“Dancing with the Marks” (and other entertainment for an 80th birthday celebration)

My grandmother turned 80 this past week, and the entire extended family came together to celebrate the occasion. The party has been in the works for months, and, since I have seven aunts and uncles from this side of the family not including spouses or my folks, there were a lot of party planners.

We had a traditional Chinese banquet at a local restaurant with over 80 people in attendance—ALL were related, either by blood or by marriage. This clan can reproduce! The food was good, the company was great, but the entertainment made the evening.

With eight kids and ten-times the number of relatives, you may have already guessed that the Mark family doesn’t do anything small. The evening’s festivities included a number of entertaining acts:

• A slideshow (80 years worth of pictures of my grandmother, including siblings, friends, marriage, kids, grandkids and other relations)
• A compilation of memories and experiences from the grandkids called, “Adventures in Food and Babysitting,” featuring yours truly, my husband and my 13 cousins
• A fun-filled, laughter-inducing introduction for my mom and her seven siblings set to “Dancing with the Stars,” aptly renamed “Dancing with the Marks”
• A Letterman-style “top eight reasons why we love mom,” including stories of matching outfits, unconditional support for a host of sporting activities, specialty meals, visits to the principal’s office, answered prayer and miracles—one reason from each of the eight kids
• Singing “Happy Birthday” twice because the candles weren’t lit the first time around
• A traditional Hawaiian hula set to Elvis’ “Blue Hawaii”
• Speeches, speeches and more speeches
• Cake
• An original song written by my über-talented uncle, a member of Society of Seven, based out of Las Vegas

My aunts and uncles know how to show their talents (or lack thereof) and get a laugh. I’ll remember this event for years and years to come, and I think all in attendance walked away a little stunned and completely entertained. Most importantly, I think my grandmother had one hell of a memorable birthday.