Many people get a bit nervous about turning 30. Not one of my recent clients, however. Taylor had the best sense of humor about it, and asked that MINT Event Design help her throw a super fun “Death to My Twenties” 30th Birthday Party weekend for her and her friends to celebrate the “passing” of her twenties! We helped her surprise her friends by decorating her hotel to welcome them to the birthday weekend on Day 1, and on Day 2 set up a really cool “twenties funeral” party with food, drinks, and more deathly decor. This party would be hilarious and a blast anytime, but would be absolutely perfect for anyone turning thirty around Halloween! Read on for all of the details.

Welcome Bar

First, we set up a welcome bar for Taylor and her friends to enjoy as soon as they arrived to the hotel. After a day of traveling, they could kick back with a drink and some snacks, and a couple of skeleton friends, too! We filled black and gold ice buckets with a variety of beverages, and set up a charcuterie board. A chalkboard sign welcomed friends to Taylor’s “Death to her 20’s” Party, and a couple of stylish life-sized skeleton props, dressed to party and lounging comfortably, reinforced the theme. We also set up a basket of personalized pool towels (held by spooky skeleton hands), for easy access when Taylor and her friends were ready to lounge by the hotel pool.

Decor

On Day 2, while Taylor and her friends were out enjoying a party boat on the lake, MINT Event Design came in and set up the party for that evening. First, we set up giant light up marquee numbers - the big 3-0 (literally)! We surrounded the numbers with a black and gold balloon garland, and set up another skeleton partier with black and gold feather boa next to it. To add to the deathly feel, we added additional decor around the room, like ornate candle holders and spider web tablecloths.

Cake

We repurposed the chalkboard welcome sign and placed it next to the cake table. To give the cake more height, we used an overturned wire basket. The amazing death-inspired cake was created by Sweet Treets, and featured a ghostly skull base, deep back top with dripping gold icing, and elegant pink florals with black leaves. The toppers included a gold skull, and words saying “RIP Twenties”. Behind the cake table, we hung paper bat decorations on the wall to look like they were in flight, perhaps from a graveyard of year’s past?!

Drink Station

Next, we set up the drink station. A few sheer fringe skull and bat backdrops were hung on the wall, with black wreaths for extra oomph. On the drink table, we used a gorgeous dark floral arrangement, sheer black fabric, candles, spiderweb placemats, spooky trees and skulls to add some glamorous deathly decor. In the center, we set up two drink dispensers with two types of margaritas, labeled with gold vinyl letters.

On one side of the table, we set up a coffin shaped letter board encouraging guests to “Pick your poison”. Wine glasses were personalized with party details and skull hands. We used overturned buckets and baskets to hold drinks and decor to create more dimension on the table. The final touch were the cute “RIP Twenties” cocktail napkins.

Food Station

The deep dark color scheme continued at our food station. We hung a couple of giant spiders on the window behind the table - guests would have to be brave to grab their food from this deathly table! We set the food up in ornate silver food warmers that went perfectly with the vibe of the party. Torchy’s provided tacos, rice, beans, and corn.

We used prop skeleton hands to hold black and white skull and flower food labels. And of course, we couldn’t forget the salsa! We used an open skull container on a bed of gray moss on a dessert stand to hold small containers of a variety of salsas.

Too add more drama to the food table, we also set up a stand of dark fruits with a black bird perched on one side, and elevated a deep black skull on a cake stand.

Of course, our skeleton friend was always nearby to help Taylor and her guests say farewell to her twenties!

This party was truly so much fun to set up, because of its unique and creative theme. If you live in the Austin area and have an idea for a fun party theme (or need help coming up with one!), MINT Event Design can help! Please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Vendors

Event Styling: MINT Event Design

Hotel: Inn Cahoots

Food: Torchy’s Tacos

Cake: Sweet Treets Bakery

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