“This is the land of Narnia,” said the Faun, “where we are now; all that lies between the lamp-post and the great castle of Cair Paravel on the eastern sea…”
This year we celebrated Chiquita’s birthday with a Narnia theme!
.: Decorations :.
The lamp-post, the one decoration I had ordered specifically for her birthday arrived damaged the day before her birthday, but I was able to remove the broken glass from one side and use it anyway…
When Adam’s flesh and Adam’s bone
Sits at Cair Paravel in throne,
The evil time will be over and done.
Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.
One of the older boys clipped some branches from one of our cedar trees, our oldest daughter gathered some of our Narnia-ish wooden figures (Princesses, Prince, Dwarves and Deer – some of Rose’s gifts from her Snow White & Rose Red Birthday Party last year) and a blue play silk (representing the sea) to decorate with as well, and I printed out some quotes and images from the books while the Castle cake was baking. We also pulled out the Medieval Birthday Banner to hang on the wall.
When I was making plans for this year’s Easter Baskets, I decided to get Rose and Bud a few more wooden figures that could double as party decorations! The Lion (Aslan) and Fox showed up in Bud’s Easter basket and the King (Peter) arrived in Rose’s basket. The beavers, badger, mouse, and hedgehog were new birthday surprises to finish the decorations!
.: Mrs. Beaver’s Marmalade Rolls :.
Mrs. Beaver brought unexpectedly out of the oven a great and gloriously sticky marmalade roll, steaming hot, and at the same time moved the kettle onto the fire, so that when they had finished the marmalade roll the tea was made and ready to be poured out.
I stayed up late baking “a great and gloriously sticky marmalade roll” as a special treat for the birthday girl! I used this Orange-Marmalade Rolls recipe with St. Dalfour Orange Marmalade.
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| From Instagram: Instead of frying up some “new-caught fish” we opted for bacon and fruit to go along with the potatoes and marmalade rolls. I also served a “jug of creamy milk for the children (Mr. Beaver stuck to beer)…” #akahotchocolate #chroniclesofnarnia #lionthewitchandthewardrobe #adaywiththebeavers #orangemarmaladerolls #birthdaybrunch Now to figure out how I’m going to talk my kids into “sardines on toast” for teatime! 😉 |
.: Turned into Stone :.
The sun came out Thursday afternoon and they all dressed up and headed outside to play… I loved seeing all their reenactments of the White Witch turning them into stone! Who wants to play a game of freeze tag?!
The birthday girl also pulled out the Bow & Arrows she received last year for her birthday.
.: Tea with Mr. Tumnus :.
And it really was a wonderful tea. There was a nice brown egg, lightly boiled for each of them, and then sardines on toast, and then buttered toast, and then toast with honey, and then a sugar-topped cake.
Next it was time for tea. Our tea was inspired by Lucy’s “wonderful tea” with Mr. Tumnus.
Our children had never tried sardines before. I picked some up at Natural Grocers but was pretty sure I wasn’t going to be able to talk the little ones into trying them so I ended up making some “sardines” out of white and grayish candy melts as well.
The older boys LOVED the sardines and the rest loved the candy options. Our oldest actually requested that we have sardines for his birthday too! lol
In addition to the sardines, I made a pot of tea, hard boiled eggs in our Instant Pot (can’t believe how much easier they are to peel when steamed versus boiling them like I always have in the past), and served plenty of toast, butter, and honey in this cute little pot. Instead of a “sugar-topped cake” there was Vanilla Meringues, Coconut Macaroons, and Strawberries.
.: Birthday Gifts :.
Her one birthday wish was “new books!” She received her own set of The Chronicles of Narnia, and the Tales of the Texas Panhandle Series: The Wind Blows Free, The Wide Horizon, and The Good Land. She also received an eeboo Birthday Book!
Her next gift was a new outfit… Beaver themed! #GoBeavs!
… Along with a new purse and wallet… complete with a couple $5 gift cards!
And finally, a new basket filled with a sketchbook, journal, watercolor crayons and water brushes.
.: Cair Paravel Castle Cake :.
The castle of Cair Paravel on its little hill towered up above them; before them were the sands, with rocks and little pools of salt water, and seaweed, and the smell of the sea and long miles of bluish-green waves breaking for ever and ever on the beach.
Happy 12th Birthday!
Happy and Blessed Birthday! I love how much fun your parties are Jessica 😀
2017-04-22 04:20:53
That looks like so much fun!
2017-04-22 04:50:55
So incredibly thoughtful. Every birthday theme amazes and I hope you don't mind that I've copied a number of them.
2017-04-22 12:54:34
Oh how beautiful! Happy Birthday to your daughter … My teens and I enjoyed seeing the photos — so creative! And what fun everyone looks to be having 🙂
2017-04-22 12:57:49
What a lovely special birthday. "The Chronicles Of Narnia" theme looks like so much fun. The food looks delicious. God Bless Chiquita. Marilyn
2017-04-22 20:05:37
What a beautiful and fun birthday. Everyone had a great time. Blessings to all. Marion
2017-04-22 21:19:41
Happy birthday to Chiquita! God bless!
2017-04-23 05:45:37
Everything is so lovely! PS Some of my kids love "sardines on toast!" We buy sardines from Costco and enjoy them with crackers and cream cheese. Very salty, great with a San Pelegrino soda. (Sardines had been one of my go-to proteins when pregnant….) :o) Becky
2017-04-23 15:13:46
Over the top FABULOUS! I was ( and still am) such a Narnia fan as a child and I can imagine your daughter just loved all the effort you put into celebrating her!
2017-04-24 00:50:43
Happy happy birthday! I feel so blessed to have shared so many years of your sweetness through your mom's blog and as you celebrate your birthday I am overjoyed to ask God to shower His awesome blessings on you!!! Mama you did such an awesome job with the celebration as always and what an ispiration you are!!!! There must be a grace for "picture perfect" ahh praise the good Lord for all of the happy moments.
2017-04-25 05:06:02
Happy Birthday Chiquita! How long have you had the Chronicles Wood Cutout's? Did your dad make them? They are very well made. Are you interested in working with wood? Did your party last all day?
2017-04-27 16:09:05
Happy Birthday to your daughter … My teens and I enjoyed seeing the photos — so creative! And what fun everyone looks to be having 🙂 Everyone had a great time.
2017-04-28 01:15:59