This past weekend, we celebrated my eldest son’s seventh birthday. For their birthdays, my children choose a theme for their party. This year, the birthday celebration was inspired by our family’s favorite story: “Little Pilgrim’s Big Journey”. The books have been read countless times in the past year. We even got the audiobooks and downloaded them onto our Toniebox so we wouldn’t have to read so much! It’s a story they resonate with, sparking questions about faith, perseverance, and the ultimate destination, “The Celestial City.” So, what better way to celebrate than to step into the pages of their favorite book by bringing it to life?
“My friend, I have called you by name….”
The Pilgrim’s Big Journey began with the invitations themselves. Resembling the letter Evangelist gave to Christian, using the phrase: “My friend, I have called you by name; come and join me on the journey to the Celestial City”. I used Canva to design worn-out pages and added text and images to resemble the book covers. Then, I rolled them up and tied them with a ribbon.
You can find a template of the invite here.
The Narrow Gate
Upon arrival, children had to pass through The Narrow Gate (which was our front door). I had taped some brown packaging paper with the words “Knock and it shall be opened” written on it. The guests truly felt like they were entering into the world of Pilgrims! As they stepped in, a sign was pointing them to The Interpreters House (our basement). Where they had a lesson on The Armor of God. The children also got their very own armor.
This is where the party version differs from the book. In the book “Little Pilgrim’s Big Journey”, Christian first enters The Interpreters House for lessons, after he heads to “The Place of deliverance” and then up “The Hill of Difficulty” to eventually end up at “The Palace Beautiful” for the night. Christian gets his armor the next morning.
I felt that the children would enjoy being in their armor from the start. My husband played the role of the interpreter and also took on the role of “Good-Heart,” leading the children through the journey.
The Armor
Each child received their knightly attire according to the Armor of God :
- Breastplate of Righteousnes (Ephesians 6:14): I fashioned tunics out of plastic tablecloths from the dollar store (folding in half and cutting a hole for the head)
- Belt of Truth (Ephesians 6:14): I cut 1.5 & 2 inch ribbon and tied around their waists to hold the tunics
- Shield of Faith (Ephesians 6:16): I first cut shields out of cardboard and then punched two holes vertically (about 3-4 inches apart), and finally pulled some yarn through and tied it. This gave the children something to hold on to the sheild with. They were even able to pull it up their forearm. If you have the time you can even set up a craft table, for children to decorate their sheilds.
- The Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17): I also cut these out of cardboard. I kept it simple but some have used foil to wrap the blade of the sword like.
- The Helmet of Salvation (Ephesians 6:17) I found knight helmets at the dollar store but there are many DIY’s you can do.
- The Shoes of The Gospel of Peace (Ephesians 6:15) shoes were their own. After the children had their armor on (minus the shoes) my husband said ok we are ready to go, we got the full armor of God on right? To which the children had to pause and think, they were missing the shoes!
The Place of Deliverance
Finally fully armoured, the pilgrims went back out the front door to, and then following a sign they came upon The Place of Deliverance. Following a sign to a tree where we had built a cross and put scrolls in a basket for children to take.
The Place of deliverance was a cross constructed out of wood. The scrolls using colouring pages from The Little Pilgrim’s Big Journey colouring book. The scrolls were rolled up and sealed with gold crown stickers.
Hill of Difficulty
From The Place of Deliverance children headed to the back of the house and bravely ascended The Hill of Difficulty (our back porch steps).
The Palace Beautiful
On our back porch door I had created Castle walls (tall cardboard boxes wrapped in white plastic table cloth) to create the gates of Palace Beautiful for children to walk through right into our dining area, prepared for a feast! Resembling Christian’s meal at The Palace Beautiful with Prudence, lol, lol, and lol.
Conversations among children were full of excitement and guessing what to expect next!
The “feast” menu consisted of: mashed potatoes and fried rice (disassembled so everyone can build their own), shrimp and chicken for the rice bowls, I also had coleslaw for salad. Drinks were homemade fruit punch, apple juice, and water.
The Battle with Apolyon
Refreshed, the children descended the porch steps into The Valley of Humiliation, where a dreaded foe awaited them: Dragon Apollyon himself (in piñata form!). A fierce battle ensued, with the pilgrims using their cardboard swords to defeat the dragon until he finally yielded his treasures – candy and stickers.
I had created custom stickers featuring beloved characters and scenes from “Little Pilgrims Big Journey,” created with a little phone magic and Canva, then printing on cricut printable sticker paper.
The Valley of the Shadow of Death
The journey continued through the mysterious Valley of the Shadow of Death, adding an element of playful suspense as the children passed through a tunnel constructed out of a fort kit from amazon and wrapped in black plastic table cloth.
Vanity Fair
Emerging from The Valley of the Shadow of Death the pilgrims found themselves at Vanity Fair (our garage!). Here, the pilgrims were tempted (by my brother in law) to purchase an array of trinkets – necklaces, coins, and other party favors – the currency? their armor or scrolls.
Interestingly enough, children tried to bargain with their goodies won from the battle with Apolyon.
Shepherd’s Pasture
Enchanted Grounds
The peace did not last long! Beelzebubs final attack on the Pilgrims to get them off the King’s path, the Enchanted Ground!
A bubble machine filled the air with mesmerizing bubbles. Distracted by the enchanting display, some pilgrims momentarily forgot the quest and dropped their Armor, which was stolen by one of Beelzebubs servants (my brother in law).
Don’t worry, the armor was given back, but it was a lesson to not get distracted on our journey!
River of Death
The final obstacle loomed: The River of Death. Here we created a small obstacle course “Army Crawl” laying down a blue tarp, placing stakes on either side, and zig zagging back and forth using a rope. The children had to army crawl across The River of Death. With determination and perhaps a little bit of wiggling, they all successfully crossed!
The Celestial City
Finally, they ascended the porch steps once more and stepped through The Golden Gate (Castle walls but this time a golden tinsel door hanger to go through! where they entered the glorious Celestial City.
Each brave pilgrim received a well-deserved golden crown, symbolizing their triumphant arrival to The Celestial City !
The Final Feast
The Final Feast resembled the feast at the end of the third book in “Little Pilgrim’s Big Journey” after the Final Battle.
It was time for cake and dessert! I had made a cake to resemble a castle. Using the phone image selector trick, I was able to print Christian and Apollyon, cut out and laminate images, creating the scene of the battle in The Valley of Humiliation that Christian endured.
For dessert I had baked scrumptious lemon cookies, monster cookies, and peanut butter cookies using Broma bakery recipes, as well made mini honey cakes using Natasha’s Kitchen Receipe, and some store bought ice cream cone ends which were a real hit with the kids!
A Journey to Remember!
The joy and excitement on the children’s faces throughout the party were truly priceless. Knowing the story of “Little Pilgrim’s Big Journey” made the experience of stepping into Christian’s adventures even more meaningful for them. It was a day filled with imaginative play, laughter, and a tangible connection to a story they love. I am certain the interactive storytelling experience created lasting memories. It goes to show that with a little creativity, you can turn a beloved book into an unforgettable real-life adventure!
You can grab your set of books of the “Little Pilgrim’s Big Journey” directly from the companies website here or on amazon.
“Little Pilgrim’s Big Journey part I“
“Little Pilgrim’s Big Journey part II“
“Little Pilgrim’s Big Journey part III“
you can also purchase the whole set here and save a few dollars.
Let me know in the Comments if you would try this!
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