Birthday Party Redux

On Sunday, we threw E and Z a Lord of the Flies Rings birthday party.

I had gone onto Pinterest to look for ideas and witnessed all manner of craziness. I really think we need to call an armistice in the birthday party arms race, don't you? Of course, if you really love spending a month turning your living room into a Hobbit Hole for a two-hour party, then who am I to judge?

I did NOT make our house into a Hobbit Hole, but I did make a ring-shaped cake (a good excuse to buy a bundt pan on Etsy). I was surprised to find none of my cookbooks had a bundt cake recipe, so I found one online (somewhere in the middle of the spectrum that ranges from cake mix to eight hundred ingredients). It took a lot longer to cook than advertised, and I forgot to pay attention near the end, so it came out more brown than golden, but a little goat milk caramel sauce helped out. I even bought one of those disgusting tubes of frosting gel and wrote the elvish words around the outside.

The cake, along with some elf food (fruit and matzo crackers--a stand-in for that dry elf bread) and Hobbit food (bread, cheese, popcorn, pretzels--hey we're modern hobbits) made up the "feast"

To start the party, the boys (yes, they were all boys) decorated cardboard shields, and then they went to Elf Training School.

Slack line.

Balance board.

Bow and arrow.

And sword fighting.

After cake and ice cream, they separated into two "teams" and ran through our woods trail in opposite directions, twice (I had suggested that C dress up like an orc and let them all chase him, but I guess the thought of being run down by seven nine-year-olds armed with sticks did not appeal to him). After that, the party was over. 

For party favors, I made these "hand kites" which I called The Ring of Mordor, using wooden rings and satin ribbon in volcano colors, as well as a small piece of polished quartz (the arkenstone) and a small amethyst (a special elf crystal), as well as their shields, of course. 

E and Z's best friend stayed the night, and they all watched The Fellowship of the Ring (talking through the whole thing!!). Monday C's dad brought over presents, and I finally made M's birthday peppermint bark (not quite a week late!). Now I think we are finally through Birthday Season. Phew.