My friend, Sarah,was turning twenty-one and was talking to me about throwing a party to celebrate. She said she wanted a theme, something that would go with lots of drinking, like a fraternity toga party. I told her people dressing in sheets had been done to death. Why didn't she make the theme something more creative, like Greek Mythology? Guests could dress as gods or heros; costumes could be elaborate or as simple as they wanted. Sarah liked the idea.

Sarah made the invitations to look like miniature scrolls. They were very creative. Inside was an invitation from Zeus and Hera to come to Mount Olympus in honor of Demeter's birthday. Date, time and actual place were included. At the end she wrote, Only gods and hero's admitted. Please dress appropriatly."

The afternoon of the party Sarah and I decorated her apartment . First we covered the couch, chairs and other furniture with fabric remnants in white, purple and burgundy she picked up at the fabric store. I tSebastiani wined artificial ivy around the columns she rented from a party store. I found some fantastic plaster cupid statues at a garage sale. Sarah painted them gray and used a sponge to apply watered down paint in a darker color making them look like textured stone. They looked amazing.

We covered her dining room table with a white sheet and taped more artificial ivy around the edge. It looked fabulous. We set to work in the kitchen preparing trays of snacks cubed cheese, sliced apples, ambrosia salad, and stawberries dipped in chocolate. I garnished the trays with some CATE6:carvings] of mythical animals made from fruit. I learned how to make them from an article I read on-line. They looked pretty good for my first try.

While Sarah was getting dressed for the party I went to the supermarket deli and picked up a tray of stuffed grape leaves, and at least six rottisserie chickens. I also picked up some bags of
ice, another twelve pack of Corona beer and a couple more bottles of Sebastiani wine just to make sure we had plenty to drink. I also bought some white and red grape juices for underage guests or guests who did not drink. I stopped by the bakery last to pick up the cake I ordered for Sarah. It was decorated to look like the home of the gods atop Mount Olympus.

When I returned, Sarah was dressed in her Demeter costume. She looked great. She took the shopping bags into the kitchen and I went to get changed. When I came out harp music was coming from the stereo. I looked around Sarah's apartment amazed how different it looked.

Sarah told me she loved the cake and had put it on the table with the other food so everyone could see it and take pictures of it. We made one last check to make sure everything was ready for our guests, and it wasn't long before people started arriving.

The costumes were great. All the Greek gods were there, some even had doubles. There were two girls dressed as Athena and three guys dressed as Hercules. They made a joke of it and told everyone they were triplets. I took lots of pictures, some candid and some posed so Sarah and everyone else would have something to remember the party by. Most of the pictures came out really good.

Everyone got into the spirit acting and speaking--well, like they imagined gods might talk at a party. The party took on a life of its own and some pretty amusing things happened, like Alec, the guy Sarah liked, calling for a toast to her birthday after the cake was cut. Everyone raised their glasses and toasted her then chanted, "Demeter! Demeter!" until she gave a little speech. By the end of the evening, Sarah and Alec, who had come dressed as Zeus had hooked up.

Everyone had a really good time. It was a great party everyone will remember for years to come, especially Sarah.