Hi Funtime,
Our daughter has a LoA for 2013, her nom and all, the only thing we are waiting for is the medical waiver for her eyesight.
We are moving forward with our going away party planning, in hopes that she'll get the waiver. If we wait too long before planning we won't be able to do as nice of a job with it.
She wanted something Naval Themed. So since we are in Northern California, we are holding it onboard the USS Hornet. We rented the Fan Tail and Hanger Bay 3. We are setting the tables up like you mentioned, with blue and gold table cloths. The cake I hadn't thought of, but I like that idea of the USNA seal on it. I've been looking for a high quality image of it, but haven't found one yet. For food, we are going with a caterer, just to make it easier on the parents. For entertainment we are hiring the "Singing Blue Stars" which is a group of blue star moms that sing 1940's error music, and their fees go to veterans charities. Then for the kids, we'll finish the night with a DJ and dancing.
I know it seems like a lot, but it's her going away to USNA, High School Grad, plus she'll turn 18 during plebe summer, so we are celebrating that early. She'll be the first officer in a very long line of military service, and only the second woman to serve from the family, after her mother.
We also set the date for June 6th, which is the D-Day anniversary, so we'll do something onboard to honor that day and our veterans as well.
I like the idea of the photos/post cards that people can mail out during Plebe Summer, my wife and I were thinking about that and what can be done.
My daughter wanted to know if it was okay to reach out to other 2013ers from NorCal and invite them to her party. We told her we should wait until she get's her waiver before we start inviting people.... it's good to plan ahead, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. But of course, we are going to let her invite her fellow classmates from the area. I think it'll be great, plus those folks will be able to get a good send off as well, and can be sent photos and letters from the party during plebe summer also.
We're still planning and are looking for ideas, but i think we are off to a good start.