Girlfriend-in-Chief Tina had a big milestone birthday a few weeks ago, and her surprise party (thrown by her darling husband) rocked! Even though it wasn’t strictly a girlfriend celebration, Tina’s girlfriends added some special touches that you might want to try the next time you have a special girlfriend to recognize. Whether it’s a birthday, graduation, bachelorette party, divorce celebration, or baby shower, here are a few ways to make your  girlfriend’s occasion more memorable. More pics after the jump!

First, Tina’s sister Jenny brought the “Tree of Wisdom”—a cute little black feather tree adorned with miniature pink clothespins. Beside it, she placed slips of paper and a few pens in a pretty basket, with instructions to write a note of advice for the birthday girl and clip it to the tree. The intent was to have guests offer their advice on getting older, but the results were far more varied. The advice ranged from sweet to hilarious, with some curiously R-rated advice thrown in! You should be able to find a similar tree at a craft store or department store. And, it can be reused for many different kinds of girlfriend occasions.

Girlfriend Clare brought balloons to make the venue more festive – a thoughtful, inexpensive way to dress up any locale. She also purchased a tiara—every girl needs one—for the birthday girl to wear, and wear it she did! Dawn brought a guest book in the form of a small pink scrapbook. Guests were encouraged to sign their name and add a note to the birthday girl. Tina is going to treasure this record of the evening and her friendships. Word to the wise: Depending on how much the guests have had to drink, you might get some high-school-yearbook-style confessions!

Finally, girlfriend Susanne took it upon herself to document the evening in pictures. She made sure to get photos of all the guests—taking some 200 pictures in all. She also photographed some of the festivities in the days leading up to the big event (this was a big occasion calling for more than one celebration!) Then, she compiled the photos in a photo album for Tina. What a great gift! There were also a few disposable cameras floating around so guests could photograph themselves—always a great idea, because the photographer can’t be everywhere.

Tina added her scraps of wisdom to the photo album, and now she has a complete remembrance of her big night, thanks to a few thoughtful pals. Try one or more of these ideas the next time you are celebrating a girlfriend’s special occasion. For a small amount of effort, you’ll add a big impact to your girlfriend celebration!

What tips can you share for making a girlfriend’s party more memorable? We’d love to see them in the comments. Send us pictures of your girlfriend celebrations and we’ll share them too!