While Mom rests, the king and his court jesters can quietly create a festive brunch and decorate the table.
THE PALACE DINING ROOM
Prepare a throne at one end of the dining room table by padding a straight-backed chair with a special pillow. Decorate the table with fresh flowers, cloth napkins, and a full table setting (two sizes of forks and spoons). To make colorful place mats, decorate a 2-inch strip around the edges of sturdy 8 1/2-by 11-inch pieces of paper with a pretty pattern, such as potato print flowers or watercolor geometric shapes.
THE GRAND ENTRANCE
Heralding Horns:
Once the food is prepared and the table is set, young heralds can bring their horns up to the bedroom and request the presence of the Queen Mother.Making the horns is a simple matter of snipping and removing the bottom of a paper cup and taping the cup to the end of a cardboard tube from a roll of wrapping paper or paper towels. Cover the whole thing with tinfoil and tape a flag made of scrap fabric or crepe paper so it hangs down (for a true heralding horn, snip a V-shape out of the end of the flag.)
Queen's Flower Crown:
When Mom arrives in the dining room, kids can escort her to the throne and place a special homemade flower crown on her head. An easy crown can be made out of a strip of colored construction paper, 2 inches wide and about 25 inches long. Tape or staple the ends to make a circle and punch holes around the top edge. Decorate it by threading fresh flowers through the holes and adding leaves, fresh or paper, with staples.
The Royal Scroll:
A member of the court can dramatically unroll and read a scrolled list of chores that will be granted to Her Majesty throughout the day: "All your dishes will be washed; the junk drawer will be organized; your bed will be made and pillows fluffed; your hair will be combed," and so on.
To make the scroll, cover two paper towel tubes with colored paper and tape to either end of a long white piece of paper. On the paper, write the chores (and initials, if the kids are divvying up the assignments). Roll up the scroll and tie it with a ribbon. After brunch, it can hang in a prominent spot (a reminder to all the subjects).
The Court Jesters:
The kids can put on a hilarious show by turning themselves into Mini-Mom. To set up this optical illusion, jester number one should crouch behind a table. Jester number two first pulls a pair of baggy shorts up to number one's elbows and puts her hands into a pair of sneakers so she can rest them on the tabletop.
Number two then pulls a T-shirt over number one's head and tucks it into the shorts. Jester number two should hide behind the first and put his arms through the T-shirt sleeves to complete a mini-matriarch. She can attempt to brush her hair, put on sunglasses, or play an instrument.
