Anne of Green Gables Picnic and Tea Party . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Camp d'Evegnee, August 2013)

After so many fantasy-filled Camp d'Evegnees, I decided it was time to experiment with something a little closer to reality. As a teenager, I lapped up Anne of Green Gables like water and soaked in her creativity, her constant involvement in "scrapes" and, of course, her secret crush on (sigh) Gilbert Blythe. I want both my boys and my girls to become fictional friends with our dear, quirky Anne and to appreciate the need for female protagonists whose only super power is their imagination and their ability to make a simple life absolutely fulfilling. Thank you, Anne Shirley, for being that sort of girl. (And thank you, Lucy Maud Montgomery, for creating her!)

To prepare for Camp d'Evegnee,  I read Anne of Green Gables aloud to the oldest four kids. The boys tolerated it with a respectable amount of amused interest. Eve, though, kept me grinning as I caught her leaning forward intently and clinging to each carefully crafted sentence night after night. Anne kept popping up in her everyday conversations with both Eric and me.

The kids asked me, "So, with your best friend in junior high, were you Anne or Diana?"

 I wanted to say, "We're planning a costume bedecked picnic and baking Josie Pie and drinking Root Gil-beer-t Blythe. What do you think?"

Anne of Green Gables Picnic
 We dressed up in our formal picnic attire and headed down to the next best thing to the Barry's Pond--the gorgeous Ricks Gardens at BYU-Idaho. We couldn't have cooked up a better setting with our imaginations. Anne would have approved (and she certainly would have come up with a much more romantical name than "The Ricks Gardens!").

When Eric saw my get-up with its yards of white lace I had sewn on to a plain white apron, and the converted gathered empire waist, he said, "Well. . . you look maternal." I wanted to reply, "I've always dreamed of going to a picnic in puffed sleeves.  I'd rather look ridiculous with everyone else than plain and sensible all by myself." 

The Menu for the Picnic:

Root Gil-beer-t Blythe

Matthew's Favorite Fried Chicken

Rachel Lynde's Potato Salad

Carrots (of course!)

Josie Pie

Marilla Bean Ice Cream

All of the recipes for the picnic and the tea party are posted on my recipe blog HERE

Anne of Green Gables Tea Party

We couldn't keep all of the Anne-esque amusement to ourselves, so we invited some kindred spirits to join us for a tea party.

The Tea Party Menu
A Variety of Tea Sandwiches, including my personal favorite, Fluffernutter Tea Sandwiches (a homage to Eric's Eastern upbringing)
Raspberry Cordial (absolutely non-alcoholic--no intoxicating our bosom friends)
Josie's Beaus on a String (Fruit Kabobs)
Plum Pudding with Sauce
Miss Stacy's Nature Salad
Carrots
Matthew's Lady Bugs (Get it? He's bugged by ladies! I got a real "thrill" out of that one.)
Teacup Cupcakes and Teapot Cake
You can find all of the recipes HERE

When I discovered that Plum Pudding doesn't have plums in it, I was so flabbergasted that I couldn't stop chattering about the history of the dessert. The kids got so tired of my purely nerdy enthusiasm, that I over-dramatically asked them, "Did you know that Plum Pudding doesn't have any plums in it??" at least ten times the week of the party to see them roll their eyes.

I'm sure you caught a grotesque gander of the mouse in our pudding sauce. Well, I suppose in the end it was a romantic way to persish. . . for a gummy mouse. 

I wish you could have seen Marie as she ran after her partner, waving her arms just like Jane Andrews when she thought Anne had drowned and yelling, "Wait for me! Wait for me!!!"

The kids each got to decorate their own cupcakes to look like teacups.

 

Please email me if you'd like the files for any of these printables, the invitation, or the food labels! I'm always happy to share! devegnees@byui.edu