Late July and early August is a busy, busy time for our family. A handful of birthdays and anniversaries for our immediate and extended family all happen within a week, and that week is usually fairly hectic. This year, I decided to mix it up and host a mass celebration for all-of-the-above: a party full of sunshine, blue skies, and Marmalime.

Our family, like many, spans several generations that have very little in common. One thing that manages to transcend the age boundaries is a love for the Beatles. Something my degree in English lends to my parties is an obsessive knack for layering theme allusions and references into an event, and this party was built entirely on lyrical references and wit.




The invitation, and the theme's inception, was based off of the song "Because" off of Abbey Road.  From there, I decided to limit the Beatlemania to that album; the album is full of fabulous imagery and the cover is the most well known Beatles image probably ever. Beatlemaniacs and casual listeners alike were able to appreciate the details.

The eats table consisted of Here Comes the Sun cupcakes (vegan), Maxwell's Silver Hammer dipped pretzel rods, "Because the sky is blue" cloud-shaped shortbread (vegan), Come Together "Muddy Water" iced tea, Octopus' Garden veggies, and "lovemade pies" in reference to the lyric, "in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make" from The End.



Heidi of Marmalime made custom flags for the table which are total heartbreakers. The atlas paper fed into the imagery from Because. She also made a sweet bunting for the vegan birthday cake we surprised my brother with.




Activities included a handmade photo standee of the Abbey Road album cover silhouette, which was an absolute blast. My father ended up "borrowing" the standee to use at the Westfort Streetfair later this month in Thunder Bay. Good times!



We also had a Coca-Cola "shooting" game with rubber bands and recycled bottles in reference to Come Together's lyrics. I couldn't resist the irony of the blindfolded cotton ball scooping game in reference to Carry that Weight, either! There was also a Beatles trivia game ready to go, and several of the guests were musicians and jammed to their favourite Beatles tunes. A Beatles photo biography book was awarded to the guest who spotted the most (intentional) references to the Abbey Road album.



At the end of the day, guests took home "a little Something" as a party favour. The lyric, "You're asking me will my love grow" was behind this super cute idea. Seeds for peas and carrots, presented in a sweet Garnish wood berry box with a mini bunting banner handmade for us by Heidi of Marmalime made this an adorable end to a detail oriented party.



This was SO MUCH FUN. The combination of Heidi being here to share in all the excitement and the awesome feedback I received from family and guests made it worth the sleep deprivation and the disaster in my kitchen and the wickedly sore feet and... and... well, you get the picture. It was worth it. :)


Love Clementine