Birthday party, Oz style

Calvin's birthday party was last night, the party we've been planning together, he and I, for a couple of weeks now. My favorite part of the whole thing was his interest and enthusiasm for every step of the planning, and his enthusiasm didn't wane on the day of as he was handing out hats and glasses left and right, and eagerly eying the presents on their way in. Though he is gaining friends in our neighborhood I am still avoiding the big birthday bashes that are so common in our time and our party was limited to family, which kept it small and enjoyable. This will be a short post, after a long day, but I wrote about the party details here.

Just follow the yellow brick road...

The Wizard will greet you at the door.

Camera on timer, not so in focus, but still a family photo of Munchkins, Quadlings, Winkies, Gilikins, the Wizard (Calvin) and Ozma (me). Many of these details, like the hats and the glasses, will make sense only to those who have read the original series, but they're fun even if you haven't.

I didn't get a picture of it (I have no idea why) but he was ecstatic upon opening a set of Magic Tree House books, the next four that he hasn't read. Surrounded by packages unopened and toys already unboxed it was wonderful to see him get so excited about those books. We have made a point of giving books as gifts for every occasion and he not only expects them now, but gets very excited. When he received money from my godmother this time and was asked what he wanted he readily supplied the title of the next book in the Oz series.

Dinner at the Emerald City.

The cake and the characters on it (part of our gift to Calvin) will again make the most sense to someone who has read the series. Calvin did a lot of explaining at this party. You can read a little more about these fun characters here and here.