twelfth night and epiphany

we had a festive twelfth night celebration last tuesday with some friends. i made felt crowns for all the kids. not very ornate, but they worked just fine. i found the pattern in this book.

our friend josh led the kids (carrying kings and gifts) in a procession over to the creche in their house, as we all sang "we three kings." then he lit the frankincense, which was a very exciting event. here are jessa, noah and rosa checking out the scene.

i made an apple spice cake for the event, in which i was supposed to hide a bean. traditionally, whomever finds the bean in their piece is the king (or queen) for the evening. i thought it might be a little hard for three year olds to feel okay about only one person being crowned, so in my cake noah and i hid lots and lots of almonds (which i thought might taste better than a bean). everyone got one, and everyone was a king. how very inclusive, eh?

the next night was epiphany. i told the epiphany godly play story at church (to grown-ups), which was a nice experience. telling these stories has been such a great way for me to focus on entering into the mystery of christmas myself. it really works!

i rushed home after church and got the house ready for aaron and the kids. they arrived to a cozy scene: candles, christmas music, cake, tea, the full nativity set, and presents under the tree. it was a calm, happy night, and a really lovely way to say goodbye to the mystery of christmas.

here's noah in his crown with one of his epiphany gifts: tales of trotter street by shirley hughes. if i haven't already mentioned it, we LOVE this author!