A Hobbit Birthday Party!

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” --The Hobbit

Since Justice didn't get any kind of party last year ('rona!) I wanted to turn this year's event into, "A long-awaited party of Special Magnificence;" and the day was finally here! (To see the party prep, see my post here with links to supplies.)

We staged everything in the front yard since our backyard is under heavy construction (more on that to come!) and I think it turned out marvelously (although now I know which direction the sun comes from in the evening, and next time I will put the grill somewhere that the smoke doesn't blow directly on the seating area...)

Guests were greeted with the iconic sign stating, “No admittance except on party business” at our front gate. Then, the games were readily visible: a Cave Troll Hoard of swords of Gondolin for Troll Freeze Tag;

Gollum's cave with a ring(pop) to be found in the dark;

A section of Mirkwood with webs and spider (balloons with curling ribbon legs) to be defeated with darts (each balloon had little prizes inside--and I had extra balloons so everyone got more than one!); 

And for the grownups and teens/older siblings, a fun "Hobbit Hole Game," or Cornhole (plus my husband's one request at this party: a cooler of grown-up-only drinks!);

Finally, and perhaps my favorite thing, an awesome Smaug, complete with chink in armor hanging up in our carport...

And bow and arrow so that our little heroes could defeat the dragon like Bard.

The games were a huge success--and I think having something for the older kids/adults made a big difference in how the party was a hit for all ages (especially the dads!)

As for the food, Justice requested grilled burgers and hot dogs, which made it pretty easy for me! We brought the grill out front and set up a buffet table with chips (including a barrel o'cheese balls which I labeled as "Goods for King Thranduil--empty the barrel so the dwarves can escape!"), a veggie tray, grapes, and lemonade/water dispensers. I wanted the food table to be decorated like the treasure of the Lonely Mountain, so we heaped armor and jewels and gold coins all up and down in treasure chests--I think it turned out pretty cute! 

The seating was pretty simple--since I didn't have many pretty plants yet this early in the season, I set out my herbs and strawberry plants on the table to be homey/hobbity centerpieces, along with a lantern-turned-terrarium and cute little stuffed dragon. Oh, and my quotes from the book, of course! I have a collection of galvanized buckets and serving pieces that I find incredibly useful for almost every event, and those were a great staple for this party as well.

As for the cake, there are tons of ideas of hobbit-hole cakes online, but it wasn't quite what I wanted; I was still thinking of the dragon hoard! I made one cake into a little pile of treasure with a tiny rubber dragon we found (I used gold confetti sprinkles, edible gold spray, and crushed jolly ranchers for the treasure) and then the other cake, I printed and cut out the lonely mountain and Smaug illustration and set it over my favorite quote from the books, written in icing.

I set the gift table inside, since I figured we'd move in after dinner when things would get chilly and finish up with gift opening in there, and I was tickled at the reference to Gollum's "Birthday Present," and "What does it have in its' pocketses?" My mom even wrapped her gift to look like Bilbo's mithril shirt! 

Last but not least, I set the little "loot bags" up labeled, "one-fourteenth share of the dragon hoard" for the little guys to take home, and everyone either got a "the one ring," or an elven ring--and I think a jolly time was had by all!