A few years ago Drew wanted nothing more than to have a Lord of the Rings AND Hobbit themed birthday party. Drew told me I had to do both for his party because that was the whole story, so again I was “stuck” planning another Epic Movie party. This party took some crafting because there wasn’t and still isn’t a lot of Lord of the Rings and Hobbit that you can buy out in the store.
Decoration
Mirkwood Forest – Using typical Halloween spider webs, I turned my dining room into Mirkwood Forest. I just used a little tape and rough corners to hold up the web in spots. I also accented the webs with about a dozen giant spiders from my Halloween decorations.
The Shire – No LOTR party would be complete without The Shire. We made trees out of packing paper and balloons (inspired by Catch My Party.)
Food
Like all of my other parties I had to use cute names for all of the food I served:
- Hobbits (SourPatch Kids)
- Gandalf Staffs (pretzel rods)
- Tree Bark (beef jerky)
- Elrod’s Council (Keebler Elf cookies)
- Gollum’s Fish (Swedish Fish)
- Mirkwood Barrels (root beer candy)
- Shire Chicken (chicken wings)
Games & Activities
While waiting for all of the guests to arrive, the kids decorated miniature bow and arrows using markers. (Inspired by this Buzzfeed article.) Learn how to make mini bow and arrows here!
Once everyone arrived, it was time for “Place the Ring on Frodo” (LOTR version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey). I was worried that the kids wouldn’t like this game, but they loved it!
After Frodo got his rings, it was time for the kids to start their journey. This is when we donned all the kids in their cloaks and Elvish Leaf Pins. Just like in the movie!
We then sent the kids upstairs to play briefly while the adults hid “dragon” eggs that contained jewels, coins, or pieces to the map. The kids then went hunting for the eggs and worked together to figure out the clue on the map.
Then it was off to Mirkwood Forest where the kids each got a turn at the punch wall, which we covered with spider webs. (In hindsight, that wasn’t the best idea because the candy kept getting caught in the webbing.)
The last task of the journey was to defeat the bad guy, Azog. We borrowed a friend’s PVC pipe bow and foam arrows for this. I taped up a picture of Azog on the wall and cut out a circle frame for them to aim through. This was their favorite activity!
Cake
I made this cake myself and it was inspired by Bilbo’s Hobbit Home. I baked a rectangle cake and used the Wilton Sports Ball Pan Set to bake half a sphere. For the icing, I used Wilton’s No. 233 Multi-Opening Decorating Tip to create the grass look. I used fondant for the stairs plus jelly bean rocks and gum paste flowers for embellishment. Everything was edible except the plastic fencing and tall bushes.
The cake was as delicious as it was cute—not one piece was left!
Party Favors
I was so excited about the party favors this year! Each child received a loot bag and an inflatable sword as they left. We made these loot bags ourselves out of fabric. Visit our Easy No-Sew Leather-Look Pouch tutorial to see how to make some yourself!
Inside each bag was the following:
- Foam dragon glider (Oriental Trading)
- “Emerald” jewels (decorative rocks, Dollar Tree)
- Gold coins (Oriental Trading)
- THE ring on a necklace (“wedding bands” on embroidery floss, Dollar Tree)
- Silver chunks (Michael’s)
- Gold & silver bead necklaces (Dollar Tree)
They also received a cloak and Elvish Pin during the party. Our tutorials for these are super easy to follow.
This party was a lot of fun to prepare for and all of the kids loved it!
If you’d like to see even more ideas for this exciting party theme, visit our Lord of the Rings/ Hobbit Party Inspiration board on Pinterest.
Be Inspired!
Wow. How truly inventive and inspiring. I love all the fun LOTR decorations and fun games. Those leaf pins were super cute too!
Outstanding cake! It’s really creative work. I can’t wait to try this. It would be a great experience for me. Thanks for the hobbit themed party!
I love that tree. Simple and so cute for the hobbit themed party!