Before the knighting ceremony can begin, squires must extract a mini Excalibur to reveal their noble name.
Carve the Styrofoam cube (ours was 5 inches wide) with a plastic knife.
Paint the stone with dark gray acrylic paint. When the paint is mostly dry (about 4 hours), use a sponge to apply a few accents of light gray acrylic paint.
Use a permanent marker to code
plastic sword toothpicks (available at party stores) -- one for each child -- by drawing 1 line near the tip of the first, 2 on the second, and so on. Click here for our list.
On a piece of parchment-style paper, make a list of silly knight names, such as Sir Blue of Berry and Lady Gum of Drop that correspond to the marks on the toothpicks.
Insert the swords into the stone.
When the party guests arrive, have each pull a sword from the stone and match its marks to those of a name.
See A Medieval Birthday Party