My brother-in-law, Tim, served in the Army for more than ten years. During his service he was sent overseas on short assignments more times than I can count and was deployed for up to a year and a half multiple times. Meanwhile, my sister (and her four children) served the country too. The entire family, like all military families, made countless sacrifices for our freedom.

So I was THRILLED when my sister asked me to help her plan a “freedom party” for my brother-in-law and the family when they were finally done with the Army. I started brainstorming ideas immediately and came up with quite the list. When I went to do a quick search to see how other people celebrate this momentum occasion I came up with nothing. I couldn’t believe it. So here it is folks. Spread the word! EVERY FORMER SOLDIER DESERVES A CELEBRATION LIKE THIS!

End of Military Service Retirement, Discharge,
Who Cares, We’re OUT Party!

Important note: My dear brother-in-law has a very hard time moving his lips into a full-fledged smile. It’s like he’s the tin man in need of oil. So just trust me on this, he’s having a good time. It’s taken me 12 years, but I can finally catch the slight glimmer in his eyes that reflects his happiness.

Ceremonial De-Shackling of the Family: We wrapped the family in streamers and let them bust free from the chains of army life!

Wig Out: Now that Tim is free he can finally wear his “hair” the way he wants! Each child got to pick out a wig for daddy to try.

Time Marches On: We paid homage to the time the family spent in service by destroying an old clock. Everyone in the family got a turn with the hammer. Then Tim took to it with his bare hands! (My sister reported that this was one of his favorite activities of the evening.)

Later we gave Tim a new clock to signify his exciting future as a civilian. My sister even had it engraved with the message below.

“There is a time for everything…a time to tear and a time to mend,…a time for war and a time for peace. October 26, 2012”

Civilian King Crowning Ceremony: Finally, we crowned the former soldier with a new title, Civilian King, and followed it with champagne toasts and cake! (Yummmm.) Note: That is Tim smiling in the picture below on the right. Seriously.

Army Themed Party Games!

In my family it’s not a party unless there are games. (My mother is the self-proclaimed game queen.) I did a seperate post on the games for this celebration since they’d be great for a child’s army themed birthday party too! Check it out here!