Ready to Be A Princess
It's about that time of year! Birthday party planning in full force for my three girls. As always, I'm either completely on top of it or hoarding ideas until the last minute "procraftination" push. To get myself motivated, I'm revisiting last year's themes because they were just too much fun.Since the "baby" of the family was too little to have a real say, I went ahead and went with a theme that I was super jazzed about and of course, she didn't object, so I went all out with Alice In Wonderland Mad Hatter Tea Party. Her birthday is a day before mine, which means a tiny smidgen of me is having vicarious birthday parties with her celebration taking center stage. Don't judge.My eight year old was adamant about having an American Girl Saige Doll Art Party. As for my five year old, she went with what seems to be the five year old trend around these parts and chose to go with a full on princess theme. The princess reigning the scene last year was little Princess Sofia the First. Since I had poured so much energy into the details of the Mad Hatter Tea Party, I decided to go with the easy button on this one and let her have her way. Plus, she was a good sport having shared her third and fourth birthday party with her older sister. With a few birthday parties under my belt (that's an understatement), I already had a stash of pink and purple supplies on hand. I figured I could wing two separate parties if I used what I had on hand.
I tend to start with the cake table, as often times, that's where most of the pictures happen. I kept the decorations super simple, changing the curtains in the background to a light purple, pink, and silver. I have three girls, so when I see these colors on clearance, I don't mind grabbing 'em up. I've used them for other themes and they always work quite nicely, giving a different look and feel depending on the particular theme. If you browse other parties on here, you'll notice them as backdrops throughout. Sometimes, I also use them as table dressing.
Back to the cake table. A little understated, keeping the focus on the cake. My sister bakes cakes, which means I save a pretty penny with her delicious creations. I used boas to add some texture and surrounded the cake with cupcakes galore. I grabbed that castle from the kids' toy stash and it gave the table a little bit more dimension. I used cake stands to add layers or levels, jazzing it up with some Sofia stickers and some of those miniature toys you can get at the Disney Store.
As cupcake toppers, I used miniature tiaras and Sofia stickers.
I put the favors on a separate table and set it up like a mini dress up station with tiaras, wands, bubbles, and necklaces. I spruced it up with items I grabbed from around the house and combined them with my hoarded party decorations that I keep in a bin, which includes the roses, boas, table cloths, and fancy purple pillow cases and doilies. Most of these items are previous dollar store type finds. 
My five year old loves sensory games, and I can get pretty lazy when it comes to games and activities. As a compromise, I put out a fancy bowl filled with rice and trinkets. The kids loved digging through it to gather little treasures like rings and necklaces. You can also use sand as an awesome alternative.
I also bought some Kisses that coordinated with the different Sofia the First characters to tie in the theme and make it a little more visible.
I had a can of chalkboard spray paint that had been sitting there for about a year unused. I decided to spray some random wood panels that my mom had brought home (because we are indeed on the hoarder spectrum). Totally worked out and now we have a nice little set of chalkboards.
The kids (and adults) had fun writing princess messages with these chalkboards.
I tend to start with the cake table, as often times, that's where most of the pictures happen. I kept the decorations super simple, changing the curtains in the background to a light purple, pink, and silver. I have three girls, so when I see these colors on clearance, I don't mind grabbing 'em up. I've used them for other themes and they always work quite nicely, giving a different look and feel depending on the particular theme. If you browse other parties on here, you'll notice them as backdrops throughout. Sometimes, I also use them as table dressing.Back to the cake table. A little understated, keeping the focus on the cake. My sister bakes cakes, which means I save a pretty penny with her delicious creations. I used boas to add some texture and surrounded the cake with cupcakes galore. I grabbed that castle from the kids' toy stash and it gave the table a little bit more dimension. I used cake stands to add layers or levels, jazzing it up with some Sofia stickers and some of those miniature toys you can get at the Disney Store.As cupcake toppers, I used miniature tiaras and Sofia stickers.I put the favors on a separate table and set it up like a mini dress up station with tiaras, wands, bubbles, and necklaces. I spruced it up with items I grabbed from around the house and combined them with my hoarded party decorations that I keep in a bin, which includes the roses, boas, table cloths, and fancy purple pillow cases and doilies. Most of these items are previous dollar store type finds. My five year old loves sensory games, and I can get pretty lazy when it comes to games and activities. As a compromise, I put out a fancy bowl filled with rice and trinkets. The kids loved digging through it to gather little treasures like rings and necklaces. You can also use sand as an awesome alternative.I also bought some Kisses that coordinated with the different Sofia the First characters to tie in the theme and make it a little more visible.I had a can of chalkboard spray paint that had been sitting there for about a year unused. I decided to spray some random wood panels that my mom had brought home (because we are indeed on the hoarder spectrum). Totally worked out and now we have a nice little set of chalkboards.The kids (and adults) had fun writing princess messages with these chalkboards.
I tied in the chalkboard theme with the party favor bags.
And by the birthday princess' special request, a puppet show backdrop that I created totally last minute out of a cardboard box with some paint, paint pens, sticks, tulle, and a glue gun. Phew!
The entire party was a hit and Tatiana loved it!
This year, it seems every little girl is pushing for a Frozen themed birthday party - my girls included, but they aren't having one. I just can't seem to bring myself to do it. With the song deeply entrenched in my bones and etched into my brain, I'm pushing my kids to let it go. I'm encouraging them to be creative with their themes, so we'll see what they come up with. As for the baby of the family, she's learned how to express and articulate herself quite well, but I'm going to push for a Wizard of Oz Party before she is old enough to figure out that she has a say in the matter! Let the last minute crafting begin!
And by the birthday princess' special request, a puppet show backdrop that I created totally last minute out of a cardboard box with some paint, paint pens, sticks, tulle, and a glue gun. Phew!The entire party was a hit and Tatiana loved it!This year, it seems every little girl is pushing for a Frozen themed birthday party - my girls included, but they aren't having one. I just can't seem to bring myself to do it. With the song deeply entrenched in my bones and etched into my brain, I'm pushing my kids to let it go. I'm encouraging them to be creative with their themes, so we'll see what they come up with. As for the baby of the family, she's learned how to express and articulate herself quite well, but I'm going to push for a Wizard of Oz Party before she is old enough to figure out that she has a say in the matter! Let the last minute crafting begin!