Party Business

                                    

This year Finn turned ten.  He, like his brothers, still loves all things Tolkien, so for his birthday he asked me to surprise him with a Hobbit party theme.  I had so much fun!  Finn loved it too.  :)

His main present idea came from here.  This site gives excellent directions on how to make a cloak just like the ones the elves gave the hobbits.  It took me some time to find the perfect fabric, but I decided on a grayish-green wool fabric.  It was heavy, which helped the cloak hang right.  Finn was excited to receive it and wore it throughout most of his birthday.  To add to his excitement, his uncle surprised him with an elven brooch like the picture below.  I am not sure where he purchased it, but I have seen them on Amazon.

Finn's brothers helped me plan an adventure for him and his sisters.  Dressed in cloaks (I "creatively" made quick cloaks for Moira and Erin) the fellowship of three siblings experienced various parts of The Hobbit, including meeting the trolls, solving Gollum's riddles, and defeating Smaug at the Lonely Mountain.  The fellowship began their adventure at Bag End where they were given a bag of trail mix to munch during their journey.  Each new destination awarded the travellers with a treat upon their triumph, such as a few of Gollum's fish (gummy fish) or gold nuggets from the Lonely Mountain (Hershey chocolate and almond nuggets, wrapped in gold).  The kids had great fun!

  

For Finn's cake I decided upon a Bag End theme and used ideas from here, here, and here for my inspiration.  It was quite fun to create, and Finn was very please with the results.

For his ten candles, I found sparkler candles to represent fireworks which the Hobbits always enjoy!  The initial spark surprised him, and they were a little tougher to blow out.  The first time he tried the flames actually grew bigger.  He loved the added touch, though.

We had a wonderful day celebrating this spirited young man.  He is growing so quickly!  Happy Birthday, Finn!

God bless!

+JMJ+