SHAKESPEARIAN THEMED 40th BIRTHDAY PARTY - HELP!!

[crunchie]

I am organising a Shakespearian themed 40th B'day party for DH and I know how creative MNers are, so please help me with any great ideas.

So far we have

1 x village hall!!
1 x Hog Roast (hopefully)
1 x band

and a v small budget!!

I was thinking of covering teh boring trestle tables with gold or deep red cloths. HAving loaves of bread (home made poss) and slabs of cheese, chutneys and tankers of celery sticks on each one, which along with the hog roast will be the food sorted. Decorations are hard as it is a boring hall which is big, but difficult to decorate. Any ideas???

We may go to france and get slabbs of beer/wine etc and borrow glasses from Sainsbury's.

I need ideas for cheap, but effective invites for 100 people. The total budget is about £500 (plus band) and teh hog roast is £300 (serving 100 people is good value)

Come on help me please

You can hire backdrops very cheaply from here (that castle one might be good)

Fantastic for jazzing up a hall

shakespere themed? what ever possessed you?

What about swathes of muslin hung around the walls or at least on one wall? You can get it for about £1 a meter so for £20 quid you can get an impressive amount to swag about. And how about a photo booth - I don't mean like in Woolies - but a corner decorated with a Tudor-theme background that people can have their pics taken up against, with a few fancy dress items that people can wear for photos. We did this for our wedding and for a millenium party and it was a big hit.

ah sorry no those ones are expensive

how about this they are huge, friend had one for her dd's party (if you can get past the pink LOL!) Bet you could find one that was stoney looking

Invites - make an A5 size poster advertising your party as a play? Cut & paste an elizabethan theme or pic of a Shakespeare play. Write the wording in the style of Shakespeare is a gothic type font?

here you go

wood panelling one here

Definitely muslin - it goes a long way and you can batik it to give a brocade finish with red and yellow dye if you fancy that...
Greenery also good for covering expanses of hall wall.
And you could have some flags - the Royal Standard to represent the history plays, perhaps

Will your guests be expected to turn up in fancy dress (am assuming yes, you sadist)

Logical invites would be on yellowy creamy paper with a wax seal

Message withdrawn

Oh, a mock playbill, fabulous idea!

Might be able to get you a copy of one to work from if you want...

castle here

To come, or not to come: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to enjoy
The mead and hog-roast of DH?s party
Or to stay in and watch Ant & Dec or Corrie again

It has GOT to be a playbill - loving that IDEA

DH is an actor hence the theme and hence the playbill being a great idea. Yes it is fancy dress and it is Mid-November so that's why I thought shakespeare. Also anyone can come in an old nighty, splashed with red food colouring, add a dagger and you are Lady M

I on the other hand will be finding the most nork enhancing low cut wonder that I can. DH will be donning a doublet and hose (If I can persuade him) and doing teh old pointy goatee with teh facial hair!! (it has to come off teh next week as he will be donning a dress for panto, but that's another thread!!!)

What about loads and loads of voltive candles or lanterns on the tables lanterns or voltives Or I could check out IKEA and buy loads of cheap ones. They would give atmosphere cheaply

I can't do links but look here for some ideas for fun games:-

www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-games.htm

Loving those wall things, but I need to check out the hall. It is a BIG village hall and most decorations tend to look a bit 'lost' IYKWIM, so I might concentrate on low lighting, loads of candles, plenty of alchol. The Muslin might just work in the doorway, so people push through it to get in.

As much scenting of the place with orange/clove/cinammon type smells - thinking of Good Queen Bess' BO-hiding pomanders...
Can you collar a fellow actor friend to be a jester, Crunchie? Could be greeter/games-player?
Can any of your acting friends juggle - and maybe borrow a small amenable dog to wear a ruff?

Iklboo I could look at setting up tables for chess and backgammon that could work in an area of the hall. But it is a drinking, eating grown up party IYKWIM

Keep them coming

Oh yes, get our springer to wear a ruff!! classic Actor friends shouldn't be hard to find, only they will be the guests, so it's not really fair to get them to work

On that site (without the /games bit) there's also a load of recipes for deserts & other foods you could try?

The wall things are MASSIVE and really effective

Check the sizes!

bump for lunch crowd

Crunchie - you've inspired me. Spoke with DH and we're thinking of having an "Abigail's Party" style party for DH's 30th next year

You could 'age' your playbill invitations with weak tea sponged over (if you can be bothered - sounds like you've got a lot to do!).

Some ideas for pre-made quotes etc here . Not sure where you could use them, but possibly on the invitations, or on big rolls of paper to stick on the walls?