Going from 17 to 18 is always a fun, anticipated birthday, but as we age the number becomes bigger and it goes from exciting to daunting. This year my sisters and I decided to welcome the 65th year for my mom with a surprise birthday party.

The planning began and it was agreed that a knitting party was exactly what she would enjoy.  As I searched the internet for examples of what others had done for a knitting party, there just wasn’t much to be found.  The realization set in, my creativity was needed to ensure we had the  necessary decorations for a 65th “knitted” birthday party.

First, table decorations were the most important focus for the party.  To ensure that it was done well, both her age and knitting needed to be present within the display.  When I decided to use my mom’s knitted pieces that she did for our families, it added a personal touch that I knew she loved. Even though, her knitted pieces complimented the display, “free” tree branches brought the focus to the tables. Yep, free, sturdy tree branches not only sold the overall look but it was easy on the budget. Not only was my trek out into Austin’s lush overgrowth of trees an adventure, but my quest to find the right specimen to hold up the knitted pieces proved to be a challenge. The handpicked branches not only had to withstand the trip from Austin to Midland, TX in the back of my car,  it also had to act as a hanger for my delicate and weighted ornaments.

The containers to hold the tree branches was another hunt.  Again budget was in mind, the less I spent the better. A light bulb went off… canning jars !! I had plenty of those. These low budget and clear containers were a great addition to the overall decorations. Now I had my mom’s knitted gifts, branches for display and jars to contain the branches. As I planned around the branches, I knew it needed more decorations that also hung, to bring it to a full and balanced look. The search continued for items that had 65 on them. This proved to be harder than what I thought, everyone loves to celebrate turning 60 but not 65.  Here’s where my crafting came in.  If you don’t have a cricut, I highly suggest one, it’s a crafter’s dream machine.  Luckily I’ve had one for years, so I whipped out these fun hanging numbers using my cricut.

With these lovelies as a representation for her age, I decided more knitting items were needed to help tie the overall theme. Yarn can be a great addition and homemade pom poms are just what was needed. There’s some very informative demonstrations online that show how to make these.  Here’s an example of the ones I made.

The centerpiece came together with knitted pieces, tree branches, circular crafted 65’s, pom poms, all gathered within a glass canning jar. Now it just needed a little bit more of a wow factor, this was brought in by adding candle sticks, foam balls wrapped in yarn with needle sticks stuck within them, knitting books and magazines to bring height.  Last, chalkboard easels, and slate boards, found at Target for those crazy knitting sayings.

Table decorations 1 for knitters party

Table decorations 2 for knitters party

Table decorations 3 for knitters party

Table decorations 4 for knitters party

Table decorations 5 for knitters party

Table decorations 6 for knitters party

Once the table’s centerpieces came together, it was the rest of the place that needed some love and attention. I found personal photos of my mom growing up to be a great addition to the “who is she?” wall.  A colorful knitters cake with yarn, needles and cupcake helped bring a tasty and personal touch.

Variety of her life’s pictures

knitting cupcakes

Cake made for a knitter’s party

For the guests, a table was placed near the entrance that displayed a childhood photo, my crafted 65 to show the celebrated age along with jenga blocks to leave a personal note. For more information on how you too can make the 65 photo display project, here’s a link to my DIY video.

DIY craft project

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Voila, a knitter’s birthday decorations complete! It was so fun to plan and bring my mom’s party together but what brought joy to my heart was seeing all those people there to wish my mom a happy birthday. The surprise on my mom’s face at seeing everyone couldn’t had been planned. That is joy!