By Monique – Part 3 from my recent visit to the Santa Cruz Mountains

The idea for this fairy themed tea party in the redwoods came about when my sister Nanette got a cute little tea set  from the Happy Dragon Thrift shop. And since they live in a forest surrounded by redwoods, I thought it would be the perfect setting to dress the kids up, have a tea party picnic, and photograph it of course!  My nephew and niece, Rowan, 4 and a half, and Lyla, 2, were so excited to go up the trail behind their house and drink tea from the new tea set. We packed a small picnic lunch, a few wedges of peanut butter and jelly, some cheerios, and for dessert, Nanette’s vanilla chai spice cupcakes complete with fairy toppers. When Rowan asked if we might see some fairies, we explained to them that they are very shy around people, so probably not. But when the party was over and the kids were ready to head back to the house for their nap, we decided to leave the fairies a little bit of food. Talking to the air as we were leaving, Rowan said, “We left you some food fairies. I hope you will be our friends.” The next day we all went back to the picnic spot to see if they had eaten the food, and, sure enough, it was pretty much gone. There was a tiny thank you card with fairy dust in the envelope addressed to Rowan and Lyla. Nanette read the card and sprinkled the fairy dust on all of our heads, explaining to the kids that it would bring us good luck. They were so excited, and couldn’t wait for another day of adventure in the redwoods, when, maybe, just maybe, they would catch a glimpse of the fairies who were now their friends.