Royal Favors

Leading up to Hannah's Princess Aurora-themed birthday party, I thought and thought about the party favors. I knew exactly what the girls should have: pink princess hats, the kind with the floaty streamers hanging down the back.

But what about the boys? Boys don't want pink princess hats. An informal Facebook poll resulted in lots of good suggestions: boy's hats, mustaches, pirate gear. Finally, I settled on an approximation of a stuffed felt dagger I spied one day on Pinterest. (Gotta love social networking, right?)

By now, I've run out of pictures that hide the left side of Hannah's face. So you'll notice that she fell on the driveway about an hour before the party and ended up with an impressive cut above her eye. No major injury, but not a fun birthday surprise.

Even though you probably haven't seen Sleeping Beauty in the last 23 years, and don't remember the story, there are three bumbling fairies who care for Aurora. So these pretzels, dipped in white chocolate, are meant to evoke Flora, Fauna, and Merriweather. Hannah and I made these together, and she was very proud of them.

The pretzel rods were too short for the hurricane glasses, so I added some marshmallows to the bottoms to add height. I can't tell you how many kids asked me during the party if they could have some marshmallows. Who knew that the filler would be cooler than the main event?

And finally, each kid had their own goblet. This is from another scene from the movie, where King Stephen and King Phillip toast each other, their children, and everything else under the sun, while imbibing in a little too much 16-year-old wine, and ending in a fight for honor which involves a dead fish. You have to see it... I think it's one of the best scenes in the movie.

The plastic glasses had each child's name on it, and were pre-loaded with stick-on jewels (the most expensive item I bought for the party, by the way).


They were fun to make, especially for the oldest kids present, who were sophisticated enough to make color patterns and designs.

Of course, some folks just don't care about fancy cups (until the apple juice is poured, anyway). Luckily, there are lots of other things to keep a body occupied in the back yard.

And I know you've been waiting, so tomorrow, the cake!