The Maypole and our Beautiful Catholic Faith
According to wikipedia, a maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, particularly on May Day, or Pentecost (Whitsun) although in some countries it is instead erected at Midsummer.
Half of the girls encircle the pole in one direction, each holding a ribbon, and the other half face the other direction. To start, one line of girls is to go in first, the other to go out first. To weave the ribbons, a little song can help:
The girls alternate between going in towards the pole, and under the ribbon of person coming towards them. Then, they go out away from the pole, raising their ribbon over the person moving towards them.
The Game of Graces
One of the games I choose for the girls to play during this year’s Mother-Daughter Tea Party was the game of Graces, as suggested by Eliana. It was so much fun!
Beginning with Bocce Ball {and a few Group Photos!}
Despite a forecast of rain and snow the weather cooperated beautifully, even if it was cold, for our Mother-Daughter Tea Party and we were able to enjoy a few outdoor activities! We started with a game of Bocce Ball in the backyard overlooking a beautiful golf course, as we waited for all of our guests to arrive.
“Bocce ball is a game of Italian origin that two to four people can play in the yard, on the beach or on a strip of gravel. Game balls come in two sizes and the goal, in essence, is to roll the large bocce balls closer to the small “target” ball, called the pallino, than your opponents manage to do. In each round, the player who gets closest to the pallino earns a point. It may seem easy, but the game requires precision and patience. Eye-hand coordination is your best asset for winning this game.” – Ehow
Little Flowers “Maypole” Tea Party Favors and Prizes
We had such a lovely time at our our annual Mother-Daughter Tea Party yesterday afternoon! I have so many pictures to share that I hardly know where to begin… It is going to be a very busy week, so it may take me a little time to get to it all, but I think I will start with the party favors and then move on to the games before I finish with the pictures from the actual tea.
As always, I created little party favors for the girls. Back in 2009, for our first tea, I gave the girls little St. Therese plaques. The next year I hand-painted little St. Therese dolls for each of the girls. For our 3rd tea I filled white paper “Tea bags” with treats along with Tea Pot Lollipops. And last year I repeated the “Tea Bags” once again along with Pretzel Rods dipped in white chocolate and pink sprinkles.
This year I decided to do create favors similar to the ones I made for the Baby Shower of Roses. I headed to the dollar store to look for favor boxes and after discovering some “marshmallow poles” decided to try and incorporate a “Maypole” theme as well, since we were hoping to have a Maypole activity this year (more on that later).
Originally I planned to make my own chocolates again, but my husband said he’d rather pay for chocolates than wash my candy molds, which I have a habit of leaving in the sink! it was easier to just pick up some at the store. 😉
7 Quick Takes :: A Birthday Party and Pony Rides!
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And the big boys? Well, they had no intention of riding the poor little pony until Aunt Meagan told them that they could either ride the pony, or clean the driveway after the party! They choose to ride the pony. Captain later told me, while laughing, that when he got on the lady said, “I don’t need to buckle you, if you don’t want me to.”
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{pretty, happy, funny, real} :: The Sound of Music
An Easter Coloring Contest
Illuminated Ink is hosting an Easter Coloring Contest! I just downloaded and printed copies of the beautiful coloring page for my children. They are rounding up their favorite art supplies and can’t wait to begin! Here’s the link in case any of you would like to join the fun!
Little Flowers Girls’ Club Tea Party Games
This coming weekend we will be having our annual Little Flowers Girls’ Club Mother-Daughter Tea Party! Having completed all four wreaths last year, I did take this year off from coordinating and hosting Little Flowers for my girls, but we’ve decided that we still wanted to have the tea party. A dear friend of mine, whose daughters were/are in the older Little Flowers group, has generously offered to host our tea this year at her home, using all the decorations from her daughter’s groups annual tea party the day before!!! This simplifies things incredibly for me! I’ve already sent the invitations and assigned the food to the various girls (and Mothers) who will be attending and my girls will be wearing their Easter dresses, hats and gloves. So that just leaves me with the games, prizes, and favors to plan.
I’ve spent some time this afternoon looking though all the games we have played in the past and thought I’d round them all up into one post. At our tea parties we always take a short break to play a game or two in between each course, while the servers refill the trays for the next course. This year we will be having a four-course tea so I need to decide on 3-4 games. If the weather is nice we might be having a maypole this year, which would take care of one of the games. Here’s what we’ve playing in the past:
Would you all help me decide? This year we will have a group of about 13 girls ranging in age from 6-13, along with 6 mothers. It would be great to include a new game or two, so if you have any suggestions or ideas for me I’d love for you to leave them in the comment box!
A Brand New Release from the Benedictines of Mary
Remember the beautiful Advent at Ephesus CD I recommended during Advent? Well, the dear sisters at the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles have created another inspiring collection of music featuring 17 English and Latin pieces sung a cappella on the feasts of the holy Saints and angels throughout the year:
The funds from the sale of this CD will assist the sisters in alleviating their remaining debt, helping them get closer to building their much needed permanent monastery. Plus. if the pre-order number is high, this music will be more widely available upon it’s release showing that there is a commercial need/demand for truth and beauty in art.
*Feed readers may need to click through to watch the video.
On Divine Mercy Sunday
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