Things are still icy around here and I am still too big of a wimp to go outside. If it is below 10 degrees, I just don't think a 3 year old needs to be in and out of the car, and even though I am feeling better and over my bug, I didn't want to be in and out of the car either.
So we decided to make the most of a snow day, and have a Snow Princess Tea Party. We got all dressed up for it.
Well, kind of. One of us did at least. I'm wearing my husband's long johns, two sweaters, hair that hasn't seen a fixin in days, and a black lace "wicked witch" jacket.
The idea came about when we were out in the studio and I realized that cabin fever was really getting to both of us, if I was letting a baby play with power tools. So, I started to make up a story about snow and princesses and fairies, and it turned into a 3 hour adventure for us both.
(Notice the new chandelier? It was out in the studio, I used it for lighting for above my jewelry display at shows, now it is staying in the kitchen. My son and I hung it last night- More Zero Dollar Decorating!!)
We scoured the studio for props, and made up the story as we went along. I covered Sugarwing's little table in layers of white and slipped pillow cases over our chairs.
After creating a snow princess crown, she decided that I should wear it instead of her. Sadly, she isn't a hat person. But that is okay, she usually indulges me in so many other ways, that I can forgive her for not playing with all of my vintage hats with me.
And what do you serve a snow princess? All white foods. Snow ball candy (yogurt raisins) were the hit of the day.
Here is the story:
Once upon a time there was a golden haired, happy little princess who loved to dance and sing in the sunshine. Every where the sweet girl went, flowers bloomed and birds sang with joy, just to be near her. Butterflies and fairies flit about above her just because she was so fun to be near. And her warm, kind heart always drew them to her.
One day, a nasty gnome who liked to spend his days in darkness and gloom heard the boisterous laughter of the happy little princess and all of her flying friends. This nasty gnome hated happiness and his ears ached from the sound of glee that was coming from the friends dancing and singing in the blooming garden.
He crept closer and peeped through the hedgerow to see where this hideous laughter was coming from. And he saw the pretty princess twirling and leaping in the flower beds. The sight of such playfulness brought pain to his eyes to match the pain in his ears. He couldn't take seeing and hearing anything as beautiful as this little girl. To him, it was not beauty at all- it was torture! He had to stop it.
So, he pulled out his crooked, magic wand and waved it through the air, then pointed it right at the happy little princess and cursed her with a spell to put a stop to all the singing.
The sweet princess suddenly felt a chill. She looked to the flowering ground beneath her silk clad toes and saw the flowers wilt and frost form over them. Quickly, the pond that was filled with long necked swans started to turn to icy slush, then freeze into a solid sheet of ice. As the princess looked up, a fat flake of snow fell right onto her once rosy, now pale cheek. She smiled at his sparkling crystal beauty, even as she felt herself growing cold.
All around her, the birds, and fairies, and butterflies flapped their wings trying to warm themselves as their world became covered in ice and snow and the sun was buried behind a gray cloud of doom.
As the nasty gnome still peaked through the ice-crusted hedges, he almost smiled. But he couldn't because he had a heart colder than any block of ice. But his ears no longer ached from the sounds of song and his eyes were no longer in pain from the sight of joyous dancing.
Because, the pretty little princess who loved playing in the sunlight, slowly turned into a snow princess. Her golden hair became as white as a blizzard and she was as frozen as the ice on the pond.But as she became a statue of snow, her face froze in an expression of wonder and delight as she saw the sparkling snow flakes fall.
He trudged away, feeling satisfied with his spell, knowing that her friends would fly away to someplace warmer, leaving the princess cold and alone like he had been his entire life of 568 years.
But as he left, he looked over his shoulder, expecting to see a flight of fairies, butterflies, and birdies deserting their princess. Instead, he saw something different! All the creatures fluttered around her, staying close to bring her what little warmth they could. The littlest fairy gathered herbs to make tea to warm her, as the swans plucked their down feathers to cover her frozen limbs.
Because the sweet princess had such a loving and kind soul, no one would leave her. Even though they were so cold and had wings to fly away from the frozen garden back to sunshine, they stayed with their snow princess. They would not stray from her side no matter how cold and miserable they were!
Maybe it was the tea that started to warm her. Or the fluffy swan's down? But she knew that it was the love her friends showed her that warmed her heart and melted the ice that held her captive. All the love and caring freed the happy little princess and broke the evil spell the nasty gnome had cast.
He saw the sun coming back out through the clouds and the flowers shaking off their frost and reopening their petals. He heard singing, even more loud and joyous than what he had heard before! This time, he ran as fast as his stubby, gnarly legs would take him, far, far away from the horrid sounds. He ran straight to a cave deep inside of a hill where he could hide forever in the darkness and gloom where he belonged.
A rainbow appeared in the sky as the ice storm cleared and the snow princess thawed. She felt the sun on her skin, wiggled her toes in the soft dirt of the garden and grinned the biggest, happiest grin she'd ever grinned before. But from that day on, her hair stayed white as a blizzard and was never the color of sunshine again.
When she saw her reflection in the pond, she was reminded of the nasty gnome and his evil spell. But she was never frightened when she remembered that day. To her the white hair was the color of the downy swan feathers that her loved ones tried to warm her with. Her memories of that cold, cold day were of the love and caring that she shared with her friends.
