Planning a Fairy Party

by Brie Do you have any little fairies living in your garden? Perhaps some gnomes hiding behind a tree stump? Elves frolicking in your bird bath?

Then I think it is time to invite them all to a party!

Recently the girl and I went to a wonderful fairy garden party at the Children's Garden located at Main Street and Clegg in Old Ottawa East. In amongst the trees and tomato plants roamed every colour of fairy, gnomes and elf you could possibly imagine. It was an explosion of gold, pink and blue. And fun!

I was completely blown away by the attention to detail at the party. The organizers did a great job in creating a non-commercial environment that stayed true to the spirit of a fairy party. They also said I could share their secrets with you.

So here is some great ideas and tips if you are interested in planning a fairy garden party:

1. Face painting. The girl headed straight for the face painting as soon as we got there. She was delighted with the simple pink and purple design that was painted on her forehead.

2. Magic wands. The first of the two crafts the girl made was a magic wand. The wands were already cut out of a firm cardboard. The kids were able to decorate them with peel-off stickers, little jewels, glitter glue and ribbon.

With #1 and #2 done the girl was ready to party!

3. Little fairy friends. The second craft on hand, which I had to help her with but would have been great for older kids to do one their own, was to make fairy friends. The fairies had pipe cleaner arms, legs and bodies and little wood bead heads with faces already painted on. Kids could add fake flower petal wings and skirts.

4. A troll pinata. What kid doesn't like whacking a troll. especially if he has goodies inside! This troll was handmade and painted a vibrant green. He really wasn't that scary though. The girl was about third in line, so eager was she to take a stick to him.

5. Magic beans. What could possibly be inside the troll's head? Why magic beans of course! Inside a blue velvet bag that the girl rushed quickly to grab from the ground once his head burst open, she found a little clear plastic bag. Inside that bag was a dozen or so magic beans mixed in with glitter and sparkles. As soon as I told her they were magic beans she headed straight for the bean tent to plant them.

6. Cupcakes and iced tea. No party is complete without cupcakes and on this day all the little woodland creatures were offered mini cupcakes topped with candies pansies. The girl ate her's right away. None was left for me. She even drank a full cup of chilled tea. And then she asked for more tea please.

7. Storytime. With so many great fairy tales out there it isn't hard to pick one to share with the kids. I found myself smiling as I watch about twenty little girls sit on the ground and listen eagerly to the story of Cinderella. In this case, a non-trademarked version. It was a great way to end a fabulous party.

Brie is the mom of a 3.5 year old daughter “the girl” and eighteen month old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.