My siblings and I threw a surprise 60th birthday party for our Mom last January to celebrate just how fun she is. We invited family and friends from all walks of her life:  her brothers, cousins, neighbors from 3 different houses and co-workers. We tricked  her into going to a play with part of the family during the day and set up the party at  HER house! We hired a caterer so we didn't have to worry about cooking or cleaning up the food, and we decorated the house in purple and red to go with our "Red Hat Society" theme. We even made wine tags for all the wine glasses with red and purple ribbons, and dressed her concrete garden goose in a purple dress and red hat. When  she arrived, she was welcomed by her immediate family who all yelled, "SURPRISE!" Then each of her grandchildren presented her with part of a costume for her to wear:  a red hat with purple flowers and a purple ribbon, red slippers, a red hat brooch, a red  and purple scarf, red and purple necklaces and bracelets and purple spectacles with  red jewels on them (she has a LOT of grandkids!) We got her a glass of wine and  asked her to sit down while my brother began a "This is Your Life"-style introduction on a karaoke machine. We had all of her old friends hidden in her bedroom upstairs and each one took the microphone and, without being seen, told my mom their  favorite memory of her. Seeing her face with each new voice she recognized prolonged the surprise and gave everyone a chance to introduce themselves. We had  about 36 people, and even read an email from a guest who couldn't make it. Many tears were shed and hugs given as we celebrated my Mom. We framed two pictures, one of her as a child as well as a recent picture, with a large mat that left room for  each guest to write a special message. I included the message we had put on her invitation: "If we had known this sweet little girl would become this amazing woman,  we would have celebrated her everday." We also asked all of her grandchildren  questions about her and posted those throughout the house (i.e. Why is Grammy so special? Because she makes me spaghetti.) My siblings and I read a silly poem we  had written about growing up under her care before we cut the cake. She was so overwhelmed and excited; many guests stayed late into the night. And we made sure  to clean it all up ourselves! Afterwords, I made a scrapbook of the party and all of the guests who came so far to see her and gave it to her for Mother's Day. Seeing her so happy and finally putting forth the effort to show how much we all appreciate her was  the most amazing feeling and I wish we could do it every year!