Adventure Time: Fairy Magic in Northville, Michigan

Can you spot the fairy in the photo?! I’m a believer!

I’ve always had a soft spot for all things mythical and magical, so it’s no surprise the recent fairy trend has made my heart happy.

My kids adore making things for the fairies they believe surround our house, and I love that their projects keep them occupied, artistic, and outside. My favorite line has been “Mom, I had to pick this flower because the fairy needed somewhere to sit.” — ha! Hard to argue with that logic.

Fairy Magic in Northville, Michigan

When I saw downtown Northville had a slew of fairy doors to find, I knew we had to visit for a real life treasure hunt. I am familiar with the Fairy Doors of Ann Arbor, but it’s a daunting task to take those on when my kids are so little and don’t love walking long distances.

I love that there are more than 50 fairy doors in Northville, and they are all relatively close together. This makes it a great, magical task for the younger crowd!

We began our journey at Dancing Eye Gallery {101 N. Center St.
Northville, MI 48167}, an adorable boutique chock full of artsy gifts and awesome Michigan-inspired gear, where we purchased a Fairies of Northville coloring and stamp book for $3.

This book was so fun because it told the legend of each fairy and noted the location where he/she existed. My girls were SO engaged with the stories! We stopped and read each one as we had our adventure.

My oldest is extremely shy at times, so it was great to have the opportunity for her to ask the business for a stamp for her book. She was so enchanted with the magic, too, and kept mentioning she thought she saw a fairy. It was so sweet!

My middle gal loved it too, and was especially excited to get a sticker at Genitti’s Hole-In-The-Wall restaurant. It’s the little things in life when you’re 4 😉

We packed some snacks and our wagon and walked around from store to store determining where to stop using our handy book. Some of the doors are located inside the shops, which was fun since I wasn’t familiar with most of the businesses. Visiting each door was such a fun way to learn more about the community.

One of my personal favorite fairy doors was inside Next Chapter Bookstore and Bistro, though it was hard for us to find at first. We also were able to find the city’s troll, who moves around from business to business. All the employees at each location were kind and helpful when we needed direction.

We spent a couple of hours hunting around and admiring the charm and architecture surrounding downtown before stopping to go to lunch, and throw a few pennies in the fountain.

Downtown Northville has plenty of beautiful public spaces to picnic, or restaurants serving everything from sandwiches, to pizza, ice cream and more.

All in all, the day was an inexpensive and fun morning spent together. Next time, I hope to visit on a Sunday so we can check out the nearby Mill Race Village, a free historic attraction, and drive around a bit to look at the amazing Victorian homes there.

Until next time, Northville!

Learn more about the fairy doors of downtown Northville here.

What magical things do your children love to do?