I Threw a Vision Board Party for my 25th Birthday

I was sitting on my aunt’s sofa on New Year’s Day, watching Avatar 1 while the second one had been out in theatres for at least a couple of weeks now. We had both been discussing how we spent New Year’s Eve-both in the comfort of our own homes. I had whipped up some cocktails for my loved ones and we celebrated the countdown to New Years Day together-complete with our 12 green grapes, as per tradition. After some time, she casually mentions: “I saw someone throw a vision board party for New Year’s, that looked like fun.”

A vision board party? I had heard of vision boards before, but never considered that activity going hand-in-hand with a party- with drinks and music and multiple people involved. But the more I thought about it, the more I fell in love with the concept and decided the idea just makes perfect sense! I had always envisioned the activity of vision boards to be a kind of manifestation ritual-envisioning your near future, imagining your ideal career/living/romantic situation, focusing on the reality you want to create for yourself, and even remaining quiet about it, until that reality comes to fruition- all of which seems like something you’d need your undivided attention on (which requires a quiet and calm environment).

My birthday falls on January and the last thing I wanted to do was throw a party. In fact, I wanted to stay tucked in my room and ignore the day entirely. After experiencing roadblock after roadblock in 2022 (thanks Mars AND Mercury Retrograde), I was unmotivated in almost all aspects of my life. I had paused writing music, cared less and less about the job hunt with each application submitted, and with no car, I had to ask friends and family for rides, which I tried doing as little as possible because I just felt like a nuisance. However, I decided not to give in on this victim complex and celebrate the day anyway-you only get one birthday a year, right? So I googled vision board parties other people had thrown to get inspired on ideas and concepts, as well as make a list of the things I needed. I gave myself permission to be excited about life again- I was celebrating another solar return, after all. And it’s my party; I can cry if I want to (Sorry, I had to).

If you’re looking to have some friends over for some vision board activities, here are some things to consider having before the event, besides food and drinks:

-Poster Boards

-Markers, pens, pencils, colored pencils, scissors, and tape.

-Glue (I used glue sticks and they worked just fine to stick printed photos onto poster board, but of course, you can use super glue or a hot glue gun as well)

-Photos (I printed lots from my study abroad trip in Europe as well as everyday photos I took while living in Spain, if others wanted to use that as inspo). I collected some old magazines and made a board on Pinterest of photos I may want to use (you can look at mine here) and I even encouraged others to bring their own photos if they have specific ones they wanted to use!

-Construction paper; the colorful kind, of course.

-Optional: Journal Prompts! Here are some questions I came up with that I printed out and glued onto construction paper that everyone could fill out, share, and bring home with them if they wished, so that they could reflect upon at the end of 2023:

I wanted to provide the absolute basics to my guests because I wanted to be the best hostess I could, and didn’t want anyone to have to go out of their way or do some sort of work of any kind to prepare. It’s an arts and crafts party at the end of the day, and I wanted us to feel transported back to the first grade, when all we used to do was show up to school and color, eat, and go home. In a way, I wanted my guests and me to nurture our inner child through this activity, and to set our intentions of how we wanted this new year to play out.

I went with a floral theme, because I’m huge on flower crowns and wanted all my girlfriends to wear one with me on my special day. There was a large variety of food and desserts, from deviled eggs and macarons to charcuterie boards and sushi, thanks to my mom, and drinks that I served my guests as well; the specialty cocktail for that evening was The Bee’s Knees (no literally, that’s the name of the drink! It’s two ounces Empress Gin, an ounce of lemon juice, and half an ounce of honey syrup for those that want to make it). We even toasted some smores outside because it was quite chilly that evening. We then finished night off with birthday cake that I chose to decorate myself. I wish I had taken more photos of everything, but I was running around and my phone was out of sight while I was having the best night I’ve had in a long time.

Also not pictured were some homemade fortune cookies that I made, complete with little fortunes or words of affirmations that I included for all my guests. I used this recipe. I was so satisfied with how the evening turned out-and proud of myself for not giving into my usual tendencies of withdrawing when times get a bit tough. Instead, I chose to have fun despite the minor hardships. I surrounded myself with people I love and celebrated not only my birthday, but the new year as well as the goals and resolutions everyone has for themselves.

So what do you think of this idea? Will you consider throwing a vision board party of your own? I’d love to hear your thoughts and any questions you have in the comments! Now onto our tarot card of the week!

Funny enough, this photo was the 2,777th pic in my camera roll. 777 as an angel number can represent a guardian angel encouraging you to stay strong, despite the obstacles. You’re on the right track-just keep trucking forward. The Wheel of Fortune calls out to one’s destiny, their life path, being in the midst of elevation (leveling up), and receiving abundance. How has this Mars and Mercury retrograde of 2022 treated you? Now that the planets are direct (for now) do you feel the momentum of situations in your life finally starting to pick up? With Saturn about to enter Pisces, we are going to feel a shift as a collective; when the planet of restriction, tradition, and responsibility enters this dreamy water sign, we embody the energy of: “If you can dream it, you can achieve it.” We may start to feel more spiritually in tune with ourselves, our intuition may become stronger, and we may even learn to not take ourselves and situations we cannot control so seriously.

Do you resonate? I’d love to hear your thoughts! That’s it for this week, thanks so much for reading!