The Hubby's Lord of the Rings Birthday Party

An Eye of Sauron Cake for a Lord of the Rings Birthday Party

Loyal readers will know that we like to go BIG for birthdays. Past birthday celebrations have included a present for every year you’ve earned, trips to places like Nashville, and even a full day of surprise deliveries. But this year, the hubby’s request was a little more out of left field: he wanted a party to celebrate his favorite book/movie series of all time, The Lord of the Rings.

Yep, you read that right. One grown-up Lord of the Rings Birthday Party, coming up!

Once the hubby settled on a theme, I got to work thinking about what a Lord of the Rings Birthday Party would actually entail. It seemed most logical to just screen the movies themselves, but that led to two concerns:

Those movies are L – O – N – G!!!!
The movies are like 15 years old. Would anyone really even want to come over and see them again?

With those two things in mind, I concluded that to make this a birthday to remember, I’d need to do one better than just host a movie watching party and instead make this a whole Lord of the Ring Birthday Party *experience*.

First, I started thinking about food. Knowing we’d need a full day’s worth of food to sustain all 14 hours of these movies, I went ahead and committed to doing a “Hobbit Feast:”

Each course was themed to go with the movie in some way. And I also focused on things I could make the day before and simply plate or re-heat, so I wouldn’t have to spend the entire day in the kitchen. Some of the big hits from the menu included:

The Lemon and Blueberry scones were adapted from this recipe, though I added slightly more water to mine.

The cakes included my "Eye of Sauron" cake red velvet, with a whole bunch of colored cream cheese icing, and a 9-layer honey cake brought by a friend. — The cakes included my “Eye of Sauron” cake (red velvet, with a whole bunch of colored cream cheese icing), and a 9-layer honey cheesecake brought by a friend.

My "Lembas Bread" consisted of Rice Krispie treats, wrapped in Pandan leaves. A great snack for Elevnsies! — My “Lembas Bread” consisted of Rice Krispie treats, wrapped in Pandan leaves. A great snack for Elevnsies!

Next, I focused on decor, and set out to transform my living room into Rivendale, the forest home of the Elves. Of course, I also wanted the space to be comfortable for watching a movie. So I brought in extra chairs, moved out the coffee table, and laid out a large egg-crate mattress topper, covered with a forest green sheet and then forest camo cloth, in order to give the whole space a “nature” feel. Hanging greenery, a Map of Middle Earth tapestry, and lots of thematic pillows helped finish the space.

We transformed the living room into a forest feel for the Lord of the Rings Birthday Party. — We transformed the living room into a forest feel.

Moss and tea-lights helped accent the bar top for the Lord of the Rings Birthday Party. — Moss and tea-lights helped accent the bar top.

Two forest-themed shower curtains divided the kitchen and dining room off from the main "movie" area, allowing me to prepare food without disturbing the moviewatchers. — Two forest-themed shower curtains divided the kitchen and dining room off from the main “movie” area, allowing me to prepare food without disturbing the moviewatchers. (The pets liked it too.)

A birthday sign made of burlap bunting and a sharpie, with the hobbiton font, for a Lord of the Rings Birthday Party. — A homemade sign made of burlap bunting and a sharpie, using my best go at the “hobbiton” font.

Finally, I sought to include some surprises along the way. I set off a giant party popper for Gandalf’s fireworks. Gold glitter for when Frodo receives his mithreal. Birthday crowns for the moment that Aragorn once again stands as King. Lots of fun and silly things like that.

A full house for the first movie! You can see the confetti on the ground – this was after “Gandalf’s Fireworks.”

And I think everyone had a great time! We had folks trickle in and out all throughout the day, and there was no one happier than the birthday boy….er, I mean, birthday hobbit, himself:

The world's tallest hobbit! He must've been getting into the Ent-draught again. — The world’s tallest hobbit! He must’ve been getting into the Ent-draught again.

So that’s another year of the hubby’s birthday in the books. I certainly never would have guessed he would have chosen a Lord of the Rings Birthday Party for his mid-30s, but the constant surprises from this guy are one of the reasons why I love him. Till next year!

The Hubby’s Lord of the Rings Birthday Party

Whitney