A party for people who didn't want a party.....

My parents are hitting some milestone birthdays this year so my siblings and I hatched a plan to celebrate them while I was home for the summer.

I should let you know that my parents are on the introverted side of the spectrum. They are also on the "Don't make a fuss" side of the spectrum as well and had made it known that if we planned a PARTY, they weren't coming.

My sister and brother and I began making plans. It would be a small family gathering. A casual afternoon BBQ at their home. Everyone home by 8, so mom and dad could watch the ball game. We divided up the details and set to work. Now, I am not proud of this but I should confess that, I am the oldest child and, well, I'm bossy. So when I say that my siblings and I planned the party, we all know that means I took over and told them what to do. They're good sports.

There you have it.

But we come from a long line of extroverts who think it is criminal to not plan big celebrations for these life events. I should go on record that while I too am on the introverted side, our family parties are one of the things I miss the most about living overseas. The gatherings are large. You will eat too much, and it is highly likely that you will be kissed by a stranger (or be coerced into singing a song, playing charades, or acting in a skit). Just so you're warned.

So I wasn't entirely surprised when I got an email from my cousin. "Mom said that you guys were planning a party for your parents in August and I wanted to know the date". Oh bugger.

And so we found ourselves planning a birthday celebration for people who did not want to have a party.

We (I) decided to stick with the original plan. A casual BBQ at mom and dad's house, triple the amount of food we were planning to serve and tape the game to watch later. Easy, peasy.

We served Pulled Pork Sliders, and Potato Salad, and since my parents aren't cake people we had pie. Lemon Meringue Tartlets, Banana Cream Pie in jars*, and Brownies for the kids. As party favors I found these adorable cookies by Sugar and Flour on Etsy. They were super tasty and cute to boot!

All in all it was a smashing success of a party. The birthday boy and girl even had a good time.

*recipes to follow