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Narnia Party -7yr- Decorate Frame Craft

July 2006

Paige in Tucker, GA, USA

Special Mention

Chronicles of Narnia -7 Year Old The Chronicles of Narnia was the perfect theme for cooling off during a summer birthday party for my son.  

For the invitation, I scanned in a photo still from the movie and then photoshopped my son's face into the picture so he appeared as a knight riding a unicorn.  I then used a color printer to print the picture onto postcards.  On the back of the postcard, I used a handwriting script to write:  Dear (Name of Guest), I've bad news.  The White Witch has returned, and Narnia is again in peril.  Aslan is gathering his forces, and we could use a man of your courage. 

We are gathering on Saturday the 15th of July at 2:00 in the afternoon at the wardrobe.  I expect the whole affair to take about 3 hours, as measured in England.  Unfortunately, the air raids have reached the professor's manse, so we have moved the wardrobe to the States for safekeeping.  It's at (our address here).  My Mum is manning Aslan's command post, so ring her up at (phone number)  if you will join the fight, or email her at (email address).  I know Aslan can count on you.  See you on the 15th.  Cheers, Jared.

When the guests arrived, they found a lamppost made of PVC pipe spray painted black, pie tins, a cut and reshaped milk jug, and a police light for the lamp, and a small curtain rod running through the lamppost with a street sign hanging on it showing the way to Narnia and London.  They then entered the backyard through a wardrobe made of an office furniture box, with fuzzy and furry clothes hanging inside. 

The backyard was split into two sections. On the winter side, we had strung large snowflakes and mythological creatures.  An office furniture box was shaped into a sled and spray painted white, with two thrones I'd created for previous parties inside.  I'd also filled the inside of the sled with packing material that looked like snow.  I rolled white batting over the roof of the playhouse, hung a large snowflake over the front door, and hung icicles cut from white wrapping paper onto the eaves.  This was the White Witch's castle.  In the yard, I had bop bags that I had covered in white t-shirts with pictures of Narnia villains laminated onto them.  White helium balloons with cardstock creatures tied to them floated around the yard.  The tables on the winter side had white tablecloths and were sprinkled with snow confetti.  Our pool was the dividing line between the winter and summer side. 

I put small Styrofoam coolers in it for icebergs, as well as a dozen small blow-up dragons from Oriental Trading.  On the summer side was Aslan's camp, created under a picnic tarp with banners and shields with lions on them and a gift table with a purple tablecloth.  Colorful tissue paper flowers decorated the summer side of the yard.  As the children arrived, we played the soundtrack from the Chronicles of Narnia.  They were greeted by Father Christmas (my husband in costume), who gave them each a sword made from a swimming pool noodle for battling the White Witch's henchman (the balloon and bop bag creatures and pool dragons).  I then appeared dressed as the White Witch and tried to tempt the children with Turkish Delight (bought at a local Lebanese grocery store) and frozen grapes and strawberries.  I also offered each child an ice necklace.  To make these, I strung beads and then placed each bead in one section of an ice tray. 

The craft table was open during this time.  Children could decorate foam frames with foam snowflakes, glitter, etc.  I had photoshopped a picture of each child in a Narnia scene for them to put in their frame.   For the second craft, children could choose a pattern from the Rocky Mountain Snowflake book, cut out the snowflake, and press it between laminate paper.  Free play was also available during this time, including costumes in the Ice Castle (the playhouse) for the children to turn themselves into centaurs, unicorns, and knights.  Small, round white balloons were filled with one tablespoon of rice before being blown up and were used for snowball fights during the free play.  I had frozen small action figures in ice trays and brought those out as people frozen by the White Witch.  They were great for racing down the sliding board. 

Another activity was ice sculpture.  I had used various shapes and sizes of containers to make ice, adding food coloring, and provided these along with salt and a watering can for children to make ice sculptures.  I ordered Super Snow from the internet, a mix that turns into a substance very much like snow when you add water.  The kids loved mixing the snow and playing with it.  

Games included freeze tag using a freeze ball and a heat ball; bow and arrow target practice using their pool noodle swords and a hula hoop; and foot freeze, where the children raced to see who could get the most ice cubes out of a wading pool using only their feet.  Narnia-related back-up games that we didn't use included hide and seek, statue swing, and musical sprinkler (you freeze when the sprinkler comes on, are free when it goes off). 

We also had a team event.  I had frozen two action figures into large blocks of ice, and each team raced to see who could melt the ice and free the knight first.  We had a dragon pinata, filled with candy and small knights, which the children batted with a sword.  It was then time for cake, which was a 3-D recreation of the White Witch's castle, with a small plastic lion approaching it from outside.  Other snacks that were served at various times during the party included sno cones, marshmallows, white marshmallow cookies, powdered donuts, popcorn, and Lucy's Fireflower Nectar (Red punch).  All the white food was served on cut glass in keeping with the icy look of the winter side. 

We opened gifts in Aslan's tent.  As each child brought forward their gift, Aslan (my husband in a wig) knighted them.  They were given a small plastic sword and a crown to keep.  Father Christmas returned at the end of the party to pass out favors:  a nerf ball rocket (Susan's arrows), bubble pencils with snowmen on them (Lucy's fireflower nectar), a slide whistle (Mr. Tumnus's flute), and a rock candy stick (sweets from the White Witch's castle from Edmund).   We played the movie in the house for children waiting to be picked up while we began the clean-up.  For a hot, sticky July day in Atlanta, this party was a perfect way to cool off, and it provided lots of activity for a high-energy group of little boys.

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