Since 2006, my family has been getting together for a family reunion every year. It started as a simple gathering for Easter and has now morphed into what we do today — themed, dressed up in costumes, and raffles.
Towards the end of the evening, we have an official “passing of the torch” for the next victim host to announce it will be their year. As last year’s was approaching, I realized it was going to have to be our turn. It’s fine. I’m fine. Everything’s fine.
On the drive home after we volunteered, we started brainstorming themes. I originally went extreme — like circus — and was ready to drape my backyard in red and white, create my own carnival games, and dress up like a bearded lady, obviously. Probably put our dog Chloe with a lion’s mane in a cage too.
My husband protested, reminding me no one wants to dress up in bulky clothing, and we should just do something easy… “like pajamas”. In 20 years, how have we never done pajamas???
I hate to admit it, but I liked the idea. And it meant I can turn my house into a hotel. And I wanted it giving off so many hotel vibes, you hesitate for a minute before going in my fridge because you’re worried about a mini bar charge.
My hotel inspo came from the iconic The Beverly Hills Hotel, but I wanted to avoid pink and add in disco balls — mostly because I have such an abundance.
As much as I dislike ChatGPT, I did have my husband use it to change the original logo to my family’s last name. It added some extra letters in there, but good thing I know Photoshop, so I was able to fix that once I had the proper font laid out.
Out front, I had an entrance sign and valet stand — this is a hotel, after all — welcoming guests. Since I was having so many different elements to this party, I decided to use faux greenery that I could prep ahead of time and not worry about. When using faux florals, I do always like to add in some fresh baby’s breath the day-of.
For the entrance sign, I used my Cricut and permanent vinyl to cut out the hotel logo to place on one of my smaller wooden backdrops. Luckily, I had the exact color green I needed leftover from painting my office cabinets last year.
For the valet stand, I made the desk by nailing together some scrap wood. Then, I added some hooks to another piece for hanging the custom hotel keys that all the guests could take as a souvenir.
Right inside the door was the bellhop stand. And yes, my husband thought I was crazy when he showed up to pick up a luggage cart. But again, this is a hotel, after all. I decorated the cart with an assortment of disco balls, some greenery, and, of course, our luggage. And right beside, I had set up shelves with custom hotel slippers for everyone to wear.
Continuing through the house, I switched out our entry table to be the check-in desk. We have a scrapbook of all the previous years’ reunions that I placed here, along with a vintage phone, some more greenery, and a green table runner I had from a previous event that matched perfectly. See. I told my husband buying all these linens would pay off one day.
To finish off my indoor decor, I used some gold cardstock to create room number plaques for all our doors leading down the hallway. I even created a “Do Not Disturb” sign to hang on our guest room that my cousin was staying in.
Outside, I kept all the tables simple with black tablecloths, a palm leaf placemat, one bud vase, and a few disco balls.
For the bar, I decided to keep this area pretty mild since the buffet inside was going to be the main focus with a Bloody Mary station — more on this later. So back outside, I used my favorite over-the-table rod, greenery, and disco balls, along with a cute neon drinks sign.
One of my favorite parts of the backyard was the “Hollandwood” sign I put up on our hill. A girlfriend came up with this idea, and although I didn’t want to add another item to my to do list, I’m so glad I did because it turned out even cooler than I thought. I used poster board from the Dollar Tree to cut out the letters and hot glued wooden stakes to the back to stick into the ground.
At the bottom of the stairs, I had a classic direction sign. I was able to use more scrap wood to make the base and leftover fence panels from a previous party that were perfect for the actual arrows.
For almost everything throughout the party, I included the hotel logo to make it all cohesive, so I went ahead and branded our cornhole boards, as well.
For the final design space outside, I set up a balloon backdrop.
I’ve been loving the LumaBooth photo app to turn the backdrop into a photo booth station. The app costs $20 a month and will create a GIF using the photos it takes with the option to text to each user. Tip: I cancel the app immediately after the event to avoid additional charges. I set this up in front of my backdrop using a tripod and iPad, and it’s been something fun for guests to capture memories.
The final focal point was the breakfast buffet. I can’t even take credit for this masterpiece. It was done by my favorite caterer, Let’s Brunch, who handled the table design. All I knew was I wanted to serve breakfast for dinner, but a little hardier, and he absolutely nailed the menu. We had staples like bacon and sausage, fan favorites like hot honey chicken and waffles, and he was even making fresh French toast with a berry compote. Absolutely delicious.
After a year of planning, it was incredible to see my vision finally come to life! I’m definitely going to need a few years before I take that torch again, but looking forward to seeing what next year’s theme will bring us.
• Everyday Davis • 