When I first heard the plot of The Hunger Games, I thought I would never read it. It sounded much too dark for me. Not the first or last time I’ve had to change my mind. It is dark, but the darkness is eclipsed by incredible character development and really thoughtful exploration of themes like justice, love, friendship, poverty, and war.

So when our older boys wanted one of the holidays to be a Hunger Games movie marathon, I was game.

Decorations

First we made mocking jays to decorate the tree and googled “hunger games coloring pages” for free coloring pages/posters.

Activities

We found this tutorial for making miniature crossbows. Yes, regular bows would have been more theme appropriate, but I’m not here for forcing craft-option-A when craft-option-B is preferred by the children. It was easy to follow and we were very satisfied with our end product.

Then we stacked plastic cups to form a target and handed out foot-long lengths of 1/2 inch diameter PVC pipe and mini marshmallows. As it turns out, they make excellent blow darts. I’m not sure whether the marshmallows were prized more as ammunition or snacks.

Food

This is my favorite part. We had…

Caesar Salad (for Caesar Flickerman) with grilled chicken (for more protein). I did not make croutons–just bought a bag ready made at the store. Also, if you like, you can usually find pre-grilled chicken breast strips in the refrigerated or frozen section of the grocery store.

Braided Bread (in tribute to Katniss’ hair and Peeta’s family bakery). I added an egg wash before baking, because I don’t think you can get the kind of crust in the picture without it. I whisked together 1 egg + 1 tablespoon of milk and brushed it on right before baking. Baking is one of my happy places. If it is your stressful place, I recommend grabbing a ready made loaf at the store, braid or no braid.

Nightlock Berry Cupcakes There are more than a few creative takes on this idea, should you care to google it. Or… you can just let you kids pick their favorite box cake mix and prepared tub of icing, and top each cupcake with a single blueberry.

For drinks I settled on… water. It seemed the most on-theme and also least-effort option. I had run out of effort.

Movies

And then of course there were the movies. It took a little work to keep our five year old otherwise occupied. What age is an appropriate age for Hunger Games? I’m not sure. Watch the films yourself first. Know your child. Trust your parent-gut-sense.

Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!