We’ve been getting a great response to my new “Design Talk” website column. This week I’d like to introduce a new column — “Kid Talk”. We’ll be featuring stories, toys, games, books and even some advice about shopping for and entertaining your children in an imaginative way. My daughter, Dana, recently threw a fairy-themed birthday party for her daughter, Lillie. It was an enormous success and so much fun, I asked her to write the first installment of “Kid Talk”. –Joan
It was early summer when my elder daughter, Lillie, told me she would like to have a fairy-themed birthday party at the end of the summer. I loved the idea and the co-ed guest list lent itself to the woodland nymph and flower fairies that we all loved so much. I started to gather ideas and look online for sources and was met with an onslaught of princess fairy items covered in glitter and sequence. With no room for pink sparkles at our woodland fiesta, the homemade ideas began to flow.
Now, let me warn all our Hammertown readers that I am somewhat of a craft nut. If I had the time and the space….I would have craft stuff out every day making this or that for no reason whatsoever. So, this joint party for my two girls was akin to opening the crafty floodgates. I raided the Dollar Store and got to work making woodland fairy wings and crowns for all the guests. Little did I know that all 30 would agree to attend! Needless to say, I had my work cut out for me but with 15 sets of wings complete, there was no turning back. My glue gun and I spent many a night burning the midnight oil and getting ready for the big day. Olive and Lillie would help me cut up the fake flowers and attach them to pipe cleaners for the craft activities. The house was FULL of leaves, flowers, tiny sets of wings and crowns and I talked of little else. My husband suggested I might need a support group, but nothing could keep me from my mission.
Olive
In the end, although it was sweltering and hot, the party was a smashing success. The craft activities were fun for both boys and girls who loved decorating their crowns with fall leaves, feathers, flowers and butterflies. The ribbon wands were also a huge hit–and so simple to make! All I did was cut long strips of ribbon and the kids attached them to dowels with wooden beads and then decorated with the same items we had for the crowns. Fairies and elves ran through the yard streaming their ribbon wands behind them.
Just Desserts "Fairy Cake"
A scavenger hunt for fairy treasure (shiny stones for fish tanks) and other small surprises rounded out the afternoon which was then capped off by two of the most amazing cakes ever. Our dear Hammertown friend, Grace Morello, owner of Just Desserts in Hawthorne, NJ, custom made these delectable treats for each girl. Lillie had a tower of mini cupcakes, atop a chocolate layer cake and each one had a beautiful ladybug or flower atop to decorate in our theme. There was even a little fairy who sat front and center to help sing the birthday song. Olive’s cake was covered with flowers and leaves and tiered with three layers…she still talks about her “big cake and candles” as if it were yesterday.
This party and all the preparation made me appreciate the pleasure that children take in imaginative, open-ended activities. With simple tools to help them, kids will play creatively for hours. With this in mind, I began to think about Hammertown and our fabulous baby and kid areas. My mom and I have loved finding new and interesting toys, books, games and clothing to fill these nooks in our Pine Plains and Rhinebeck stores. A few years ago my cousin had given Lillie a beautiful, silk fairy skirt made by a company her friend had pioneered called Sarah’s Silks. I had often thought of carrying their creative play costumes at Hammertown and this was as good a time as any to dive in and get them.
Today more than ever, it is important that our kids’ toys last a long time and inspire them to play and create in collaborative, fun ways. With so many competitive, electronic toys out there that seem to hold interest for a week at best, well-made toys that inspire children from within are a welcome change.
We have stocked our Rhinebeck store (go visit and see the Rose Garden Canopy and other wonderful costumes, fairy crowns, wands, etc.) with a selection of costumes and canopies from Sarah’s Silks and we can special order any item seen on their fabulous website, sarahssilks.com.
Click here to email Dana!
This holiday season why not start or add to your dress-box with one of these beautiful costumes. I guarantee your kids will be playing with them for years to come!
Barn Notes
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