At some point over the past year, my son fell in love with Chronicles of Narnia. One day he’ll claim to be Peter Pevensie, the next he begs to officially change his name to Caspian.
I am forever cast as the White Witch and his two sisters willingly play along as Susan & Lucy. When deciding on a theme for his 5th birthday, Narnia was the only option in his mind. His birthday is just days before Halloween so it was the perfect occasion to get into character.
For the party, I kept the references to Narnia fairly subtle and created a simple medieval knight celebration with colors and heraldic crests inspired by the coronation ceremony in the Lion the Witch & the Wardrobe. The vision was fit for royalty, but the budget was not, so whenever possible I tried to find creative ways to keep costs low.
Fortunately this sweet group of friends regarded a golden spray-painted lion from the dollar store as if it truly was the most priceless treasure on earth.
Some simple accessories helped transform our guests into ladies-in-waiting and young squires.
The girls were outfitted with floral crowns made from dollar store supplies and floor-length no-sew cloaks.
The boys were given matching tabards cut from felt and tied with leather cord.
I made the birthday boy’s tabard and crown from wool felt and used the remnant material to make a table runner and bunting for over the birthday table.
Late blooming hydrangeas from our yard adorned the table and dollar store goblets with jewel stickers added some royal touches.
Tiered dessert stands (made from Dollar store silver plates gorilla glued to glass candle sticks) added a simple elegance to the dessert table and small gilt dishes displayed a variety of Turkish delight.
In keeping with the royal theme, my mother made the groom’s cake featured at Prince William & Kate’s wedding (a decadent chocolate biscuit cake) as the crowning jewel of the dessert table.
After feasting on sweets, the kids were divided into teams to train in the medieval arts of jousting, fencing, archery, and catapult launching (my husband followed a simple tutorial to create some impressive catapults using mouse traps & popsicle sticks).
Narnia freeze tag followed and then a scavenger hunt where they uncovered hidden characters and clues from Narnia which led them to the final challenge of the day—breaking open the armored treasure chest (a piñata from the party aisle at Target that I customized for our party). They put all of their training to use in breaking open the treasure and were richly rewarded with a golden Aslan and a pouch of chocolate coins.
To remember their time in Narnia, we sent each child home with Dollar store shields and mini knight coloring books with a quote from Narnia: “And so for a time it looked as if all the adventures were coming to an end; but that was not to be.”
These proved the perfect words to console the birthday boy as he bid farewell to the day’s magic and reluctantly resumed his ordinary identity. Fortunately, with Halloween only three days away, the door to Narnia would soon open once more.
Thanks so much for joining me in Narnia today At the Picket Fence,
This is so adorable! You are amazing!
Love every bit of this party. Glad to see a tasteful and creative boys party!
I am soooo impressed. Might have to copy you for my Ford man’s party one day. Who crocheted the neck piece?
I also love that Narnia took over Halloween.
Thanks so much, Cindy! The crocheted chain mail hat was a gift from the birthday boy’s grandparents. It came from a shop on Etsy but I just noticed they moved to a new online location: cutiehats.com
What a great idea for a party! I love the gold lions and the table setting with all the desserts!! All the sewing, costumes, and crafts look amazing. I will have to remember the idea of the trays and candlesticks for my baby girls 1st birthday party which will be Beatrix Potter themed. Have a great day! ~ Jamie
Thanks Jamie! I just love the idea of a Beatrix Potter theme…so many beautiful possibilities and interpretations. I know it will be lovely!
Best. Birthday. Ever.
How fun is that??!! Love it.
~Cheryl
http://snaps-of-ginger.blogspot.com/
What an amazing Party!!!! Your son, and his sisters, and the guests (as well as the parents) will always have such fond memories of this very special day! You are so very talented! Thank you for sharing!
WOW! That was amazing! Every detail – perfect! Wish my boys were still little so I could steal this idea! So creative – thanks so much for sharing with us!
Now that’s a stunning party! Can’t wait until the kids get married!
Oh wow! I did a Narnia birthday party for my son a few years ago, but it was nothing like this… Very impressive!!
I think you should write a book sharing your party inspirations with the pictures you have shared. Many moms would love it!
Thanks so much for your compliment, Sandy! Your encouraging words made my day!!
An amazing party produced by an amazingly talented woman!
I am sure that the kids will be talking about the birthday party for months to come….what an unbelievably creative party…you will be in the running for Mother of the Year!!
I never saw children so involved and full of magical wonder!!!! Can’t believe she’s a chip off the old block. L
Ah-mazing!!!! Party. Wow. Loved the books (read them to Austin) and the movies. Sucha wonderful story. Really, that was a fantastic party!!
This is sooooo spectacular Julie!! Well done my friend! Well done!!! Hugs, Jennifer
Such a fun party!
It looks like the had tons of fun!! I love every single Narnian-filled detail!
Oh my. This is absolutely marvelous!!
What an amazing party! I love the unique theme idea, and the details are absolutely perfect!
could you tell me about the lion cutouts I see on the birthday boy costume and the banner? I’d like to do something similar but there’s got to be an easier way than cutting those out. All of your details are so beautiful!
Used this blog post for inspiration for my son’s Halloween costume this year! Thank you.
http://whiskeyandthread.blogspot.com/2015/10/halloween-costume-part-ii.html
Love this party. My kids and I just finished reading the Lion, the witch, and the wardrobe. I am putting together a narnia movie night for them but want to do so
E “extra” activities. Curious about your scavenger hunt. Would you be willing to share your clues?? Thank you!