My three granddaughters have birthdays that are just a few days apart. So, this year, we had a single party for all of them for which I baked cookies—so many cookies. Pretty pink cookies, purple cookies, chocolate cookies…all of the cookies!

Those though, were not the highlight of the party. Dressing up and playing princess, that was the highlight. Everyone dressed up in their royal finery and got in the spirit of things.  Including my dearest hubs, who donned his Regency dance garb and escorted the littlest princess for the event. Let me tell you, there are few things more adorable than watching the girls’ reaction to their grandpa in a tailcoat and cravat! (There’s nothing like a man in tailcoat and cravat…but I digress.)

The obligatory party-crashing dragon eventually made an appearance. While I voted to invite the dragon for tea, the dragon had such terrible manners that the princesses took up swords and shields and ran the party crasher off. While their princely brothers showed up to help with the dragon, they were in the thick of things shoulder to shoulder with their sisters. And that just seems how it should be.

And that, I think is a message I want my grandlings to carry with them. Wearing a pretty ball gown doesn’t mean that you can’t also face the big-scary that shows up unexpectedly.

While I’m sure they will remember Nana and her princess dress, these are the images I’d really like them to carry with them. I think they tell their own story.

Tell me what you think in the comments!