There is a natural progression of development in little girls. First, they are newborns, and then they are infants, then toddlers, and finally princesses. The transition from toddler to princess is usually somewhere around two and a half years and lasts the rest of their life. The only explanation I have for this is that girls were created to know that they are princesses because their heavenly Father is King!
At some point, your little princess will want to be celebrated like a real princess. This will happen by their third birthday. Giving in to the question, “Mom, can I be Cinderella for my party?” I took the plunge and set out to make the best princess party ever. Below are some ideas for how to pull off a great princess themed birthday party.
Theme:
Royal Tea complete with Dress-ups
Place:
Free: Your home
Pro: It is free. Con: By far, the clean-up and possible damage.
Inexpensive: A local park
Pro: It will be cheap to rent the pavilion at a favorite park and kids can pay freely. Con: Weather could be a big factor!
Inexpensive/ Good Alternative if you have one: For our party, we “rented” the club house in our neighborhood. Many large neighborhoods or apartment complexes have club houses that you can reserve by giving a deposit which, is given back after the party.
Pro: Cheap, air conditioned, lots of room, and easy clean-up.
Con: Not everyone has access to this
Number of guests:
Sane: The rule of thumb is to have the same number of kids as your child is years old.
Insane: I invited about 10 kids. (At first) There ended up being 15 kids and 30 adults.
Note: If you are doing the party on a weekend, I think it’s nice to invite the dads too. Weekends are usually family time; and, it’s considerate to invite the whole family.
Invitations:
Free: E-vite
Pro: Free, quick, and easy to keep organized
Con: Some people are not as e-mail addicted, and you risk people viewing the e-vite as spam.
Cheap: The dollar store usually carries packs of invitations that need only be filled out by hand and sent.
A Little More Expensive: I went to Target (Office Max also carries) really nice invitations that you print on the computer. Below is the wording for Caroline’s invitations:
“We’ve watched her learn, love and grow
A beautiful princess, she already knows!
A blessing for us, she brings such love,
We are so thankful she was lent from above!
She has been nurtured and loved by family and friends,
All the wonders of life and teachings they lend!
On this day, let your child’s inner royalty shine,
By wearing costumes during Tea Time!
If swimming sounds enjoyable, it may require,
A towel and change of royal swim attire!
Cheap: Set the party time for mid-afternoon. That way, people have already had lunch. Make it a true “Tea Party” and serve hot apple juice and Tea Cookies. Set many small tables or individual setting with cheap, plastic tea sets. You can find cheap plastic tea sets at most stores like Wal-Mart etc. Scatter around bowls of munchies for the adults and serve soda from 2-liters. Finish with a home-made, cup-cake cake and Voila!
More Expensive: If you are going to serve lunch-type items, I would let one of the grocery stores cater. The trays are cheaper than a restaurant and hassle-free. We still had little tea sets around; but, offered lunch meat tray, meatballs, cheese tray, fruit tray, and drinks. We purchased a Cinderella cake from a local bakery.
Decorations:
I like using the party packs that you can buy at most party outlets. The dollar store is also a very useful place to find favors, and decorations. Beware, though, the dollar store is not ALWAYS the better deal. I am a big fan of streamers and balloons. They give a lot of “bang for your buck.”
Games/Activities:
I made sugar cookies in the shape of a star. I purchased thin dowel rods (From Michaels) and inserted the sticks into the cookies while they were warm. This made a “magic wand” cookie. Then, I purchased cellophane to wrap each cookie in and tied with a twist tie. When the kids came in, they could go to the cookie decorating center, choose a cookie, unwrap it, and decorate it with frosting and sprinkles. The cookies went home in the cellophane as favors.
I also had another station with inexpensive, plastic frames, which the kids decorated with stickers and glitter. They took those home as favors, also.
I had one more station that had lots of plastic jewelry, crowns and knight helmets, that the kids could play “dress-up” with and take the items home.
Note: The bottom line is, make a budget first. Celebrating you little princess is fantastic; but, as in all things, her memories will be filled with the people that were there to celebrate, not how many balloons, streamers, and party trays there were. Her party does not need to cost a royal fortune! Happy Celebrating!
