Barbie Runway Fashion Party - 5yr - Glamour Girls

Invitations:  For my daughter's fifth birthday, we planned a Barbie Fashion Runway party. We were going for a vintage look Barbie, so we used all black, white and pink, and many of the classic Barbie silhouettes. We started by making custom invitations.  They were made by cutting a 12x12 sheet of hot pink card stock in half and then folding each of the two sections into cards.  The pink cards were lined down the middle with a strip of zebra striped velvet cardstock (3 in. strip, also cut from a 12x12 sheet).  On top of the zebra print was a layered oval of black, pink, white cardstock with a Barbie silhouette in the middle.  The inside of the card held the information for the party:  Calling all Glamour Girls to a Barbie Fashion Runway Party to Celebrate the 5th Birthday of Camille.   January 8, 2011  2:00 PM  House of  #### (Party Girl's name)  To RSVP, have your people call my people.

Decorations:  Decorations for the party included two pink curtains hung in the doorway separating the family room from the dining room, black stars hanging from the ceiling, a custom made banner (Happy Birthday ####, along with Barbie silhouettes), and pink/black/white star balloons.  The tables were covered in black tablecloths and set with pink plates outlined with zebra print (Hobby Lobby), matching napkins, pink cups and silverware.  

Food:  Only pink food was served.  We enjoyed pink popcorn (we made it the night before with strawberry jello, recipes available online), pink Rice Krispie treats cut into hearts, pink M&Ms (Valentine's day), pink heart cupcakes, pink marshmallows, pink fettuccine Alfredo, strawberry ice cream, and pink punch.  The cake was pink, black and white round with zebra stripes on the side and a black Barbie silhouette on the top.

Activities:  When the girls arrived, I introduced myself and my two best friends with our personas for the day.  We were each dressed all in black with only hot pink accessories (glasses, scarves, etc).  We had assumed French accents and were playing the role of backstage fashion assistants.  Then we led the girls a quick game of Pin the Pocketbook on Barbie.  It was a Barbie I had made with the overhead projector at my school.  It was her entire body, but only in silhouette.  She wore a pink dress.  I found a pocketbook design on publisher and printed it on pink paper for the number of girls attending.  My daughter and son decorated the pocketbooks so they were personalized.  The pocketbooks and Barbie hung on the wall as part of the décor.

Soon after the game was over, the doorbell rang and the girls ran to open it thinking it was another friend.  Much to their surprise it was BARBIE herself!  I had asked a friend's teenage daughter to come and help at the party.  She has long blond hair, is a graceful dancer, and is wonderful with children, so I knew she would be great with this gig!   And she was!!!  After lots of shrieking and cheering, we explained that Barbie was going to help with the party.  We divided the girls into three groups.  Each fashion assistant took one group, as did Barbie.  I took the girls to the design studio to make no sew Barbie dresses for their Barbie dolls.  I got the pattern from the local Children's Museum.  They had a great time.  Another assistant helped with hair and make- up, allowing the girls to put on a tiny bit of blush and pink or purple eye shadow.  We used cotton balls and q-tips to make sure everything stayed sanitary.  They pinned their hair back with pink and black feathered barrettes my daughter and I had glued the week before ($1 for a bag of feathers and $3 for a pack of 100 barrettes).

The final assistant taught them how fashion designers use croques to design clothes.  They drew their own design and made their own sketch books.  Finally, Barbie took her group into my daughter's room.  We had cleared out her closet except for pre-set outfits that were ready to be modeled.  She helped them each pick an outfit that would be just right!  (This made sure there was no fighting!  If Barbie said it was right, who is going to argue!  Plus, she was able to make sure they picked something their size!)  She helped them pick accessories like belts, shoes and jewelry.   When all four groups had visited each station, we all met back together for a lesson from Barbie on how to walk the runway!  She taught them some poses and how to be elegant and poised.   We then took a break from all of our hard work for food and presents!  I made sure to take a picture of the birthday girl with each present, along with the girl who had given it to her, so we would have an easier time writing thank you notes.

Finally, it was time for the parents to come back.  I had told them a specific time to come back, and thankfully we were able to stay on schedule.  (I had planned out how long I thought each event would take and guestimated.)  The parents were invited back for our RUNWAY SHOW!  We rolled out the pink carpet (a long piece of pink bulletin board paper), introduced Barbie, turned on some girly music, and let the show begin.  The girls had to come out of the hot pink curtain from the dining from into the family room and walk the runway.  They stopped at the end and let the paparazzi take their picture.  Each girl ended up walking several times, as they were having so much fun! Favors:  Before the tiny models left they were each given a gift of a Barbie doll.  This sounds ridiculously expensive and normally would be, but I found a garage sale this summer where the lady was selling off her collection and sold me a bunch of Barbies for 2 or 3 dollars each!  You can't make a nice goodie bag for that!  The Barbies were wrapped in black and white paper and tied with pink bows and the girls were asked not to open until they got home, really just because I didn't want hurt feelings since they were all different!

Note:  before the party, I had written each girl's name on a large pink gift bag.  This bag is where she stored anything during the party:  Her no sew Barbie dress, the Barbie she received, etc.  It was most helpful, though, as the place to store each girl's clothes when she changed for the runway.  Then, when it was time to change back at the end of the party, we knew exactly where each child's clothes were! Thank you Cards:  We made our thank you cards at Walmart.com.  We used the photos taken during the runway show and made them into cards that said, The reviews are in!  You are a Super Stylish Friend!  Love, ####