American Idol Party -9yr- Makeover Stations

Invitation: My daughter is very into American Idol, so of course this was the theme for her 9th birthday party.  

Invitations: We printed Golden Ticket" invitations on gold-colored copy paper. Using the American Idol logo on the top the invitations read "Congratulations.  You have made it through to "Hollywood" for Tori's American Idol Party!"  We told the girls to wear their favorite performer's outfitand since it was a sleepover to bring a sleeping bag and pillow. We also stated that those who did not want to perform could have another role like announcer or judge.

Decorations: Amazingly my husband found a stage of sorts at a church yard sale for $3 the day before the party.  He attached wooden legs to each corner to make it higher.  After rearranging our living room we set up the stage (roughly 7 feet by 4 feet)right in front of the living room entrance. We skirted it with black table skirts.  We hung blue plastic tablecloths on either side of the wall behind it with a silver tinsel-like door hanger/streamers hanging in the middle opening (from Party City.)  We put up a portable spotlight hung silver and gold stars from the ceiling with fishing line and set up about 20 folding chairs for the "audience."  We placed our standing karaoke machine which has speakers and 2 mics on the stage.  Everything else in the room (i.e the entertainment center etc.)was covered up with silver plastic tablecloths so the room looked less like a living room. I purchased a few yards of red felt ($12 total from Hobby Lobby) and we made a "red carpet" leading up to our front door.  We also borrowed gold posts w/red ropes (the kind used for crowd control) from a friend and lined them up on either side of the red carpet.  

Activities: As the girls arrived we had family members stand on either side of the red carpet clapping and cheering.  Another family member briefly interviewed each guest on the red carpet. ("How do you think you'll do in tonight's competition?  Wow where did you get your shoes?"  Etc. etc.)  We videotaped the interviews. The parents thought this was awesome! When all the girls had arrived (8 in all plus my own 4 daughters) they sat down at the dining room table which I had covered with a silver tablecloth.  They all decorated foam picture frames ($1 each from Michael's) with glitter glue sparkly foam letters and stars jewels etc. I wrote their names on the backs in permanent marker. This all took about 45 minutes then we placed them aside to dry. Next the girls drew numbers and were put on teams of 2.  Each team spent about 10 minutes browsing songs from a pre-printed list.  When they had decided on a song they went into different rooms of the house each equipped with a CD player to listen to their song once or twice and get familiar with the words.

Party food: We took a break and had pizza delivered for dinner.  We also served fresh veggies fruit and ranch dip.  I used  "Hollywood" tablecloths for the dinner tables along with silver and gold plates and napkins. (All from PC)  The girls drank sparkling cider from plastic wine goblets that were red with gold flecks and felt very glamorous!

Activities: After eating the girls rotated through 3 stations: hair make-up and accessories.  Each of my own adult sisters "manned" a station.  The hair station had clips colored and glittered hair spray etc. (All from the $ store and PC.)  My sister did an awesome job with their various hairstyles.  The make-up station had eyeshadow blush lip gloss and face/body glitter. (Also from the $ store and PC.)  The accessories station had jewelry hats boas etc. (Our own stuff plus some my sisters brought.)  This took a total of 1 hour. 

After the girls split up into the different rooms again to practice their songs.  They had a total of 45 minutes to practice and then it was showtime! My black brother-in-law obnoxious best friend and crazy husband got seated in the judge's area as Randy Paula and Simon.  The girls along with a few family members and friends sat in the chairs set up for the "audience."  A family member got ready with the camcorder.  We turned off the lights and turned on the "stage light." The group whose turn it was to go first (we drew numbers for this) went into the hallway behind the stage then entered right up onto the stage when they were announced. 

One of the guests who was too shy to perform played the role of Ryan Seacrest and did an incredible job of announcing the contestants/acts. Each team took turns performing their chosen songs.  Some used the karaoke cd's and sang on their own others used regular cd's and sang along. Even the girls we initially thought were shy reallyMy friend AKA "Paula" stood up and danced during each performance just like Paula does on the show. It was absolutely hilarious! The "audience" whooped and hollered for each act shouting things like "I love you guys!" and "You girls rock!" Some had even made signs with small poster boards I had and held up the signs during or after each performance.  I took a picture of each girl as she performed.

After each performance the judges gave their comments.  These were pre-printed on slips of paper with comments that the real judges typically make. "Dawg that was the bomb!" and "You really stayed true to who you are." Etc. Etc. The exception was Simon - we kept all of his comments positive.   At the conclusion of the competition the judges went off to decide on the various winners.  Then each group/girl was presented with a certificate: Best Vocals Hippest Dance Moves Most Fab Hairstyles etc.  I made these on the computer using the American Idol Logo and various clip art.

Cake: After the competition we sang happy birthday and had cake/ice cream.  I had made a microphone cake using a round cake for the top of the mic which I iced with white icing and covered in blue sugar. I cut a piece of a second rectangular cake for the handle and iced this with chocolate icing.  I used thin rope licorice as the cord.  It came out very cute! More activities: Next the girls changed into pajamas and spent the next hour taking turns singing/dancing on stage.  They called this "Pajama Idol."  In the meantime I uploaded the photos of each of them performing (to Walmart's 1-hour photo.)  Then they all set up their sleeping bags/pillows in the den and watched the video of their AI show.  They loved watching their performances!  When it was over they watched a DVD. 

Party Snacks: During the movie my husband and I served popcorn (in the cute individual little popcorn boxes from PC) chips pretzels candy and water bottles. When they were done with their snacks we paused the movie so they could all wash up and brush their teeth. Once they were settled back into their sleeping bags we put the movie back on and they were all fast asleep before it even ended! In the morning we served donuts sausage and bacon fresh fruit and juice for breakfast.  I ran to Walmart to pick up the photos I had uploaded and put them into the frames the girls had decorated.  These came out great!

Favors: The girls played on the stage some more and outside on the trampoline until getting picked up at 11:00.  As they left I gave them each a bag with their picture frames (they were very excited to see a picture with them performing inside the frame they had decorated!) a pack of nail jewels ($1 each from PC) and their AI certificate.

They all said they had a great time!  This was definitely one of our best parties ever! Total cost for everything: $170     "