I strongly believe in fantasy and playtime. There is a great value in using your imagination. Now some of that has gone viral and you can use your phone to play fantasy games like Pokémon Go. I will admit I have played this game with my nephew and I thought it was fun.
As we were outside playing this game I felt it was a great way to connect with him in a way he enjoyed. It wasn’t awkward to be hanging around his auntie, going for a walk with nothing to do. We had a purpose and it was by creating fantasyland. When my children were young we created our own fantasy game by trying to catch fairies. It’s a lot like Pokémon Go without a phone.
I was just reminded of this when I read an article in Senior Perspective that warmed my heart. It was about the “Little Man” on Lake Harriet. It is a fairy door in the base of a tree that children can leave their notes and the “Little Man” will answer them. This door was there back in the mid ’90s when my daughter Zoe was a little girl and we lived a few blocks from the lake. She was too young to leave notes but we thought the door was adorable. It’s fun to know this is still going 20 years later.
When we moved to Annandale, my children took swimming lessons at Camp Courage and wouldn’t you know on the path to the pool was a Fairy Door similar to the one at Lake Harriet! That time we took a picture of the adorable door and sent it to my Dad. He, being the wonderful Grandpa that he is, started making Fairy Doors for everyone. I did some research on how to attract fairies.
You must decorate your fairy garden as to attract the nicest fairies to your door.
Fairies love shiny things…shiny stones, shiny foil, shiny glitter. The more the better.
Fairies love flowers. Decorate your fairy door with flowers and sticks from the garden.
Fairies enjoy treats! Their appetites are huge but their tummies are tiny…. so sometimes it might not look as if they have even tasted your treat, I assure you they have…look for the tiny fairy bites.
Fairies are shy; you might not see them right away. They like to hide and watch you as you decorate their door and their garden. As soon as you are out of sight they will dance with joy!
Winter is a sleepy time for fairies so they might just cuddle up outside in a comfortable tree or you could encourage them to come inside if you have a quiet corner for them in your home.
Fairies don’t have expensive taste so don’t be tempted to buy a pricy fairy home or door… making one is just as fun or use an old birdhouse that you can easily paint and decorate. If you really need a fairy door like mine, we can always call Grandpa Art! A little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men.
Roald Dahl,
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
This lovely rosemaled Fairy Door was built for Taste of Home columnist Sandy Holthaus by her father, Art Anderson of Schroeder.
Taste of Home columnist Sandy (Anderson) Holthaus lives on a farm in South Haven, MN with her husband, Michael, and their children Zoe, Jack and Ben. Her heart remains on the North Shore where she grew up with her parents, Art and LaVonne Anderson of Schroeder. She enjoys writing about her childhood and mixes memories with delicious helpings of homestyle recipes.
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