Hexennacht

One of my favorite German holidays is Hexennacht. . . or witches night.  April 30th, every year, all the women in the German villages dress up like witches & dance around bonfires all over the country.  It's their way of warding off winter & welcoming spring.

You all know I love costumes & I keep EVERYTHING, so I made a trip to my costume closet & pulled out some costumes that work for witches.  We all dressed up after we put the boys to bed & played around as witches.

We had a little too much fun.  We couldn't build a bonfire in our area without a fire pit so we decided to "fly" instead.  We were laughing SO hard at how high we were jumping on the trampoline.

The girls tried to get some pictures on their brooms that made them look like they were flying.

A friend of ours took that picture & dolled it up to make it look like they were playing quidditch.  We laughed SO hard at this.

After everyone goes to bed on the 30th, the teenagers in each village plays tricks on their neighbors.  They hide trash cans & garden gnomes, put shaving cream on doorknobs & cars, toilet paper houses, etc.  It's kind of like our April Fool's Day.

My girls hid our Nintendo Switch with all it's controllers so that the boys couldn't find them.  When the boys asked us where the Switch was, we all acted like we didn't know what they were talking about.  We told them we've never had a Switch before, just a Nintendo Wii U.  There were tears, there was a whole lot of confusion, then there was a ton of laughter.  Poor Craiger actually started to think he dreamed that we had a Switch.  He was SO confused.  Poor kid.  It was really funny though.  They laughed in the end.

May 1st is May Day in Germany. . . the celebratory welcome to Spring.  A May pole is set up in the village square where they attach flowers, sausages, & pretzels & raise it high above the buildings.  Ribbons flow from the bottom & the people in the village dance around it.  We didn't get to do that this year because of the Coronavirus, but WELCOME SPRING all the same.

Prom-posal

It kills me that my kids & teens are missing out on some of the memories they should be experiencing because of the quarantine.  I refuse to let life pass by without trying to make some experiences for them that they can remember for years to come.

Cadence missed her Junior Prom.  It was obviously cancelled when school was cancelled.  She already had a date to go with & everything, so she was SO disappointed.  So, I thought, let's do prom here!  I know it wouldn't be as extravagant or as special as going on an actual date with her friend, but it's better than nothing.

The kids & I put together a cute little "promposal" for her to ask her.

The sweetest part was that she actually cried.  She was really really sad about not going & when she saw us walking out with our little signs she said she knew what was happening & it made her happy.  It made her happy that her family loved her enough to do this for her, even if it was a little silly.  This quarantine has REALLY brought our family closer together.  The kids are SO loving the togetherness.  They love each other so much & want the best for each other.  This made this experience even more special to her.

Wahoo.  Prom at the Potter house!  This will be a blast.

A very MAGICAL 11th Birthday for Bladen

When all this quarantine mess started, my heart immediately thought about my 2 boys who have birthdays coming up.  Would the quarantine still be in effect?  Would we get to have parties?  What was going to happen?

This one was especially tough for Bladen.  It's his 11th birthday & last year we didn't do birthday parties because we went to Disneyworld instead so he's literally been looking forward to his Harry Potter birthday party for TWO YEARS.  As April came & went, I knew it wasn't going to happen the way he had planned & as a mom, my heart sunk.  How could I make this birthday just as special for him without having a party with all his friends in our house?  It took some creative thinking, but it turned out absolutely magical in it's own way.

He had no idea, but I spent the night before his birthday transforming our house into Hogwarts.  I made a platform 9 3/4 for him to walk through in the morning.  I planned magical lesson plans & activities to do as a family throughout the day.  I planned his favorite breakfast, lunch, & dinner. . . & there was an even bigger surprise that afternoon.

When he woke up & came downstairs through Platform 9 3/4, the table was set with a chocolate frog, jelly slugs, a handmade Marauders Map, his favorite Milka bar, & a sorting hat cup to sort him into his Hogwarts house.

His birthday breakfast was ham & egg breakfast
sandwiches, bacon, fresh pineapple, & a birthday
cupcake.

When he came downstairs, he didn't know what was going on.  He was smiling from ear to ear.  I handed him his Hogwarts Express ticket, put his Ravenclaw robe on him, & then shuffled him through the platform wall.

He was excited that we still had a party at home just for him.

At breakfast we all got sorted into our Hogwarts houses.  My kids love their sorting mugs.  They have a picture of the sorting hat on them & when you add hot water/hot liquid, they change colors to reveal what house you are in.  We have 8 of them (2 of each house) & we mix them up & never know which one we'll get.  Bladen got his favorite house, Ravenclaw, on his birthday.

After breakfast we opened presents from siblings, mom & dad, & grandparents.

My friend Nancy always spoils my kids for their birthdays.  She sent all sorts of clothes, Harry Potter games & toys, & some drawing things.  Bladen loved it all.

I wore my McGonagall Robes & hat all day.  Bladen smiled & told me he'd wear his robes all day too.

One thing Bladen wanted to do this year was bake his own cake.  I stood in the kitchen & talked him through it, but it was ALL HIM this year.

While we waited for the cake to bake, we did Transfiguration class where we tranfigured each other into objects, animals, then HP characters.  (Put a word on their back & have them ask yes or no questions until they guess who they are correctly.)

And you can't have a Harry Potter day without enjoying a cup of butterbeer.

Once the cake was baked & cooled, Bladen learned how to frost it.

Bladen wanted to make his cake like the cake Hagrid made Harry for his 11th birthday.  It was perfect because that cake can be messy.  He was having a blast.

The piping was a little harder, but he got the hang of it pretty quickly.

After cake decorating, we had Potions class.

Potions is always my kids' favorite & it's SO easy & fun to do.  Just fill some cups with vinegar.  Then put different colors of food colouring on spoons & top with baking powder.  The potion color remains a mystery until they stir it into the vinegar & then the vinegar causes a small explosion which the kids love as it reveals the color.

Lorien got the Draught of Flight & had to jump
on the trampoline.

Cadence got Liquid Death.

When Trek got home, he helped Bladen put together the metal Hagrid Hut model Nancy gave Bladen for his birthday.  It was a great project for the 2 of them.

The highlight of the entire day was the surprise birthday parade all of Bladen's friends put together for him.  At 4:00 I told the kids we were going outside for "herbology."  I told them to start picking weeds & they were NOT happy with me.  Then one by one, all of Bladen's church friends started driving past the house honking their horns & waving balloons.  Some even brought him candy & presents.  It was the sweetest thing ever.

Video Of Bladen's Parade

After his parade we came back inside & he cried for 10 minutes straight telling me how much he loves his friends.  They really are the very best friends a kid could ask for.  He got some cute little Harry Potter stuffed toys, a lego set, & tons of candy to enjoy.  That parade meant the world to him.  Thank you to all those who participated in it.

Trek & Bladen continued to built the Hagrid hut model while I made Bladen's birthday dinner.  He loves lasagne, more pineapple, & salad.  He was one happy kid.

After dinner we enjoyed some of his amazing birthday cake.

It was SUCH a WONDERFUL day.  I know it wasn't a big party with all his friends, but it was magical & still wonderful.  He hugged me before going to bed & told me this was his best birthday ever.

Happy Birthday Blade!  You're the most amazing little boy ever.  We love you.