Host Your Own Middle Earth Party
Hooray! January 3 is J.R.R. Tolkien Day! We celebrate the life and works of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien on this day because it also happens to be his birthday. If you’re not already getting excited about the prospective ways to celebrate, you are either A. not a fan or B. comatose. Just in case you need some ideas for your own Middle Earth party, here are a few:
Dress in costume. What fun would a Middle Earth party be without costumes? Encourage couples to come as book couples, or make a few Elf ears and felt shawls to don people with as they walk through the door.
Decorate with your favorite scene. I’ve always wanted to live in the Shire myself, but if you want to try and make your pad into a Rivendell replica, go for it. This could be pretty hard to do, however, so you might just want to hang up LOTR posters and memorabilia if you’ve got it around.
Feed with mead. Don’t stop there, of course; add your favorite Middle Earth foods—poh-tay-toes, anyone?—or simply re-name your favorite party foods things like Frodo Frito Dip, Gollum Grinders, and a Samwise Shrimp Cocktail.
Play the movies. This is an obvious one, especially since they’re, oh, the best movies ever and all.
Play Middle Earth games. The most entertaining thing here would be to designate your most lively friends as Merry and Pip and have them regale the crowd with table top dancing while they clank their brews together and sing hobbit songs. If this doesn’t appeal, try the following game:
Write down a different character name on enough scraps of paper so there is one for each guest. Tape an identity to each guest’s forehead without allowing them to peek at it. Then, they have to guess who they are by the way everyone else in the room treats them. It should be a lot of fun!
Alternatively, if that seems too hard—or if your crowd is just too shy—simply sit around in a circle and, going around the circle, allow each guest an opportunity to ask yes or no questions about his or her character until he or she can guess the character’s name.
You could also play conventional games with Middle Earth themes, like Pin the Braid on Gimli. There are also plenty of Lord of the Rings games available for purchase.
Give Middle Earth favors. Design or order some brooches, Evenstar pendants, or whatever you’d like and give them out to the guests as they leave.
