Who’d have thought, all the costumes I’ve been sewing for history presentations would come in handy for another purpose?!
The Request
At the end of each Awana year, there is a leadership banquet where the teens decorate and serve the tables with a partner, which my daughter got to do last year with a friend from her Junior Varsity Club.
The banquet organizer called me to explain that this year there was a theme: Around the World, where the serving teens would wear elaborate costumes and provide coordinating table decorations. Could my daughter do that with a partner?
The Panic yields a Plan
I started to panic. Another costume for me to sew on top of the 12+ a year I sew? Currently I had three 18th century costumes laying in pieces on my sewing table.
Then I had an idea.
Presenting my idea to my kids, I suggested they partner with one another, choose a theme from one of their previous Becoming History Presentations from which they could wear their costumes, and we’d find table decorations to match?
They were all in, and the banquet coordinator was cool with the idea!
Plan A Theme: Ancient Greece
As they perused their costumes, my son wanted to wear his Spartan costume.
My daughter was willing to wear her coordinating Ancient Greece costume since it was so comfortable and easy to put on.
However, when I asked my son how practical he thought that might be for serving, he realized he’d have a difficult time moving around in it.
Theme Decision Plan B-France from Middle Ages to Renaissance
More perusing through the historic wardrobe revealed my son’s eagerness to wear his Musketeer costume.
Understandably my daughter balked at that, because her Renaissance gown was too heavy and uncomfortable to wear.
Quickly agreeing to that, I asked if there was another costume she thought might coordinate with her brother’s Musketeer costume, without worrying about being perfectly historically accurate. (How’s that for impromptu Socratic Questioning?)
She liked her gown from the Middle Ages, where she had portrayed Maid Marion, because it was very light and comfortable, apart from the headdress which we agreed to not use for the banquet.
For those who Query the Historical Accuracy
(Since I’m often asked by blog readers how I address historical accuracy in costuming, and my kids were even asking this same question…read this next section.
Otherwise skip down to the photos of the fun and great reaction from the guests!)
Agreeing with my daughter’s choice, I said it was perfectly adaptable for France, as the Musketeer is iconically French, and the time frame was only about 400 years apart from the Musketeer.
Since both costumes are only loose interpretations of history since I sewed with box patterns from the local fabric store, we could easily fudge the timing.
Besides, no one at the Awana club will be picky about the timing. This is a fun event, not even a historical one at that. I’m sure that if we just simplified to Renaissance France, no one would fuss. (They didn’t. Instead, quite the opposite.)
Table Decorating in the theme of Renaissance France
Here they are getting the table ready…
Meanwhile Italian music was playing in the background…
Mexican food was being catered and was already in the kitchen…
After “shopping” for French decor from our house, my daughter stamped fleur d’leis on cardstock for placemats…
They were a hit!
The French story, they explained to everyone: My son was D’Artagnon from The Three Musketeers, while my daughter portrayed Constance from the same book.
They had a lot of fun! And they were a hit!
News filtered back that if prizes had been awarded that night, they’d have won first place for best table and costume!
