American Girl Party -6yr- Cabin at the Park

INVITATIONS:  I picked up a burgandy and pink formal generic party invitation at a stationary store, handwrote in the details and decorated each with American Girl Stickers from Michaels Craft Store.  Inside each invitation, we included a printed page with the American Girl logo, details about asking the kids to bring their favorite American Girl doll or other doll/stuffed animal, and a pair of kids shoes for a local charity in lieu of gifts for our daughter.

DECORATIONS:  We rented a facility at a local park, a room in a small log-cabin style building.  Inside, we hung lots of paper flower banners, pink flag banners and balloons,and covered the tables with bright pink plastic tableclothes.  We set up the tables in a long banquet-table style, with the birthday girl at the head.  At each place, we purchased clear plastic dinner plates for each girl, and small clear plastic cocktail plates for each place setting, and purchased paper doilies (large and small) that fit on each plate. 

For the dolls, we purchased small eraser-puzzle sets in the shape of desserts (4 for a dollar) at Michaels Craft Store and used as doll food on the doll-sized plates. 

For doll drinks, I purchased small clear plastic shot glasses at the dollar store, and cut down bendy straws to fit the glasses, dropped in two small red beads in each glass and had filled (in advance) with the fake water used with silk florals (also from Michaels) so that each doll had a Shirley Temple drink.  For the girls, I placed a larger clear plastic glass with straw at each place setting.

PARTY SNACKS:  For the girls, we set up a buffet table to the side which featured Molly's Victory Garden Veggies" which was a veggie assortment along with small clay flower pots with a small paper cup inside filled with ranch flavored cream cheese (ranch dip mix with whipped cream cheese) with baby carrots "planted" in the top and parsley stuck in the top of each carrot so it looked like they were growing-- this was a modification from the family fun website. 

Next we had "Kit's Eggs" which were deviled eggs and "Josefina's Chips and Salsa".  When the girls were called in to start the party from the playground I had them get their plates and dish up with the help of my three American Girls at each station (see below).  The girls returned to their table and ate with their dolls.  We went around and made real Shirley Temples for each of our guests to drink like their dolls.

COSTUMES/ENTERTAINMENT:  I had three live American Girls/mother's helpers at the party.  Kit who we purchased the exact outfit she wears from the AG website; Mollydressed in plaid skirt sweater and blue beret (from thrift shops) and Josefina who wore a white and multi colored mexican summer dress from a local mexican store. Each girl help dish up their respective food (each dish had a brief explanation by it for the girls to use) and used a picture book (Molly's World Kit's World and Josefina's World) to tell the girls a little bit about the period they grew up in toys they played with and then each American Girl lead a game or two relating to their story.

GAMES:  Kit went first and after her brief history of the Depression she told the kids that she sold eggs from her backyard chickens to help her family earn money and that she needed everyone's help in selling eggs.  We divided the girls in two teams and did an egg in spoon relay with fake eggs (the ones that hatch and grow into animals when placed in water but look real).  Each girl got an egg to take home at the end of the race. 

Molly was second and after talking about growing up during WWII she made a tin-can phone and had the girls take turns talking and listening into the phone and we had a game dropping wooden clothespins in an old fashioned milk bottle from above--games kids played during the time period.  Molly gave each girl a package of Silly Putty as a prize as Silly Putty was invented during Molly's time. Finally Josefina went and after discussing growing up on the Southwestern Frontier she lead the girls in a pinata game.  We purchased a multi-colored donkey pinata and filled with various toys and mexican candy/drink mixes etc.  

CAKE:  We returned to the party room and the girls returned to the table.  We passed out fancy pink and purple cupcakes (my daughter's pick) sang happy birthday thanked the girls for coming and for bringing shoes and passed out the favor bags while they were finishing their cupcakes.

FAVORS:  We purchased small bright pink non-woven bags from the dollar store (3 for a dollar) and decorated them in advance with red paper stars from the party store with each girl's name written on the star and hot glued to the bag.  Inside we purchased star-related items as this is the AG logo.  We had small star wands (dollar store) star shaped pencil sharpeners and star-decorated pencils small key-chains with doll-sized books on them star jewelry rings and a sheet of American Girl Stickers (from Michael's Craft Store).  The girls also went home with their eggs silly putty and pinata favors."