Seasons and themes have always been a big thing for me.

My whole life, even as a child, I loved welcoming the changing of seasons. Then when I went to college and majored in theatre, I learned all about a “theatre season” and how plays were chosen based on specific themes for the overall year.

When I started planning events, seasons and themes merged together and it was quite neat. Fall weddings have a different vibe and aesthetic vs. Spring weddings for instance. It was so much fun to get creative and plan menus based on the season or choose a color palette that would enhance the current month.

Since going off of my own and starting Events Full Circle, a virtual event planning service and party content creation, all of my past experiences and passions are coming together in a very beautiful way. One major thing that started last year was developing a yearly theme that trickles down in some way to all of the work I produce (party themes, blogs, and content).

Last year’s theme was “Magic”. I chose this theme because I was a new mom with twins and a toddler, and wanted to live a little through their eyes. I wanted to learn to see everyday magic. This nostalgic theme was so fun to work with and some really great stuff came out of it.  

Some of my favorites from the 2020 “Magic” Season include:

I had actually decided on this theme in the Fall after my son’s 4th birthday and it’s just so funny that as I am typing this, we are literally in the middle of selling our first home. An area that was my hometown for 33 years. I grew up there, made best friends, found my husband, got married, had 3 babies, all while living in Beltsville. My adolescent life is truly over and I don’t think I realized that until recently.

My big adult life is beginning, so it’s fitting that I am also physically moving to what I will call home for hopefully the next 33 years! It’s bittersweet because although I am sad to leave my familiar life behind, I am so excited to start loving and creating the next hometown that we will ultimately raise our family in.

When I think of the word “Hometown”, my heart just feels warm. I see old main streets, big front porches, waving neighbors walking their dog, skipping down sidewalks to the local ice cream shop, hearing kids laughing outside late into the night… It’s a feeling of belonging, comfort, and community. 

In 2020, COVID literally kept us all separated and forces were at work to separate us emotionally as well. As we enter 2021, I feel a sense of hope that these things will begin to dissipate and we can all start creating beautiful communities, finding ways to bring people together, being that neighbor that hosts a weekly BBQ in the front yard… making that Hometown Heart for everyone to feel.