100th birthday party

[TarainNC]

My aunt ( his only living child) is apparently not making any plans for a party for my grandfather and so now my mother (daughter in law) and I are stepping in to plan a party from out of state. My grandfather lives in a nursing home in NY and I live in NC.
He is frail physically, but has some ideas about the celebration he wants. SO we don't have a lot of time or money to plan this very important occasion.
The party will be held in October. He wants it in the local fire Hall and we have reserved that. Our alternate plan is to have it in the "family room" of the nursing facility and we have made reservations for both. The social worker has helped me arrange transportation for him and an aide to accompany him to the site. It is his wish to have the party in his hometown at the firehall ( about 15 miles from the nursing home), so if he is up to it, that's what we will do.
I have some pictures of him through the years as a collage was done for his 90th birthday and we have that. I need some creative, frugal ideas- AND FAST!
I am looking for a "theme"- it makes it all easier to plan. I'm thinking teddy bears ( both he and the teddy bear debuted in 1902), or red, white and blue- lots of it around.
Thanks for your input!

[LILA]

I like idea of the teddy bears and the red, white and blue. What about teddy bears with red, white and blue ribbons? Are you having music? The big band sound is always a good one as it brings back memories. They can be found on CD's in places like Kmart.
How fortunate you are to have a grandfather still living! I only remember my one grandfather that died when I was only 7 years old. The other grandparents were deceased prior to my birth. Take care of grandpa and give him the party. He will appreciate it more than he could ever say.

[carriejude]

my dad would have been 101 years old this year august 13th my daughters wedding at night of course she wanted vases of a few flowers on the tables but she wanted helium balloons on the back of the chairs yours could all be teddy bears or red white and blue get them ordered before the event. love ya carriejude

[Fibstirett]

I have another idea for your grandfathers birthday. For my grandfathers 90th birthday, his daughter mailed two pages of stationary to everyone in the family and close friends. She then sent a note along with them asking to write stories, memories, etc on the stationary. Then we sent it back to her and she put them along with pictures and other memories into a scrapebook and gave it to him at his party. It was set out so everyone could look through it. I don't know if you have time for all this, but it might help for other ideas. I hope he has a Blessed and Enjoyable day. My grandfather didn't make it to 100. He died a month ago at the age of 98. I do think often about all he has seen over his life time and how he was Blessed to live that long. Have fun and enjoy this remarkable man.

[Lily]

My idea is to do a "Century" Theme. He is going to be a century old so you can collect articles, pictures and memorabilia that have happened within the past century and diplay them all over the room. You could have a lot of fun with this. Like hang the clear plastic sleaves (found in note books) from the ceiling and put pictures and news articles in them. Make old "Nwspaper" table cloths so everyone can read the old articles while they sit. If you were really ambitious you could cover the walls in newspaper as well. Have fun with this! He won't be around much longer.

Lily

[Mjcuzzo]

You may want to request a birthday greeting from the White House for your grandfather. For my grandmother's 88th birthday a few years back I requested the birthday greeting. She was totally thrilled when she opened the envelope!!

go to: www.whitehouse.gov/greeting/ for specific directions in making the written request.

It takes 6 weeks to fulfill the request, so act quickly.

Whatever your plans will be for celebrating your grandfather's 100th birthday, I hope he enjoys the day and the company of his family and friends!