Sometimes at Southgate Coins, our birthday celebrations end up having a theme. With Miss Rebecca’s 20th birthday, we made sure that we included her favorite team of all time into the event schedule: the San Francisco Giants baseball team.
With luck on my (Maya’s) side, I overheard Rebecca tell Akimi her favorite color was yellow, only one week before her surprise birthday party was to take place. Having that information, and knowing Rebecca’s die-hard favorite baseball team is the orange, white, and black-themed San Francisco Giants, allowed me to plan for the best fall-colored celebration ever. With the color-scheme in mind, Nicole and I set out to find the right potted plant, cake, and decorations.
After searching various stores around Reno and Sparks, Nicole was able to find gorgeous bright yellow lilies, complete with a yellow-plaid painted pot. Then, she hit the party planning stores, and found girly Happy Birthday tiaras, and a giant, 10-foot long Happy Birthday banner.
Of course, while Nicole was out getting supplies, I made sure to order the perfect cake. As per Rebecca’s favorites, I ordered a chocolate cake, with chocolate icing, and a fudge-filled center. But, to follow the set theme, I ordered it with some special touches. First, it had to have yellow and orange flowers. The writing had to be yellow. Most importantly, I needed the cake to have the San Francisco Giants SF logo drawn in bright, bold, orange frosting.
Luckily, on the day of the party, Rebecca was scheduled to come in midday, so Nicole and I were able get everything set up before she arrived. And, of course, we stashed the gifts in Rusty’s office.
When Rebecca arrived for her afternoon shift, she was delighted to see the flower arrangement and birthday banner. There were little Happy Birthday signs posted all around the back end of the store, and we were all happy to see that Rebecca was genuinely surprised.
Since it was Rebecca’s first time having a birthday at Southgate, we made sure to keep her occupied while we set up the cake, and got out our Happy Birthday tiaras and noisemakers. When Rebecca heard the birthday music over the loudspeakers, she came over, and—surprise, surprise—Akimi came out from Rusty’s office!
The crowning moment was when Rebecca saw the Giants-themed cake. We knew it would make her smile. Then, we began the gift-giving ceremony, only to have Rebecca find out that Nicole and I had gotten her a Giants license plate frame, freezable mug, and window decal. These, along with the UNR sweater, made her day.
Then, Marie presented her with an adorable tassel-beanie and matching gloves, just to keep her warm on those cold game-days. We topped the gifts off by giving Rebecca her first “senior girl” Southgate to-do notebook.
Witnessing all the commotion for the first time was our newest hire, Elaine. Here’s what she thought about the events:
Hello everyone!
My name is Elaine, and as the newest addition to the Southgate family I very much enjoyed getting to participate in my first birthday celebration. And what a celebration it was: flowers, tiaras, music, cake, and presents! It was really a lovely way to express our appreciation of Rebecca and wish her the best for the coming year—and it makes me look forward to my own birthday in a couple months. ;)
I’ve been at Southgate almost two months now, and they’ve been a time of much learning and growth. Even though I’ve learned so much already, I know there’s more to come!
Happy 20th, Rebecca—may the first year of your twenties bring you nothing but joy!
Thanks, Elaine.
Well, we did it again. Rebecca’s birthday went off without a hitch, and we’re very happy to have been able to share her big 2-0 with her.
Happy birthday, Miss Rebecca. And, of course, go Giants!
Maya and Elaine