Zeus (Alex N-J), Hephaestus (Ian), Poseidon (Lucas)
Hestia (Avery) and Hera (Elizabeth)
Hades (Nick), Athena (Fiona), Demeter (Kasi), and Persephone (Savannah)
Persephone (Savannah) and APOLLO (Alex)
Poseidon (Luke), Aphrodite (Elissa), and Hermes (Zachary)T
These are pictures from Alex's party. I'm not terribly focused on pictures, so I hate to say that I only pulled out the camera here at the very end of the party, and I'm missing at least one child (Ares/Kyle). Unfortunately, some of the kids are covering their great costumes with their coats... After the party, I did take a couple of shots of my kids, but I guess blogger limits the number of picture postings per day, so I'll have to post those next time, I suppose!
The kids seemed to have a great time. We greeted each god/goddess as he arrived with a talisman type of necklace that held his symbol. I have a nice shot of Athena's face that I'll post later, and you can see her owl necklace.
We started the party with their craft. We designed circular shields by buying large cardboard cake plates and hot-gun-gluing straps on the back for the arms. The kids sat at the table and used gold and silver paints as well as Washable markers to decorate their shields.
Meanwhile, the bar behind them was full of somewhat Greek-inspired foods. My sister Stephenie was an enormous help with the food preparation. Dolmas (stuffed grape leaves), Greek salad, hummus, fresh veggies, olives, fig newtons, crackers, garlic breads, chocolates...it was quite nice! We served mostly grape juice for drink.
Michael arrived with the pizzas (plain cheese and olive) after a while, and everyone demolished 4 pizzas completely, despite the spread!
Michael arrived with the pizzas (plain cheese and olive) after a while, and everyone demolished 4 pizzas completely, despite the spread!
About 45 minutes or so into the party, we began the quest that Michael had created, in which he hid clues for each god to discover in a sort of treasure hunt--most clues were hidden parchment, but Ares had to fight Kronos with a spear to get him to divulge the clue, and Artemis' champion had to shoot him with a foam arrow to get her clue. At the end, they discovered Apollo's sun pinata and blasted it open with their godly powers!
Afterwards, the kids had a fantastic time repeatedly killing Kronos as a mob (luckily Michael wore his taekwondo padding!) until it was time for cake and ice cream.
The guests very considerately donated money for the Ocean Conservancy instead of bringing presents, as asked, and Apollo raised $95 from his gifts for the organization.
Since Alex has so much already and had a big Christmas and family birthday presents, I think it was a good idea. Part of me balks that we spent so much more on the party than he raised, but of course we would have done that anyway, and $95 is a pretty decent contribution! I'm proud of his selflessness, though he had a great time being the birthday boy!
Oh, I did that instant costume thing again. I had been frantically preparing for the party all day, and I had already selected a normal outfit to wear just before my bath, but the thought occurred to me during my bath that I could wear my white skirt and a white simple top and pin a new wrap that Michael had bought me in a 'toga' style. So, ten minutes before the party was to begin, I pulled on this inspired ensemble, and while brushing my hair stuck a pearl/crystal headband in like a tiara (crown) of sorts and slipped on sandals. Anyhow, it wasn't as good as the kids' costumes, and any prior costume consideration for me had seemed like WAY too much to think about, but I slapped on my gaudiest 'jewels' and felt quite pleased with my instant costume!
Oh, I did that instant costume thing again. I had been frantically preparing for the party all day, and I had already selected a normal outfit to wear just before my bath, but the thought occurred to me during my bath that I could wear my white skirt and a white simple top and pin a new wrap that Michael had bought me in a 'toga' style. So, ten minutes before the party was to begin, I pulled on this inspired ensemble, and while brushing my hair stuck a pearl/crystal headband in like a tiara (crown) of sorts and slipped on sandals. Anyhow, it wasn't as good as the kids' costumes, and any prior costume consideration for me had seemed like WAY too much to think about, but I slapped on my gaudiest 'jewels' and felt quite pleased with my instant costume!
Michael's Kronos (god of Time) costume mostly consisted of a big cardboard clock (made of same shield supplies), with a big chain for it to hang around his neck. His clothes were black and padded, excluding the orange vest and some of the padding. 'Black for evil, orange for safety first' was his silly motto!
Anyhow, I think the kids were all introduced or reminded of elements of Greek mythology at the party. They heard about the symbols of the Greek gods, and Kronos threatened to consume violators of the quest rules (as Kronos ate his own god children in mythology). It was a fun and educational theme and the kids seemed engaged to varying degrees.
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