A month ago we did something ridiculous and outrageous. Outrageously ridiculous. Ridiculously outrageous. Completely bonkers. And it was the most fun I’ve had in a while.
The whole thing started two years before that. December 19th 2021, the 20th anniversary of when The Fellowship of the Ring hit theaters. Mitch and I along with Alex watched it at our friend’s house. Immediately after we made plans to rewatch it and the second of the trilogy on it’s 20th anniversary- December 18th 2022. Which we also did, again at our friend’s house. It was great fun, we made a big English breakfast and some Lembas Bread and it was a delightful way to spend the day. But for the 20th anniversary of Return of the King we knew we needed to step it up. And we really really did.
Prep started weeks before- menu planning, decoration acquiring, nail painting, and rabbit hunting. No actual hunting, just trying to figure out where to buy rabbit meat so Mitch could make coney stew. Bobby ended up finding it at a butcher’s up in Memphis, along with some ridiculously good bacon to go with breakfast. Since Bobby had just moved into his house in October the living room was still bare, which gave me a blank canvas for decorations.
I found vintage national park style posters with locations from the Lord of the Rings, a sign saying “no admittance except on party business”, a “let the adventure begin” banner, and some ivy. I wanted to get him a giant map of Middle Earth too, but maybe for next year. It all turned out pretty nice!
The menu had been planned around the seven Hobbit meals. It was so much food.
The day started early, we had over 12 hours worth of movie to get through so cooking began around 7am for breakfast. Tomatoes, sausages, and nice crispy bacon. And scrambled eggs of course. I think I was the only one who had any tomatoes, it was delicious. Check out my hobbit slippers!
We started the first movie once we had our food and settled in for a day of lounging and eating.
Not actually related to that particular movie marathon, but one of these days I’m going to get an argonath tattoo. Those are the giant statues in the picture above. And probably a balrog tattoo. And of course the one ring.
We watched until Elrond made the grand “You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring” declaration then paused for a quick bathroom break and a Second Breakfast of pastries and coffee. I was still full from first breakfast but I did my best. The chocolate chip brioche bread from Aldi is phenomenal btw.
We finished the first movie ahead of schedule and took another break to stretch, use the bathroom, and emotionally process the first movie. I think if I absolutely had to pick a favorite from the trilogy I’d pick the first one. There are so many scenes from Fellowship that I really love. The shire and hobbit life in general, the overhead shot of the ringwraiths entering the Prancy Pony with swords drawn (I’ve always wanted a tattoo of that too but can’t figure out how to make it work), the Art Nouveau grandeur that is Rivendell, “They have a cave troll 🙃” (I don’t know why but that line kills me), the balrog, the argonath, and of course Sean Bean doing Sean Bean things (“I would have followed you my brother. My captain. My king.” 🫡😭). It’s all so good.
Once we had all woken ourselves up and got the blood flowing again it was time for Elevenses and the start of The Two Towers. For Elevenses we had Lembas Bread and fruit. But no one actually had any fruit. And I was still too full to eat much of the bread. Delicious though.
Of the three movies this one is my least favorite. I do love Gimli though, he’s great fun in this because he’s a natural sprinter. And of course Helms Deep is epic and the Ents destroying Isengard is always a good time. Best scene has to be Aragorn with the dramatic double door entrance. We paused about halfway through for another break and to get a luncheon of baked chicken and vegetables.
Finishing up The Two Towers it was time for another break and afternoon tea. We were going to have Bundt cake but ended up just having tea. The Earl Grey with cream and sugar was particularly good.
The Return of the King started and it was almost time for the long anticipated coney stew. We had made it the day before and it smelled delicious. It was pretty good, but really reminded me of chicken noodle soup without the noodles. If we make it again I’m definitely changing up the herbs and spices in it to give it more flavor. There were definitely potatoes though, I kept hearing “Boil ‘em, mash ‘em, stick ‘em in a stew” on a loop in my head.
As the movie and with it our epic marathon neared it’s end, we prepared our final meal of the day. None of us were hungry at all but we had to do it. By that time Eli and Lily had ridden their bikes over and helped slice everything for the charcuterie.
If you haven’t watched the extended edition of The Return of the King do yourself a favor and check it out. If only to see the Mouth of Sauron. Its amazing. Also “For Frodo.” And I don’t care what anyone says, Legolas sliding down the Oliphant will always be fantastic. And basically the entire movie is great, not just the extended scenes.
With the trilogy done it was time to clean up. There was food everywhere and we had trashed Bobby’s house. It was a long day, and somehow exhausting, but I’m already making plans for next year. This is a new family tradition I’m looking forward to even more than Christmas.
