Kings/Princesses -4yr- Tunics for the Guests

My son wanted a kings and princesses birthday for his 4th birthday, so we started with some ideas from this site and added our own. 

For invitations, I printed each one with a calligraphy wordart letter with the child's name, and then an old English font that read King Spencer of Torquay requests the honor of your presence at the Royal Festival to be held on [date].  Your highness is summoned in his finest royal attire to the royal castle at [address].  Please make your intentions known the queen mother at [tel] so that the castle may be prepared for your arrival."  I ended with a wax seal then rolled them up and tied them with ribbon.  To deliver them I asked my actress cousin to dress as a royal page and go to his school with a trumpet and a scroll and read a proclomation that said "Brave King Spencer will soon turn 4 years old and wants to have a royal festival to celebrate.  Sadly the evil dragon has stolen his treasure and the king can no longer pay for the feast.  He requires your help kings and princesses to find the dragon slay him and take back the treasure so that he can have a party!". 

The kids were so excited - planning how to get the dragon.  It was great.  I made a queen's dress for me (my kids are small so I'll use it again) and a tunic for my husband.  My son wore his king costume and we even put the baby in a "princess" dress.  The royal family. 

On the day we decorated the jungle gym like a castle - set-a-scene castle walls and cardboard ramparts and pennants along the top.  We put the same on the front of our house and had a red carpet that led everyone into our front yard.  I had two tables set up where each child decorated a crown with stickers and made a magic wand which I explained we would need later on.  The birthday king gave each boy guest a tunic (just a fabric rectangle with a neck hole cut out and a felt shield glued to the front) and each girl was given some jewels (OTC plastic jewelry). 

Once everyone arrived we assembled the children and told the story of the dragon again adding a bit about how it was a magic dragon that couldn't be killed by hitting or kicking.  I explained that we would have to find the dragon who was hidden deep in the kingdom and that the fairies would be helping us along the way.  The first step was to walk through backwards land to the side of the house.  Everyone walked backwards to the side gate.  They then had to cross the crocodile swamp where the fairies had laid magical lilypads (hula hoops covered with green cloth) for them to jump across.  So they lept across those to the back of the house. 

Then it was time to run the gauntlet.  We put up sheets of cardboard along our patio and covered the top with streamers then had some of the dads harass the kids with pool noodles and pretend axes while they ran through to the patio steps. 

Then the kids got to go up to the patio where the fairies had left them magical ingredients to make a potion to protect themselves.  I labelled everything with pictures so the kids could "read" for themselves.  I had dragon's blood (red Kool-Aid) unicorn's tears (pink grapefruit soda) wizard's brew (blue Kool-Aid) frog eyes (eyeball gum) fairy dust (edible glitter) and newt brains (gummy brains).  Each kid got a cup and mixed up their potion then we all said the magic words and they got to drink it up. 

The last thing they had to do was to carry the invisible fairies on their cushions (beanbags)on their heads to the dragon's lair.  The lair was a corner of our garden that I decorated with more castle wall scene paper and gray paper chains.  I told the kids that the fairies had prepared magical potion bombs (water balloons) that they must use to kill the dragon.  The dragon was another actor friend who was just the right measure of scary for 4-year olds.  He was pelted and of course the birthday boy finally got him.  They took back the treasure (a silver treasure box with chocolate coins) and gave it to me (the queen) to go prepare the party. 

I then went to the front to make sure everything was set up (friends helped) while my father-in-law read a knight story to the kids to calm them down. 

They then came back to the front garden where a lavish feast was laid.  Gold metallic table cloth red metallic plates KFC drumsticks grapes and bread.  And each child got a kings mug (OTC) for the royal punch of juice and Sprite.  Everyone had just enough energy left for the cake which was a 2-storey castle that I made from a Wilton book with towers and a drawbridge and everything. 

Lots of kids thought it was a toy and wouldn't eat it!    It was a great party and my son has insisted that he's having the same party for when he turns 6. "