Lions, tigers, and dragons, oh my! In today’s teatime, we’ll take a journey to distant lands, where “here there be dragons” and magic lurks around every cup of tea. So gather your golden coins, prepare your riddling powers, and breathe in the curls of steam from the visiting dragons!
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To get us started, here is the beginning of Ogden Nash’s delightful poem about a not-so-ferocious dragon.
From “The Tale of Custard the Dragon”
By Ogden Nash
Belinda lived in a little white house,
With a little black kitten and a little gray mouse,
And a little yellow dog and a little red wagon,
And a realio, trulio, little pet dragon.
...
Custard the dragon had big sharp teeth,
And spikes on top of him and scales underneath,
Mouth like a fireplace, chimney for a nose,
And realio, trulio, daggers on his toes.
Be sure to pick up the tale of Custard to find out how his story ends! Now that we’ve met some of our dragon guests, it’s onto the most exciting part of teatime--the fiery food and draconian drinks!
Fiery Food and Draconian Drinks
- Make a waffle dragon: Not the traditional teatime snack, but then, dragons aren’t traditionally invited to tea! To make this easy and cute dragon, you’ll need two waffles and some chocolate, syrup, or fruit to make eyes, teeth, spines, and feet. Take a look at this image from jmosmiles on Instagram for some inspiration!
- Try dragonfruit: If you can find this tropical wonder, take a chance on a new food and serve some up of this fruit that is shaped like a dragon egg, looks like flames on the outside, and tastes like a kiwi on the inside! If you can’t find dragonfruit, you may be able to find dragonfruit tea more easily.
- Eat dragon eggs: Boil some eggs and grab that leftover food coloring from Easter for a simple teatime treat. Follow the directions here from Buzzfeed to make some deliciously magical deviled dragon eggs!
- Hold a “dragon food” contest: Have each member of the family scout around the kitchen and pantry for one snack that they think a dragon would enjoy. They must defend their choice with a persuasive argument around the tea table. Let the family know why a dragon must love blueberries but despise tortilla chips!
Dragons and Decorations
Dragon treasure: Collect gold (chocolate) coins, shiny jewelry, and other sparkly objects and pile them as the centerpiece on the table. After all, every dragon needs a hoard!
Dungeons and dragons: For plenty of atmosphere, light a fire or some candles and have your teatime by firelight today. Then, make some simple “metal chains” out of black construction paper and a “portcullis” out of silver duct tape, just in case the dragon gets unfriendly and you need a place to take cover! See the inspiration from the images here and here on Pinterest.
Magical Activities
Design dragon eggs: There isn’t just one way to make a dragon egg. Pull out paper and markers, or glue and rocks, or leftover Easter egg halves, and let your inner dragon emerge! For a simple design, cut construction paper into ovals and decorate with markers and glitter. For a more natural look, try using round rocks from outside combined with leaves, acorns, and glue. Or run to the dollar store and grab sequins and glitter for a wild and crazy dragon egg!
Make mini Lego dragons: Sometimes listening to poetry makes kiddos a bit antsy. To help with the fidgeting, why not play with Legos during today’s teatime! Look here for some awesome instructions from Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls on building your own mini Lego dragons!
Create a dragon manual: Think you know everything there is to know about dragons? Well, get ready to contribute your knowledge to the world! Have each family member create a “page” (or drawing) depicting something unusual about dragons. Maybe it’s their habit of brushing all 392 teeth every morning at 10am, so perhaps they can only fly when they are picturing bubbles in their mind. Use this dragon manual from Bug, Boo, and Bean for inspiration.
Poetry Books about Dragons
Poems and tales about dragons abound, so don’t let today’s teatime go by without picking out a book or two about the dreadful and not-so-dreadful beasts!
The Tale of Custard the Dragon, by Ogden Nash
Dragon Poems, by John Foster
Evidence of Dragons, by Pie Corbett
Dragons!: Magical Poems, by Nick Toczek
Grr!: Dinos, Dragons, and Other Beastie Poems, by James Carter and Graham Denton
Imaginary Menagerie: A Book of Curious Creatures, written by Julie Larios
The Dragons are Singing Tonight, by Jack Prelutsky
Sleeping Dragons All Around, by Sheree Fitch
The Dragon’s Tale and Other Children’s Poems, by Kevin Bower
Eric Carle’s Dragons, Dragons, compiled by Laura Whipple
