One of the perks of being homeschoolers means we can throw all the book club parties that we want after finishing a particularly great series! We all enjoyed the Heartwood Hotel series so much that we threw our very first book club party. My daughters were 6 and 4 at the time, so we kept things simple, but it had just enough magic for all to enjoy (even my 4yo, who can be difficult to impress and engage with this kinda stuff!)
If you landed here, I am assuming you have read the series by Kallie George. But if not, here’s the official synopsis (taken from GoodReads):
“When Mona the Mouse stumbles across the wondrous world of the Heartwood Hotel in the middle of a storm, she desperately hopes they’ll let her stay. As it turns out, Mona is precisely the maid they need at the grandest hotel in Fernwood Forest, where animals come from far and wide for safety, luxury, and comfort. But the Heartwood Hotel is not all acorn souffle and soft moss-lined beds. Danger lurks, and as it approaches, Mona finds that this hotel is more than a warm place to spend the night. It might also be a home.”
My oldest, who loves all things animals, fell in love and we ended up reading all 4, which hits just about each season. Once we finished, I set a date on the calendar and handed my girls invitations to the party. Here’s a link to the printable invitation I created.
The Party Activities
On the day of the party, I served mint tea to sip on with snacks, including a bowl of berries (a forest favorite) and homemade “seedcakes” (Mona’s favorite snack). Plus lots of activities to complete! Here’s a look at some of the things we did…
- Completed activity sheets from this bundle (made the suitcases, cut out and laminated the bookmarks, applied for a job, designed our own rooms)
- Discussed our favorite characters and why, talked about the setting, our favorite parts, which of the four was our favorite book, themes such as friendship and courage
- Listened to forest ambiance music in the background
And that’s really it! I told you, simple… but my gosh, they loved it so much. It was just so fun to snack together at the table and talk about the books. Even the crafts were simple, but they loved filling their little origami suitcases and applying for a “job.”
You don’t need to go all out and have an elaborate party to make it memorable. I hope that this proves it! x
Other book parties to check out:
