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by Alicia Hutchinson

Six Years: An Enchanted Fairy Party

There are moments during this role that we call parenting that we sigh at the barf on our black-shirted shoulders and cry at what a horrible job we think we’re doing and we curse the piles of laundry.  But then again, there are days that erase all the others and there’s nothing but the good, the sweet, the magical.  Wednesday was that day.
 
I am warning you, I am about to use the words “fantasy” and “magical” an exuberant amount.
 
 
“It is frightfully difficult to know much about the fairies, and almost the only thing for certain is that there are fairies wherever there are children.” -JM Barrie
 
 
 
I have strong opinions about fairies and other fanciful creatures (and we’ll save those for another post) and we have built fairy gardens and talked about fairies extensively.  Also, the “enchanted forest” behind our house is basically cried out for an enchanted fairy party.  The last few weeks, we’ve been knee deep in glitter and pearlesque paint and it all came together for a sixth birthday to remember, providing fantastically magical memories to neatly tuck away for days when I feel like I’m doing nothing right.
 
Planning parties for my kids is something that’s in my veins.  I’m good at stuff like this because its a passion.  I love it.  I love the details.  I love creating memories and its all that much better doing it for little people that have uncritical eyes and want nothing more than to be told fairy tales and frolic in a fantasy land.
 
Forever inspired by nature, we wanted everything to look real.  Real like a fairy put it there…not necessarily a Disney fairy, although we do love us some Tink, we wanted it to be a bit more generic and non-commercial.  We wanted it to all blend in with the forest, like our cake…
 
 
 

 Would you slap me if I told you this is the easiest cake I’ve ever made? Literally, two layers of Betty Crocker goodness, slap on some pale pink frosting from a can (I used one white and one pink can mixed together) and add fresh berries and butterflies.  Magical.

 
 
 
 
All the little fairy girls took home wings, a flowered headband, a wand (a painted twig with hot-glued ribbon), and a jar of fairy dust.
 

 
“Tink was not all bad: or, rather, she was all bad just now, but, on the other hand, sometimes she was all good.  Fairies have to be one thing or the other, because being so small they unfortunately have room for only one feeling at a time.  They are, however, allowed to change, only it must be a complete change.” -JM Barrie
 

 
After the girls got their wings and crowns and glittered their eyes, I gathered them all around.  This is when the magic started.  I told them about fairies…about how they helped change the seasons and helped the plants and the animals.  Their eyes widened as I told them how to spot fairy houses at the base of a tree and how to be extra quiet and respectful of the forest.  You could have heard a pin drop.  I told them how fairies use little things that we might drop or leave behind in their houses: keys, thread, twine, and how I had spotted some fairy things in the forest that morning.  They each got a bag and a list and their hunt began….

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When everyone had checked off their list, they headed to the Terrarium Station to make a little home for whatever fairies might come their way.  They were all so creative.  There is nothing like unbridled creativity of children…especially little fairy children.

 
 
“The fairies, as their custom, clapped their hands with delight over their cleverness, and they were so madly in love with the little house that they could not bear to think they had finished it.” -JM Barrie

“Wee folk, good folk, trooping all together.” -William Allingham

 Every birthday…every single one…there is a moment I have to catch myself.  This child, this amazing little being is mine.  Mine.  She came into the world at 1:19 in the afternoon and I held her first.  Her first kiss was from me.  We shared her first tears together.  We inhaled each other’s smells together…gazed into each other’s eyes first.  Every single birthday, I remember that moment, that first moment of their lives, when the doctor (and once Jarrod) announced what kind of sweet bundle they were and laid them on my chest.  Even though every year they look a little bigger and lose a few more teeth, that first birthday never changes and I always remember it, whether we’re dancing through the forest, clicking tea cups, or sweeping for fun…I always remember and it makes me so grateful to have this time.  I am grateful for fairies and fairy dust and magical forests…and her…

“If we opened our minds to enjoyment, we might find tranquil pleasures spread about us on every side.  We might live with the angels that visit us on every sunbeam, and sit with the fairies who wait on every flower. -Samuel Smiles
I had to include these amazing fairy quotes.  I love them all so much, but this last one is my favorite.  Just think about it…what if?

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Comments

  1. Melissa says

    Oh my gosh- I think I've now sat through at least three of S's gorgeous parties!
    And this one is HEAVEN!!
    You and I are on the exact same birthday party loving ilk- NOTHING makes me happier than party planning for one of our kids!
    I have a 16th and a 9th this month {oh happy days at my end- in my element!!} .
    Snap on the tied up bunting sweet- just made the most similar string of it for Audrey's Easter hunt party….so perfect and simple!
    Happy Birthday to your sweetest 6 year old! Toothless is just the cutest kinda fairy!! M xx

  2. Blissful Blooms says

    What a beautiful gift of LOVE! You truly have a party planning gift! Those sweet pictures of Sophia are absolutely precious! Every last detail was magical!

  6. Jessie May says

    I have read this a few times already and I love that you have included those fairy quotes. What a truly amazing birthday party. My daughter is way older than Sophia but I think she would still love the magic…

  7. Tricia says

    You are such a good mom! When you spoke about that moment when you think about your child and their birth, I got all teary-eyed. Birth and bringing a new little person into the world is so magical.

  10. Kate@StillRoomToGrow says

    oh my! I want to be one of Sophie's friends so I can come to one of your parties! You are so gifted and talented in party planning. I love all the details and how magical it all looks. you are so inspiring!

  12. Alison Agnew says

    Oh, how fun! I miss getting to create all those themed parties. Now my kids just want pizza and friends. They have become too cool for all that 'little kid stuff.' Sigh. You created an enchanted day for Sophie!

    Alison
    Nancherrow

  14. J Lara says

    This post is beautiful in every.single.way. Wow. I'm floored by the creativity, the photos, the children, their glow, and for your pure love for all of the above.

    Like magic,

    Jen

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