The Girlfriend Gala

Party!  Invite your girlfriends to a gala in honor of menopause (and impending menopause for those not there yet.)  Here are some hostess tips:

Decorations:  Create a tampon garland to festoon the front door.  For an attention-grabbing centerpiece, fill a glass bowl with tampons, pads, a bottle of pain reliever, chocolate kisses, birth control, a paper fan, moisturizer, and anything else that strikes your menopausal fancy.

Refreshments:  These need to shout: “Craving!”  Ask each guest to bring a snack she devoured during PMS, pregnancy, and/or menopausal moments.  You may want to provide more nutritious snacks, since most craving foods are high in sugar and salt. For liquid refreshment, pink punch, since this is all about being a girl.  Spike if you choose.

Entertainment:  Begin by asking everyone to share the story of her first period.  Vote on the most dramatic account and reward the winner with a soothing prize to help her recover from that long ago trauma—perhaps a bar of luscious soap or a bottle of mellow wine.  Then let your girlfriends wax poetic by sharing their feelings about menopause and the period-free years to come.

Favors:  Send your guests home with every girl’s lifesaver, in any stage of life, a bit of chocolate wrapped with a festive ribbon.

Photo:  This isn’t really punch. It’s pink water.  But I bet your real punch will be delicious!