Have you ever spotted a fairy door?
Once you see one, your radar will be attuned to them like it might be for ice cream on a hot summer day or your favorite jeans at a basement sale.
We’re blessed to live near the a fantastic children’s library,and my daughter and I made a trip there just before heading off on vacation. She has a thing for scanning books, and I like that we can be boisterous without ticking anyone off. After dropping off some books, we wandered back into the toddler area, which is when I happened to spot the fairy door.
Huh? It was this cute little door, stuck to the wall, with no fan-fare or explanation…simply a little door. And then I remembered seeing these little doors in other places…which prompted me to dig around and discover that there is a whole world of fairy door people out there, building little getaways for fairies in the most unexpected places. There’s even a shop that just sells fairy doors. Brilliant!
It turns out that Ann Arbor, MI is so rich with fairies that you can take a self-guided tour of all the fairy sites, a very popular activity according to folks who’ve reviewed it on Yelp.
As an example, in the Folk and Fairytale section of the Ann Arbor Library there’s a little fairy home that’s truly inspiring (see photo above).
Okay, fairies may be cool, but fairies = creativity?
After posting last week about fairy gardens, this seemed like a nice follow-up on where the fairy garden idea could go. This is all about building and supporting imagination and encouraging children the think creatively. I have some friends who build elaborate leprechaun traps with their school-age children every St. Patrick’s Day, an activity that involves a lot of planning, building, imagination, and invention. And then there’s the added benefits of spending quality time with their children and bolstering fun family traditions. If you choose to plant a garden for gnomes, install a fairy home, build a leprechaun trap, or leave lettuce for Santa’s reindeer (our newest family tradition), you’ve instilled your child with the idea that anything imaginable can be invented and created. And they will also experience a sense of playfulness that has the capacity to stick with them for life.
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Fairy gardens are popping up all over Boston! Great idea. Loved the Fairy section of the library. We all need that section in these times.
That’s the truth! And I’ll be on the prowl for Fairy Doors on my next trip to Bean Town.
We used to have a “pixie rock” where we boated with our young children. Low and behold, the holes in that rock had coins hidden within. My husband explained that the pixies found the coins on the beach and would stuff them in the rock to use later when the sun would set and they came out to dance. How did those coins find their way into that rock, day after day? Imagination on fire!!!
MaryAnn, I love this story! You are married to one fabulous man! Like so many of your ideas, I hope you don’t mind if I borrow and incorporate this one into our growing list of imagination-builders. xo
You know your little big bro has always been convinced that the fairies twist the knots in all cording even following his meticulous cord organization attempts!
The bookshelf fairy door totally triggered an idea for my next set of bookends! Awesome.
It’s always nice to have a scape goat, right? Hmmm, your bookend idea is intriguing. Keep me posted.
ohmygosh this is so exciting! fairy doors! i now must make fairy doors and install them in our house somehow. so delightful! we’re reading gail carson levine’s fairy series about neverland and are so enjoying them, so this is a perfect idea for us—especially for my very very imaginative and creative but also highly realistic children (i’m the one that believes in fairies, they’re not convinced).
your children will no doubt be delighted and amazed by this! my daughter’s school leads her to believe that there are fairies living in one of their trees, and she loves it. Have fun, and please let me know how it goes!
I’m fascinated by the whole fairy door thing. I’ve an idea for a novel and I’m considering picking Boston, as my backdrop. How many fairy doors have you seen? Where is the library, with the door you pictured?
Hi Brian, I haven’t seen many, and the one with the red door is in Palo Alto, CA and the other is in Ann Arbor (links above).
Thanks for responding. But you have seen some in Boston, correct?
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