On the very birthday, family joined us for dinner and presents and cake. Ethan decorated the house with streamers for the special occasion:
The following week, at preschool, Wonny Bear came out for Eliza's birthday and gave her 4 kisses.
And finally, we invited some friends for a Nutcracker dance party. We had to convince Eliza it was okay to have friends from various places all come to the same party (preschool, church, etc.), but once the event came, she was definitely okay with it.
We started with a little ballerina craft as the girls arrived.
Then we practiced the five dances, followed by snack and presents. When the parents arrived with tickets, the girls performed their Nutcracker Ballet.
The girls did five Nutcracker dances, with simple costumes.
1. Clara and the Nutcracker
2. Battle between the Soldiers and the Mice (though I had to change the music because Eliza was scared of the battle music. Kudos to Tchaikovsky.)
3. Dance of the Snowflakes:
4. Mother Ginger and her Polichinelles:
5. The Sugar Plum Fairy
The girls seemed to love it, and I had a lot of fun putting it all together. Afterward I confess I had the thought that I should host a dance-a-long Nutcracker every year ... maybe have two groups of girls and do more dances. It worked out to move back the furniture and use our big family room for the stage. We'll see =)
"I likeded the presents. I likeded the dances. All of the dances were my favorite."
3 comments:
That was sure a fun party, Reagan had a great time! You know how to throw a party, Jennie!
I'm stealing that idea for our party next year! (This year we took a couple of friends to a daytime dance concert for kids.)
It was such a fun party! I totally agree that you should host a dance-along Nutcracker every year - Sydney would be there!
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