Sir Samuel's 5th Birthday

Sam has been looking forward to this day for a very long time. 

His first friend birthday party!   

He decided about three months ago that he wanted a "Knight Party". 

Now, can I just be honest?  I am not a huge fan of the Medieval times.  When I read a book or see a movie about those times, I thank God that I was not born in them.  I mean really.  I imagine cold, darkness, cruelty and painful death.  Lots of painful death. 

So it took some research for me to wrap my head around a happy five-year-old birthday party all about... knights.  

Here's another side note: Sam doesn't really know anything about knights except that they are on the movie Shrek 2.  And swords and shields are great but we aren't a big "weapon family" per se, so this is pretty new to all of us.  That being said, each kid went home with a sword and a shield.  They all participated in a sword fight and they slayed a teenage dragon at the neighbors' house across the street.  (The famous Flemwads)  Our non-violent home became a regular medieval battle scene.  See?  I'm flexible. 

Now, if you know Sam, you know that impressing him isn't particularly easy.  Especially if it has to involve a lot of others.  He was very clear with us while planning this party that he didn't want there to be too many people.  When I had suggested more friends he told me very seriously, "Mom, I cannot have everybody I like there."  The kid knows himself better than any kid I've ever heard of.  So we eliminated younger siblings and even told parents to feel free to drop their knights and princesses off in order to have the least amount of chaos on the scene. 

I made a castle cake for the party.  You wouldn't believe how many castle cakes you can find on the internet.  I found the one that looked the easiest and went for it.  I'm pretty proud of it as it is my very first creative endeavor.  When you look at the picture, look quickly and not closely.  Frosting and candy cover a multitude of imperfections.  By the way, I've never seen a blue castle either, but Sam wanted it blue.  So it was blue. 

Boys entered wearing their knightly armor and girls arrived in their gowns.  I of course was the queen and Jonathan was the king.  So I wore the dress Sam chose and Jonathan borrowed clothes from a friend.  

The kids decorated shields and tiaras, rescued the princesses, had a sword fight, beat down the teenage dragon at our neighbor's house, ate mac 'n cheese and then totally demolished my cake.

The party was a success.  Sam had a blast.  He was beaming and so at ease.  He felt great as the host of this festivity and I'm postitive that he was impressed.  AMEN!  I was so proud of him and so happy for him.

The Castle Cake

  We bought the knight figurines at Michael's Craft Store. 

The were the only things on the cake that weren't edible. 

 

I'd say we were a pretty royal looking family. 



Disclaimer:  Mom's if you are reading this:  Blue frosting makes for interesting colored....waste.  So don't freak out. Your kids aren't sick.