A Celtic-themed Party - Happy 8th Birthday, Josiah!

I think this was the easiest, yet most fun, themed-party we've done so far. Josiah turned 8 years old and he wanted a "Highland-themed" birthday party. Our good family friend, Billy (the older brother I never had) shares a birthday with Josiah, so we decided to turn it into a "Celtic-themed" party to honor both the Scottish and Irish heritages represented by our families. Billy can trace his family roots all the way back to the county in Ireland where his ancestors are from. We did some more digging into Michael's family history and discovered that his surname falls under two clans from the same area in Scotland, the MacGregors and Lamonts. 

We kicked off the party with some Highland games that Billy was in charge of. He's a football coach/former pastor/youth pastor, so working with kids is a natural thing for him to do. We had two different sets of "stones, hammers and cabers", one for the kids and one for the adults. It was fun watching so many participating. I love it when I see adults doing something fun with their kids that they normally wouldn't do. Having kids gives us an excuse to be a kid again :)

Even my dad did the "ball and chain toss". He did great!

Josiah running with the caber.

Even I got to try it. It was so much fun!

Michael helped Hailey with her caber toss.

Michael tossing the caber.

The decorations where simple, true to Celtic style. I found old plaid blankets to use for the table clothes, and set my Scottish swords out. I also found this really neat unbleached table runner at a yard sale that worked perfectly under the cake. The guests were pretty much the decorations, LOL. We encouraged everyone to wear plaid.

I had the cake made by a local bakery. They put both our family crest as well as Billy's on the cake, then I had them put shamrocks in the corners on Billy's side of the cake and thistles on Josiah's side. You can see the cool table runner underneath better in this picture. 

We also had a German chocolate cake for my dad and my MIL whose birthdays are really close to Josiah and Billy's.

I was pretending to cut the cake with my Scottish basket hilt sword. Of all the swords in my collection, this one is my favorite.

Michael's good friends, Billy and Patrick. Poor Michael got teased a lot about his white legs. That is what kilt socks are for, LOL! I think he'll pull them up next time ;)

Even the littlest member of our party was wearing a kilt. Check out his sock flashes. Adorable!

Our family.

I took a picture of everyone who was dressed to the "hilt" (no pun intended), Billy, Patrick, me, Josiah, Hailey and Michael. The guys are planning on doing the Highland games next year at our local Celtic Festival, so they are thinking of using our backyard to practice in. They have kids games, too. 

So happy birthday to Josiah and Billy! What a wonderful way to learn about the Scottish/Irish cultures. Can't wait to see what theme they come up with for their party next year :)

God Bless,

Jackie