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Medieval Castle
 
Planning a Medieval Castle Party
Excerpts from Budget Bashes: Children's Theme Parties on a Budget - The Ultimate Medeival Castle Party
The idea of this party is to have your guests dine in a medieval castle. The Lord and the Lady of the castle have gathered everyone together to assist them in locating a family heirloom past down from generation to generation. During the feast, one of the guests will discover a letter giving them the first clue to finding this royal treasure that was hidden in the castle over a century ago to protect it from invaders.
Don't be alarmed by the amount of information you see here - that's the best part about our party planners. Use all of our ideas or just a few. Take them one step at a time and you'll be amazed at how easy it really is!
Budget Bashes: The Ultimate Medieval Castle Party, $5.99
MAP YOUR PARTY
Begin by drawing a map of your party area, whether that is the school gymnasium, playground, backyard, or an area inside your house. Imagine this area specifically as the grounds and interior of a medieval castle. It's important to be able to visualize the layout to give you an idea of how many props you have space for and make setting up your activity stations much more efficient on the day of the party. See the Activity/Games ideas below as you map your party.
Designate parts of your party area as parts of the castle. Once you have a layout, draw a map of the castle grounds on parchment paper. Large sheets of parchment paper can be expensive and are sometimes only sold in bulk. To make your own parchment, tea-stain heavy white paper. To do this crinkle then smooth the paper. Wrinkles in the paper create an antique look. Make some very strong tea using a cup of boiling water and 3 or 4 tea bags. Let the tea cool, brush it onto the paper, and let dry. Repeat the process on the back side. Draw a map of your castle with black or brown marker.
ARCHITECTURE OF A CASTLE
Medieval castles are fascinating structures unto themselves. The architecture is distinctive and impressive. If the landscape was flat, a castle was built on a man-made mountain called a motte. Tall, thick walls were constructed around the perimeter to protect the people from invaders. The walls had a walkway that ran along the top of it and was used by the guards to keep watch. Towers were built along the walls for strength, housing, and for the guards to keep watch. The walls and towers had small, keyhole windows just large enough to shoot arrows through for protection.
Continued...
THE GUESTS
Each of the residents of a castle had a specific designation and job to perform. As each of your guests arrive at the feast, present them with a card that will identify their position. Print this nametag on the computer on card stock and tie with a long ribbon. These can also be personalized with their picture.
- Lords and Ladies: The lords and ladies were the most important people of the castle. They generally consisted of the royal family.
- Chaplain or Bishop: Provided the religious support and was responsible for the chapel.
- Knights: Soldiers responsible for defending the castle. The knights were protected with full suits of armor, swords, shields, and crossbows. Their horses displayed coat of arms and were padded for protection.
- Atilliator: Skilled castle workers who made crossbows.
- Butler: The butler was in charged of food and drink.
- Continued...
THE GREAT HALL
The great hall is the large room in the center of the castle where people gather for feasts and celebrations. This will be the primary setting for your party. As the guests enter the great hall, they will immediately see a grand table set for a king! The walls will be decorated with coat of arms banners, chandeliers will hang from the ceiling, torches will light the walls, and tapestries will decorate the walls.
- Table: Set out a very long dining table with several chairs or benches lining the sides and ends. Drape the table with royal blue or purple paper tablecloths (or choose your school colors). Cover the center length with a runner of fabric - we found a sheer white cloth that had purple stars printed on it.
- Goblet/Chalice: Set a goblet at each place setting. A goblet has a tall stem like a wineglass but is heftier in nature. These are an important part of your decor as they will add an authentic touch to your table setting. We found some blue and white goblets at a fabric store during the summer for only $1.00 each.
- Chandelier: Electricity did not exist in medieval times so chandeliers held candles instead. If you do not already have a chandelier hanging over your dining table, make a unique one of your own using tree branches. We explain how to do this in detail in our ebook.
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A complete list of detailed ideas for a grand table setting, including centerpieces, favors, placesettings, and more, can be found in our ebook.
DECORATIONS
By mapping your party area, you are now better able to visualize each section of the castle. Following are several decoration ideas, many of which the kids can make themselves.
- Coat of Arms Banners: A Coat of Arms was a symbol used to identify family heraldry. These crests were displayed on clothing, large banners, and even to adorn the cloth draped over a horse. Banners can be created using fabric or large pieces of felt (approximately 18"x24"). We prefer the felt because it can be purchased in large stiff sheets in several different colors. Glue on scraps of a different color fabric to create a pattern. Let each child create their own family crest and hang them around the Great Hall by cutting two small slits in the tops and stringing them on a long ribbon.
 
- Crowns for Boys or Girls: Crowns can easily be cut from a strip of construction paper and stapled to form a circle. You may choose to make these ahead of time and place one at each place setting or let the guest make and decorate the crowns themselves. Or, Magic Cabin sells beautiful silk crowns for boys and girls ($14.95).
- Cloak: The type of fabric you choose to make cloaks is dependent on your budget. Purchase fabric at a fabric store or use an old sheet.
- A simple cloak can be made using a rectangular length of fabric (the fabric length will be dependent upon the height of the child) and slice a hole to slip the fabric over the head, leaving the majority of the fabric hanging down their back. The kids can use fabric paint to decorate it with their own crest.
- A similar cloak can be made by taking a rectangular length of fabric (the fabric length will be dependent upon the height of the child) and slicing a hole in the center to slip the fabric over the head, leaving equal amounts of fabric hanging down the front and back. Tie a ribbon around the waist to secure the fabric.
- Or, purchase a hooded cotton velour cloak from Magic Cabin. These are beautiful and a wonderful quality for both boys and girls. Choose from the Classic Cloaks
 or Royal Cloaks ($34.98-$39.98).
 
- Dagger/Sword: Make a child safe sword by cutting the shape out of a piece of cardboard. Cover the blade with gray felt and the handle with brown or black felt (glue in place). Add a gemstone (purchased at a craft store) as decoration or draw one on with a colorful marker or paint.
- Shield: To make a shield, purchase a small round wooden board from your local craft store. Paint it gray. Add gemstones or draw them on using a marker or paint. Add a unique name (Marc the Magnificent, Sean the Strategic, Colby the Courageous, Connor the Chivalric, Brian the Brave, Billy the Brilliant, Evan the Extraordinary, or George the Great). Hot glue on a wide strip of felt to the back to make a handle. Shields can also be made out of cardboard.
 
Or, purchase 12 On Guard! Cardboard Shields
 ($9.95 per dozen) and
12 Design Your Own! Card Stock Swords
($5.95 per dozen) from Oriental Trading.
- Mice: Castle were not free from mice. Hide toy mice in the Hidden Passageway (see below). The Magic Cabin sells Speedy Mice (set of 4 for $12.95) that can be used as prizes (see Activities).
For a complete list of over 35 detailed decoration ideas, most of which are homemade, please purchase the complete ebook through PayPal for only $5.99
ACTIVITIES/GAMES
The idea of the party is to have your guests gather together at the castle for a royal celebration. Just after all of the guests have arrived the Lord or Lady announce that they have actually gathered everyone together to help them locate a royal heirloom that they now believe was hidden in the castle over a century ago. They inform the guests that they recently found a letter dating back 100 years taped to the underside of an antique dresser that has been in the family for six generations. The letter states:
To the Founder of this letter,
If you have found this letter, it is assumed that you are of royal blood and a descendent of the Williamson Family of the Corrie County, Scotland. In order to protect our family secret, I have hidden a family heirloom in this here castle. Follow these clues and they will lead you to our treasured possession as well as small treasures along the way. Throughout your quest, you will be asked to display intelligence, endurance, bravery, chivalry, and most of all loyalty.
Best of Luck,
Lord P. Williamson III of Scotland
Print each clue individually on parchment paper to make them easily identifiable. The first clue is taped to the fireplace mantel.
- Clue #1: Find the hidden way that leads you down; and small trinkets there will be all around. Have the guests locate the hidden passageway that leads down a set of stairs. Hide small gold coins (chocolate), candy, jewels, small toys, and the clue to the next location.
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The complete scavenger hunt letters and clues which correspond to the activities can be found in our ebook - only $5.99.
As you can see the Clues would correspond to the activities you've planned. Following is a list and description of activities. Set up the activities ahead of time. The guests should be able to follow the clues and easily move from one station to the next with little help from the party host. By placing a handmade sig at each location, the activity becomes self-explanatory.
- Hidden Passageway I: Every castle has hidden passageways! Perhaps your passageway is through a doorway leading into a separate room or down the cellar stairs. Hide the doorway by hanging a large wall mural or tapestry. Line the passageway walls with homemade torches. Once they have found the passageway, have them follow it and find hidden treasures. Hide gold coins, jewels, a chalice (goblet), dragon eggs (plastic eggs filled with candy), Speedy Mice from the Magic Cabin (set of 4 for $12.95), and the clue to their next location.
- Lance Throw Competition: Hang a target (drawn on poster board) or a hula-hoop from a tree, on a fence, or a similar location. Set an age-appropriate distance line and have the kids take turns trying to hit the target by throwing the homemade lance.
- Continued...
The ebook contains instructions for more than 10 additional activities!
FACTS
Combining a party with any lesson plan is a great way to help kids understand and have fun with the material. This party provides a perfect opportunity for a history lesson. In addition, by printing signs with interesting facts and posting them in the corresponding locations around your party area you have just created another possible activity for the guests. Let the guests know that as they visit each area they should read the signs and learn something new about the Castles. Toward the end of the party, have a question and answer competition and hand out small prizes to those that paid attention. See the Facts Sheet included in our ebook. These should help get you started.
ALSO INCLUDED IN THE EBOOK...
- Creating signs to decorate and identify areas of the castle.
- Theme-related Food & Beverage menu
- Decorating a Theme-related Cake
- Creating authentic Party Invitations & Thank You Notes
- A complete Shopping List
- Castle-Related Facts Sheet
As you can see you do not need to spend a lot of money, you just need to imagine the possibilities. By putting your imagination to work, you can plan a successful Medieval Castle party too. Good luck and have fun. And remember...
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE KIDS!
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Note: The scavenger hunt letter and people mentioned in the letter are intended to be fictional. Any reference to an actual person or place is strictly coincidental.
Bibliography
- Castles of the World. 1995-2007, www.castles.org/architecture
- Castles-Castles. 2005, http://www.castles-castles.com/
- Wikipedia, 2007, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep
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