Three Kings/Epiphany Celebration

We hosted our Three Kings/Epiphany celebration the weekend following January 6th, as the kiddies were all back to school and there were bedtimes to observe. However, we had put the chickadees’ slippers by our tree, and the gracious Three Kings~Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar (or in Spanish, as our Chickadees know them: Melchor, Gaspar y Baltazar) did come to our home!

I think they must coordinate with Santa, because knowing the overload of gifts Santa left, they leave just a few things—all of which are amazingly well received. :) They also save time by not wrapping their gifts, but rather leaving them out for easy finding. (If you look closely you can see their slippers, where they placed a smaller gift or two.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the gift opening we had dinner. Though they know the story well, we continue to reinforce it for the little chickadees, thus each of their places had a Baby Jesus from the many nativity scenes we have, and the three adults’ places each had a King. The Holy Family was the central piece—the centerpiece.

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My friend Maria of Dreams and Epiphanies also does a Three Kings celebration (be sure to visit hers; it’s a lovely affair every year) and we emailed back and forth about our plans for our celebrations. I told her I wanted to do something rustic, as the real setting was, but I was having a hard time envisioning what I would use, and my heart wanted a fancier setting. She gave me “permission” when she reminded me that the Three Kings had brought quite fancy gifts…THANK YOU, MARIA.

I was able to take the Friday before the party off, so I had a most wonderful, albeit exhausting, day creating!

I knew I wanted to use a beautiful nativity scene my husband had given me several years ago but that is too fragile for the little chickadees, and I knew I wanted it raised high above the table where I would be serving hors-d'oeuvres, again, in an effort to keep the importance of the day and the cause for celebration central.

As I rummaged searched through  my linens, I ran across this favorite tablecloth that I got last year and have only used for a table that I’ve yet to post (maybe November/December 2015!), and that was the piece that set the tone for me! (I find it so interesting how a single piece—a serving piece, a tablecloth, a particular dish, is what always gives me the final direction and inspiration!)

For Christmas our son Todd and his wife had given us the beautiful driftwood star from Pottery Barn that was perfect for over the table and the nativity scene~I wish it weren’t so hard to see under the ribbon. It was more visible in real life. :) ~

The evening before our party the table was prepped with most of the serving dishes, consisting of the mix I envisioned: crowns and silver and rustic wood pieces (my brother’s handiwork), and crystal…oh, my! (Again, thank you, Maria!)

Our celebrating the Epiphany in our home started when our grand-chickadees were old enough to understand about the Three Kings coming to honor the King of Kings, and since there are now quite a few other chickadees in our extended family, we wanted to include them (and their parents :)) as well. So the party is for them.

We gather them ‘round to talk about the Baby and the Three Kings. This year we had treat bags for them~

 

Each treat bag had:

3 Rolos (to represent the crowns of the Three Kings)

Gold chocolate coins (to represent the gifts they brought to the Baby)

and

A heart lollipop (to remind them of how much God and Jesus love them).

The treats were nestled in brown-paper gift filler, representing Baby Jesus’s bed.

Baby Love Chickadee read two Bible verses to them,

then we talked about the meaning of the day. Don’t you just love their little faces??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had crowns for the to wear, and when I asked to take the picture of these three kings they immediately grabbed whatever toy they could find to represent the gifts!

And then we ate!

THE FOOD~  (Not to be missed, the crackers still in packages…:(  ) The rush to get the food on the table AND take pictures is a challenge sometimes—do you find that too??) I really wanted pictures of the food, but feeding our guests was more important!

To end the Christmas season we used our Christmas dessert plates.

THE DRINKS~

Cold beverages~ Ice cream punch with a “crown” ice ring,

I LOVE punch bowls! I even have a Pinterest board devoted to punch bowls! I have four or five very nice ones, but you’d never know it, would you? I use the sterling one my MIL gave us many years ago every chance I get. I just.love.it! And I’ve amassed quite a collection of punch cups (many from my mother, others that I’ve collected myself), which allows us to not have to resort to disposables when we have a large crowd, which is exactly why I’ve collected them. If you’d like to go this route, they’re still easy to find, and they wash perfectly in the dishwasher, so no fear of hand washing there!

and Limoncello ~

    When Maria and her husband, Lee, came to visit us last fall, they had just returned from a wonderful trip to Venice, and they brought us a bottle of Limoncello, directly from Venice! What a gracious treat! I had meant to serve it at our family Christmas brunch but completely forgot, so it worked out perfectly to serve it at our Epiphany party! Boy, was it a hit!

I love to use cordials, so serving Limoncello was a perfect excuse to bring them out! I usually use them to serve Bailey’s straight (another YUM!), so now I have another excuse to use them!

 

And the Cuban hot chocolate (thick, and creamy, and rich, and cinnamon-y with a hint of espresso—YUM!) was a big hit again this year and has become a tradition that I’m happy to indulge. I prepared the station with add-ons, and used my favorite space-saving Southern Living Ballard Designs tiered basket for yet more punch cups and mugs at the hot chocolate station~

Mini chocolate chips (that are about the cutest thing you’ll ever see!), whipped cream, and yes…sugar for those who just might want the hot chocolate richer and sweeter than it already was!

 

 

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