This past Friday, thanks to a little break from the stomach bug that is making it’s rounds though our home at the moment, we were able to have our fifth Good Shepherd’s Garden Party!
For those of you that are wondering just how these fun little parties tie into celebrating the liturgical year, Charlotte and I have been coming up with fun little activities to celebrate the 50 days of the Easter Season, based on the daily symbols and bible readings from The Garden of the Good Shepherd: A Sticker Calendar to Count the Fifty Days of Easter
, for the past few years now. (You can find links to all of my old Garden of the Good Shepherd posts here.)
, for the past few years now. (You can find links to all of my old Garden of the Good Shepherd posts here.) This year, instead of offering daily activities to our children, we decided to have a weekly “Good Shepherd’s Garden Party” incorporating the seven stickers/symbols from each week. This past week we celebrated the fifth week of the Easter season with a Garden Party based on the theme “The Gardener Plants Paradise.”
I stuck pretty close to our actual plans for this weeks Garden Party. Here are some of the pictures I took to share:
~ The Tree of Life’s Leaves ~
Maple Leaf Cookies
~ The Tree of Life’s Flowers ~
Lemon Cream Flower Cookies
Hershey Chocolate Flowers
~ The Tree of Life’s Fruit ~
I didn’t have a chance to get to the grocery store and we were completely out of fresh fruit. Looking though my fridge and cupboards I had the options of frozen berries, canned peaches, or tomatoes and cucumbers. I decided to go with the tomatoes and cucumbers. . . They are technically fruit, right?!
I also purchased these little Groovy Fruit Pops just before Easter with this tea in mind. Each of the kids found one at their place setting.
Another last minute addition to our party was a bottle of Sparkling Apple Cider, served with little palm tree stir sticks for decoration!
~ The Owl ~
These really were super easy, for how cute they look. I even had saved some cupcakes from last week so I wouldn’t need to bake any more, or have too many leftover!
~ The Olive Tree ~
Black Olives for the children and Double Stuffed Jalapeno/Garlic Olives for Hubby & I
~ The Palm Tree ~
Palm Tree Napkins
Cheese Cubes with Palm Tree Picks on top of Olive & Rosemary Crackers
Since I served our Garden Party for dinner, I also served Santa Caterina Pasta in addition to the Lily Sandwiches.
~ A Visitor ~
~ A Few More Pictures ~
We have really been enjoying our weekly Garden Parties! I am looking forward to seeing pictures from everyone else’s Good Shepherd Garden Parties over at Catholic Cuisine!
Wow…this cup cake looks awesome. It was nice going through your blog. Keep on posting.
Some of the things at your parties I've never seen before…like those chocolate flowers…do you mail order some things?
Everything looks so cute. The kids look like they love it.
God Bless!
I love the JOY that this type of celebration of the Liturgical year brings the children.
PaX Christi – lena
What a treat to get a deer to visit while you had your party. He must have heard about all the fun you're having…hee hee.
Our party is set for tonight. We had our last Little Flowers meeting and tea this past weekend. So, I'll be late in posting.
I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's postings.
Just lovely. I am so inspired to get the Garden of The Good Shepherd book for next year! Especially love the cupcakes:) Hope your Mother's Day was blessed!
Everything looks so pretty, Jessica! Our party just didn't happen this week =( I was looking forward to making those owl cupcakes, too. Oh well, next year! Where did you find those Hershey's flowers? They're a cute addition!
I LOVE the look on Snuggles face while looking at the owl cup cakes! So cute!
Oh, and speaking of those owl cup cakes… Girl, they were so not happening for me! I mean I *made* them happen, it's just they did not want to cooperate! I think they had it in for me, LOL! 😉
Your's turned out beautifully, though.
God bless and I hope you all are feeling lots better soon!
Everything looks great. Your children are so blessed.
the owls are amazing. I love the eyes. brilliant! yummmmmm i wish I was there to feast!
Sorry I have been MIA! It has been a crazy week!!
Thank you everyone for your kind comments! Even if it takes me awhile (forever!) to respond sometimes, I often check my email via my iTouch and always love hearing from you all!!
Mel & Sarah ~ Everything for this tea party was purchased locally. I found the Hershey Flowers at Target just before Easter (aren't they CUTE!?! the chocolate is even shaped like hibiscus flowers!) and the Fruit pops were from Michaels.
YUM!