When Hamilton decided to read the Chronicles of Narnia series to Belle at age four, I wasn't sure if she would like it. Boy, was I mistaken. The magical land quickly became a part of her imaginary world. For the last 18 months, she has often pretended to be Queen Lucy and made many bows and arrows out of random things from her room. She can't even sleep without her stuffed animal Aslan, so it came as no surprise when she requested a Narnia theme for her 6th birthday party.
With Grandma and Belle's help, we pooled together our imaginations and transformed her bedroom into Narnia complete with a small scale version of Narnia's wintry forest, Mr. Tumnus' cave, Beavers Dam, Aslan's Tent, the Witches Castle, and Cara Paravel. Granny helped make capes for all the kids and a costume for Belle of her favorite character Lucy Pevensie. Hamilton and I dressed up as Mr. Tumnus and the Witch Witch, respectively. Even Granddaddy and Grandpa played a character to help bring Narnia to life for the birthday girl.
Since her room is too small for an active crowd, we opted to only have a few kids enter the wardrobe at a time. Three of Belle's friends each joined us to play in Narnia at separate times during the week of her birthday, and we ended the celebration with a family gathering. I am really glad we spread the party out, as it really maximized the fun. Even though many guests were unfamiliar with the storyline, no one had a problem jumping into the action. The kids had tea, made crafts and "battled," and the adults were happy to just watch the photo slideshow of Belle's 6 years of life.
