For those of you that don’t know, my handsome husband turned 30 earlier this week. How wild is that?? I’m married to a 30-year-old! I was wildly unprepared for a pandemic birthday last year. So much so that Gary had to open his presents in leftover penguin holiday paper. Needless to say, I wasn’t going to let Gary have another mediocre pandemic birthday on my watch. Especially not for a milestone!
Last year, I saw that one of my sweet friends from high school celebrated 30 Days of 30 for her husband, and it seemed so fun! I messaged her for some intel about how it worked logistically, and set out to make Gary’s 30th birthday festivities as special as possible. In late January (about 2 months prior to his birthday), I created a post to share on Facebook with all of our friends and family. Obviously, I blocked Gary from being able to see the post to keep it a surprise! I asked people that know and love him to send a card or letter in the mail so that he would have something to open every day for 30 days. I also created a private Facebook event so I could send reminders as the “deadline” got closer.
For the most part, Gary’s people came through and he was able to get a new surprise for 30 days straight! It was so fun checking the mail and seeing envelopes and packages arrive by the handful. I will say that I definitely had some simple backup gifts in place in the event that people forgot to send their item after committing to it, because #lifehappens. Luckily, since I had those in my back pocket, everything ended up working out perfectly! Leading up to Day 1 I could hardly contain my excitement, and came so close to almost spilling my own beans. #typical
I started the 30 Days of 30/introduced the concept to Gary by decorating our apartment with 30th birthday decorations! I had him go out in the hammock for an hour while I got to work inside, and when he came in he was so confused…he literally said, “thanks, but it’s not my birthday!” It took him a few days to get into the swing of things, but by day 4 he was pumped to open a present or his special birthday box with a new card every evening. Notice the haircut Gary got (by yours truly) between the beginning and the end of this extravaganza…ha!
From cards, letters, and scratchers, to popcorn, beer, and beef jerky, Gary sure felt the love for 30 whole days. It was also super fun to have him guess who sent each item…it cracked me up that he was usually wrong! I definitely forgot to take photos each day, but here’s a selection of some of the ones I did capture. Notice the pandemic pajama apparel, and the fact that we are always on the couch with cozy blankets (and a big stuffed Baby Yoda)!
To end things with a bang on Gary’s birthday weekend, we went on a hike, we went for a birthday picnic at the park, and I made him his favorite crab pasta for his birthday dinner. We of course couldn’t end the evening without a birthday dessert! Gary made a special request for sherbet, but you better believe a birthday isn’t complete around here without candles š
I could not end this post without a special shoutout to everyone that contributed to Gary’s 30 Days of 30. Whether you sent a card, a present, or just called him at some point during the month, you definitely helped make this milestone birthday extra exciting for him, and I couldn’t have done it without you! And the good news is that Gary has over a year to plan my 30th š
xoxo
Jennifer