There’s always this moment right before the knock on the door of expected company, it’s a moment of ‘what if they don’t come?’ and ‘what if they think its’ all tacky and homemade?’. I’m not really fond of the Disneyprincesspalooza that permeates almost every princess idea out there. Our girls don’t really know who the Disney princesses and I’m fine with that. I came up with ideas to make princess party favors and they fit in much better with our family’s philosophy.

We spent just a few dollars on Kilmeny’s birthday, just enough to make some special decorations and just enough to make a good precedent for all the birthdays to come.

An evening of Pinterest, texting with my sister, shopping the house and grabbing a few things at Michaels made for an easy to plan and prepare memorable birthday for a three year old.

We asked the little girls to come dressed in their favorite princess dresses. Our girls wore poufy dresses with lots of tulle and silk flowers courtesy of their Grandma.
Jared made a playlist for the party and it set the mood beautifully for those first awkward moments. There were selections from Tangled and The Nutcracker and it played on repeat all morning. As soon as the guests arrived, they each put on a princess hat and were handed a ribbon wand.

I added some sparkle with some face glitter and a make up brush, it always makes every little girl feel special.

And then the party began.

They danced and twirled, admiring the way their dresses swirled and the ribbons followed.

We attempted a game of ‘pin the crown on the princess’ but the girls were a little young to get the concept. Jared drew the princess and it’s still on the girls’ wall. I love it.

Then it was onto decorating the cupcakes. I frosted the cupcakes ahead of time so all the girls had to do was sprinkle their choice of glitter sugar or chocolate sprinkles. It was a hit! I loved watching their faces as they had free reign to decorate and make a big mess.

We sang Happy Birthday to Kilmeny and left the mess for later. One of the things I love about this house is that the dining room is at the opposite end of the house then the living room and it has doors on it. We can just close the doors to the messy table, and deal with it all after the guests arrived. Sometimes I do think that a house elf will just appear and do the clean up for me.

Growing up, we often played “spin the bottle” to decide what gift was going to be opened next. It was always a simple, innocent game to me and I loved how it included all the children in the gift opening. We played with the little girls and it was just as I remembered.

Once all the planned activities were done, and the girls were all giggling together, they played. New friends, new toys, new imaginations.

We held the party in the morning, right after breakfast and before lunch. We only served cupcakes and it was perfect. Little children like to run and play and laugh at parties not eat three different kinds of pastel pink desserts.

All the little guests went home with a princess hat and a ribbon wand. These were super easy to make, and cost very little in supplies.

To make a Princess Hat

Simply roll/fold a white sheet cardstock until it forms an angled hat, tape in place. Take a long piece of wide ribbon (I had leftover gold ribbon from my Christmas decorating) and thread it through the hole at the top. Hot glue a headband to the hat. I got a package of ten at the Dollar Store and my girls don’t really wear them so this was the perfect use for them.

You could make this more of a craft and have the little guests decorate with glitter, crayons, stickers etc. You could also use any paper/ribbon you have at home. I didn’t buy anything special for this project and it was the perfect touch.

To make a Ribbon Wand

I’ve had this idea stored away for a long time and I was thrilled to finally make it. Hey Gorgeous Events does a fantastic (and beautiful) tutorial. I found all the supplies at Michaels, a package of wooden dowels and 6 spools of ribbon. They were all under a dollar so I felt pretty great about making something so pretty for so little. These are great additions to a dress up box or to tuck in anywhere for a special touch. They are best if you hot glue the ribbon on to the dowel, I tied my ribbons on originally since I was making them on the floor of the girls’ room but the hot glue has a lot more staying power. 

To make Glitter Sugar

Simply mix a half cup of white sugar (or so) with a few drops of food colouring. Mix together, with your hands, until it reaches the desired hue. Spread on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Repeat with as many colours as you have or desire. I used a fantastic serving dish I got for Christmas: cut glass with lots of little sections. It added a beautiful touch while being super practical.

And there you have it! Many more details and a little hostess confessional. Do you have plans to host any parties?

all photos by Jared except the shot of Khaira and the insta-collage, those are courtesy of a guest and my iPhone