Dad's Surprise 60th!!

We pulled off such an amazing party for my Dad this month!

Dad had NO CLUE that my Mom and sister and I had planned a party with about 50 friends and family to share his 60th birthday. I don't know how we pulled it off, cuz my Dad is sneaky!!

We held the event at the Mystic River Yacht Club, which has stunning views of the Mystic River, the marina, and a pool! We had the party catered by Saeed's in New London, and they prepared some of my Dad's favorite Lebanese dishes. The theme of the party was actually a Lebanese Luau! Can you picture the silliness? Hawaiian lais, mimosas, spinach pies, kibbe, hummus, not to mention the ginormous hollowed-out watermelon full of fruit salad from Mystic Market, or the giant photo cake from Big Y.

How did we pull it off? Well, on his "real" birthday on Thursday we threw him a small family party, complete with MORE Lebanese food and another photo cake. Mom made kafta hamburgers on the grill and we had them with grilled skewers of zucchini, yellow squash, and mushrooms. The kafta (basically a Lebanese hamburger... ground meat + herbs + onion + spices) was REALLY good. I think kibbe and kafta are the only meat dishes I really crave! They bring back awesome childhood memories of my grandparents, too. The chocolate photo cake was yummy, but the best part about it was the photo. Look how cute my Dad and Godmother were!! :)

Oh, and did I mention how much my Dad loves horses?

Well, needless to say, Dad didn't have a clue that more festivities were to come. We must have had over 50 people there! I think everyone loved trying the food, and I think many people were unfamiliar with Lebanese fare. I wished that I had made little signs explaining each dish, but I didn't mind hanging out by the buffet (ok... and the spinach pies or fataye) to answer any questions people may have had.

Yay for old friends!

Oh, and the cake was almost gone when I got to take a picture of it! My Dad's horse was all eaten by the end of the party!!

I think that the best thing about this party, I mean besides getting to see tons of old friends and family, was the LEFTOVERS!! Seriously, the mountains and mountains of kibbe and hummus and tabouli and spinach pies was overwhelming, but wow... for days aftwards we could help ourselves to a Lebanese feast any moment of the day. My sister and I completely destroyed the spinach pies within 2 days, I think!

Who says 60 isn't awesome?? :)