Birthday at the Shire

We celebrated our son’s 9th birthday this weekend at the Shire.  Our son has been quite taken by The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings this year.  His attention was sparked by the Lego LOTR game, then Scott and him read the Hobbit and he is now reading The Fellowship of the Ring.  For his cake, he requested a volcano to look like Mt. Doom.

The kids pulled together some costumes… We have from left to right, Gimli, Frodo, Samwise Gamgee, and Aragorn. 

And Scott pulled off a Gandalf costume thanks to a moving van blanket and an old tee shirt. 

I love the Gimli costume my oldest son put together for his little brother.  I love it because it illustrates two of the things I love about my 9 year old… his creativity (shaping a costume out of oversized shirts) and his love for his little brother.  He shaped the hair and beard out of his poloshirt.  And I was so thankful that my 2 year old was willing to cooperate with his big brother’s costume selection.  Because we all know 2 year old aren’t known for cooperation.

I don’t know much about Lord of the Rings… Middle Earth, hobbits or elves.  But, thanks to the help of the internet and the dollar store, I was able to pull together some décor and games.  

The highlight for the birthday boy was battling his dad.  I must say, that Scott is at his element when it comes to the kids birthday parties.  I might pool together a list of food, game, and décor ideas , but  Scott is able to transform into whatever character fits the theme of the party and he makes it come to life.  Today he was Gandalph the Gray leading the kids in a reenactment of the story, then transforming to Sarumon so the kids could attack him (their favorite part).

Here they are weaving through a spider web in our hallway.

More pretend play in the backyard.

Frodo

Time out for second breakfast

Bobbing for apples

I just love my sons imagination.  And I loved watching him play with his friends at his party.