Friday, August 26, 2016

Anne of Green Gables Living Room Picnic


A fun tradition in our home has been to watch Anne of Green Gables in the early Fall - usually Labor Day weekend when the beauty berries are purple and weighing down the branches in our backyard.

This year, I've been itching to watch much sooner than usual {I'm always eager for Fall!} and then my girls started asking regularly too for a couple of weeks if we could watch it. I finally decided to give in and who cares if we waited for the exact day!

So far, we have only watched the first movie, so we may continue the marathon over Labor Day weekend - we'll see!


Because this was spontaneous {isn't that what I usually say? It usually is!} I chose a menu and some simple decor that used only what we had on hand.

Cardboard berry boxes were left from a previous Anne experience and were layered with vintage cloth napkins that were a gift from a friend. Canning jars held homemade applesauce and broccoli salad and simple circles of fabric scraps were cut out to decorate the jar tops.  Grilled cheese was wrapped in recycled waxed paper from inside cereal boxes and apple juice was poured into free Frappucino jars.
















For dessert, I pulled out some frozen homemade cookie dough and after baking cookies assembled them into ice cream sandwiches with inspiration from the delicious ice cream sandwiches my sister served us this summer during our visit.



Here are some past visits to Avonlea from our house: 20072008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015.

Hmmm, now to imagine what fun we can have watching Anne of Avonlea!

9 comments:

Unknown said...

What i great idea! I love that movie! I like how you kept it low budget but still beautiful. Thankyou for sharing:).

Mom said...

What special memories! A lovely meal to enjoy watching Anne with an "e" - maybe someday I can be there for this annual event!

angie said...

This would be a perfect way for us to keep all things Anne in our hearts after our pilgrimmage this summer. But first, we need to secure the movie/set. What version do you have?
You make the coziest settings ever. I've never seen you have a TV in the room with the piano. Maybe we could just join your mom in coming for you to host! ;)

Carters said...

Curious...did your girls read all the books first before you watched the movies? Having trouble getting my 10yr old to read the series...she is a voracious reader too.

Monica Wilkinson said...

@Carters: Emily {11} has read the first book. And, she is also a voracious reader! I struggled to read them as a child too.

Stacy said...

I'm a recent reader of your blog, after Tamara linked here the other day.
LOVED this post, as I adore Anne. AND mason jars and fabric scraps. :)

Thank you for sharing about your lovely picnic. I love it that you took the time to make it pretty and memorable!

~Stacy

Mrs. U said...

Monica, I LOVE LOVE LOVE all of your Anne festivities and foods!!!! PLEASE is there a way for you to make this into a book/cookbook???? All these ideas and recipes are simply treasures!!

*carrie* said...

Fun! I remember our Anne picnic several years ago.

Yay for cookie ice cream sandwiches--glad you enjoyed.

I haven't seen that movie in ages.

Shelby said...

You make the coziest picnics friend. Love this. The cookie ice cream looks delicious as with all the other food you made.