos that everyone took! I was really fortunate to have so many people with cameras and/or camera phones in attendance or I’d barely have a photo to post today!

DISCLAIMER: I was in no way compensated for my opinion on The Original. Just my opinion from this experience.