A Mid-Summer Hobbit Party
Since we would be moving before September when we host our family’s annual Hobbit Party, we wanted to throw one last Hobbit Party in our house with the friends we’ve made over the past three years here. This one was a bit different because it was in the middle of summer rather than the beginning of autumn, so I tried to keep things a little more bright and refreshing rather than cozy and warm.
I found this cute circular letterboard and of course it reminded me of a hobbit-hole, so I spray painted the middle green and added this quote from the first page of The Hobbit — “In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit.”
For the Hobbit Party decorations, I went with a lot of bright grassy greens and leaves and I think it turned out quite well! I made signs for different areas using these free fonts — normally I’ve used darker parchment-colored paper or kraft but I was all out so I went with white and it turned out fine. We got the leafy plates at Party City but there are similar ones here.
I had tons of flowers blooming on our peony bushes and in an effort to dry as many as I could, I had tied them up on the chandelier to dry and they ended up looking like a cute decoration so I just left them. It’s also hard to see in this photo but I wrote on the chalkboard — “I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.”
We tucked all of the beer and wine into one tub and labeled it “The Green Dragon” and then added a bunch of fruity, non-alcoholic drinks to the tub next to it and called that “Ent Draught”.
The dining area turned out so cute, I think — pretty simple but very hobbity if you ask me! As for the food, I made two different meals essentially: dinner and second breakfast. I actually forgot to take a photo of the whole spread of food, and I’m kinda mad at myself for it, but oh well! For dinner we had: beef and vegetable stew, rolls, two giant bowls of fruit, mushroom and bacon, and mixed veggies. And then for Second Breakfast, I made bacon, sausage, and baked eggs. I baked the eggs using a muffin tin to make them look like little hobbit doors. Recipe here.
Triple Crockpot — my secret weapon when it comes to parties; I can prep food ahead of time and keep it warm all evening
The main activity that I was so excited for was Shelob’s Web. We’ve done this activity over the past few years, but this year was even more fun because we had surprised our kids with this giant jungle gym dome this past Christmas! We grabbed two rolls of white crepe paper and went to town making it into a spider web. Then, we gave the kids foam swords and let them have at it! I wanted to add a fake spider up at the top but my kids said they’d be too scared, maybe next year!
We set the swords and glow-sticks (obviously meant to be the Phial of Galadriel) here at a table with a sign that said “Prepare Yourselves” (my 6 year-old’s idea). I was able to find both the glowsticks and the swords on amazon in bulk.
After defeating Shelob’s web, the kids went back to the dining room to eat tons (and I mean literally tons…) of fruit and dessert.
Also dessert time for the adults too! I just forgot to get any photos of them, oops!
We ended the party in our backyard with sparklers, pinata, and more drinks!
This year, we got out my daughter’s set of bow and arrows and the adults helped the kids practice shooting Smaug the dragon. We found this awesome pinata here and filled it with “Dragon’s Treasure” (gold chocolate coins).
As the sun was setting and people began packing up, one of our friends sighed, “Another successful Hobbit Party in the books!” I’m going to miss these friends so much! It’s been such a blessing getting to know so many lovely people over the past three years and I can only hope to make new friends half as wonderful as them.
