Wednesday, July 18, 2012

One Birthday to Rule Them All

 Lord of The Rings Cake by Auntie Susan

Last weekend I hosted a Lord of The Rings(LOTR) birthday party for my son.  I have to say this was one of the more challenging birthday parties I've put together simply because LOTR is not the hot thing right now.  Translation, no toys, no decorations, and no birthday ideas on Pinterest.  That coupled with little time to plan a party required some quick thinking.  

For the invitations I went with a rustic look.  I found a free LOTR font called Ringbearer on Fontspace. I added a wax seal to the invitation like Gandalf does to seal the ring in the envelope.  Since I didn't have a wax seal, I had to get creative.  Instead of a seal I used a cheap metal cross that I placed into the hot wax, then I placed a thimble around it to make a circle shape.  Surprised it worked?  Me too!

Lets talk decorations, 

The birthday banner was made to look like Bilbo Baggins birthday banner.  I used craft paper and acrylics to make the sign. 

If you read the book or saw the movie, then you know Bilbo Baggins had a similar sign posted on his fence.  I printed one up with the font "Party Business" and placed it on the front door.

For the inside of the house, I tried to make it look like Bilbo's house.  I printed out a map of middle earth and framed it with some black card stock.  I found things around my house that looked like something Bilbo would have on his desk.  I also distressed some paper and rolled it up to look like scrolls.   Other decorations included a picture of Rivendell (salvaged from a PEZ box)  which I framed and placed on a side table.  If I had more time, I would have switched out family pictures for prints of Frodo, Bilbo, Gandalf, etc.

For the outside, I covered a beach cabana with a toy camouflage net.  My logic for this was the hobbit homes were dome shape. Plus, the tent made a nice place for the kids to sit and eat lunch.  I also covered a plastic picnic table/bench with some butcher paper colored to look like wood. 

Pictured above is my version of Shelob's (giant spider) cave.  I covered my son's room with yarn from wall to wall.  The kids had to crawl through it and find the gold rings Shelob was protecting.  This was by far the most popular game of the party. 

 Sparkler Candles

By the end of the party I felt like. . .  well I think Bilbo said it best, "Why I feel all thin, sort of stretched, if you know what I mean: like butter that has been scraped over to much bread."

20 comments:

  1. You are awesome, and that looks like a very fun, memorable party. Yay, Mom!

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  2. looks great, love the cake. I am in the middle of making a death star piñata for our party on Sunday..

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  3. Love this! I am a fan of LOTR, but my kids aren't brave enough for it yet. I imagine when a bit older they will like it too. My oldest just started watching Star Wars less than a couple of years ago...it will take a while for this series. :)

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  4. I love LOTR, and this is they coolest theme cake I've ever seen. I wish could pay you to my next birthday party.

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  5. You sure did carry the theme out in a creative and original way. Super!

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  6. I love this, and that cake is awesome! Great job on the whole party.

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  7. Great cake. At the party we went to on Saturday there was a crocodile cake because they had one of these kids reptile parties where the children held snakes and lizards.

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  8. where did you find the candles?? too cool

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  9. Susan,

    I purchased the candles a couple years ago at Party City.

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  10. You are so brave, not to mention super-creative, to take on a Lord of the Rings theme! Lovely party!

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  11. How wonderful!!

    I can't show this to my husband because he'll demand a Lord of the Rings party next year :).

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  12. love your ideas. I'm planning a lord of the rings lego party. Where did you get the paper for the invitation?

    Love from Holland,

    Claudia
    claudia_vanschie@hotmail.com

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  13. Where did you find the ring that you put in the invitations?

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  14. The ring came from the Lord of The Rings version of the game Risk. The rings I used for the invitations were those cheap gold rings used for weddings. You can find them in the craft store.

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  15. What size cake pan did you use, and was it a two layer, or a deep pan? Also, how did you do the dome part?? Great cake! lots of neat ideas! thanks!!

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  16. Jennifer,

    My aunt made the cake so I don't know the exact measurements. I'm not sure what size cake pan she used. For the dome, I'm pretty sure she carved out the shape from a round cake. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

    Jessica

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  17. You did such a great job! I am working on a party for my son. I like the paper you used for the invitations. Did you buy it just like that and where or did you modify a particular type of paper by tearing the edges by hand? Thank you.

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  18. Rhonda,

    I purchased the paper at Michaels. I bent the paper a little and ripped the edges. I also lightly rubbed the paper with a brown ink pad to make it look more distressed.

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