Royal Party 4yr - Decorate Tiaras

I suppose most 3-4 year old girls love princesses.  Our Ayanna is no exception, and so I found myself planning a Royal 4th Birthday Party for her. 

For the invitations, I used a piece of scrapbook paper that looked like an unrolled scroll (the edges of the page had a picture that made it appear to be uncurled at the top and the bottom).  I then copied a piece of plain dark gold paper onto the back of the page so that when I rolled each invitation into a real scroll, the back and front were the same color (which was a dark gold color).  The invitations were rolled and tied with lilac or pink satin ribbons.  Each had a tag attached with the guests name printed in calligraphy font that read:  Princess Elizabeth, Princess Kayla, etc.  The invitations were also printed with the calligraphy font and read:  Hear Ye!  Hear Ye! A decree for all fair maidens in the land, Your presence is requested at the Royal 4th Birthday Party of  Princess Ayanna XXXXX  The party will be held on Saturday, September 8, 2007  Our Last Name Palace ABC Street Anytown, PA  11111  The festivities will begin when all the carriages arrive (at 4:00) And will last until the stroke of 7:00 ***Please wear your finest princess attire*** Though not mandatory, Fellow Kings and Queens  (aka parents) may also attend  Kindly RSVP to the King Russ or Queen Peggy if you plan to attend this royal gala We'll want the castle to be prepared for your arrival ------  ------- .  There was a small picture of a princess inserted just before the date and address information.  We hand delivered these invitations since most went to day care friends and our neighbors.  For decorations outside we used a piece of red felt carpeting (a runner of sorts) going up the stairs and onto our front porch.  We used a cluster of three balloons (pink, lilac and white) on either side of the stairs that were weighted down with small weights wrapped in iridescent paper.  As each of the guests arrived, we asked them go into our family room. There were nine girls total including Ayanna, ranging in age from three years to five years, and all were dressed in Princess dresses of some type  they looked adorable.  In the family room, we had one wall covered with the fieldScene Setters - field scene.  On the bottom (4 feet) was green grass/field with flowers.  The top (4 feet) was sky and trees.  We also used a castle backdrop in the center of the wall (we found all of these on the internet at a variety of sites, and also saw that they carried the same items at Party City).  To the left of the castle drop, we placed our office chair, which we had covered with a piece of remnant fabric.  The fabric was solid white with white flowers embroidered all over (I found this at a Hancock Fabric Store in their remnant section and paid about $1.50 for two yards of it).  Along the top of the chai on the fabric I hot glued a flower vine of pink daisies and leaves.  Every here and there, I also attached a pastel colored butterfly with hot glue. One on the vine. One on the arm of the chair, and a few on the bottom of the fabric.  I puddle the fabric on the floor.  On the left side of the chair, we placed a cluster of the balloons.  We told Ayanna this chair was for her to sit on as she opened her gifts.  We covered our coffee table with a pink table cloth, and also used a cluster of balloons on that table (all the clusters were three balloons one each of lilac, pink and white).  Because the tablecloth was very long, we secured the cloth to the legs of the table using more daisy flower garlands one garland on each of the short sides of the table (we didn't want the girls tripping over an extra long tablecloth).  We then used the coffee table for gifts.  Because the other tables in the house were being utilized for other things, we had another pink tablecloth spread out on the floor in that room to be used for our craft. 

Activity #1  As they arrived, each princess decorated a tiara with beads and gems.  These tiaras also came with glitter glue pens, but we chose NOT to use the glitter glue pens in our family room, and instead gave the girls glue dots to use to attach the gems/beads.  No mess and so easy to use.  We had each set of gems in a small crystal dish along with a set of glue dots.  In addition to the gems, we also included in their crystal dish, small, pastel, foam letters that would spell each girls name.  We placed a small piece of paper with their name printed on it in each dish so they would know which dish was theirs.  They had a good time with this, and were oh, so careful in making their crowns.  When they were finished decorating, we sized and stapled the tiaras so they would fit each girl's head snuggly, and they wore them for the rest of the party.  The tiaras DID have a slot in which you could fasten them together, but we just felt they'd be more secure with the staples (which worked great).  While the girls are decorating their tiaras, we asked each of them for one of their shoes.  We took the shoes into the living room and hid them at various places (although not too difficult to find) throughout the room. 

Activity #2 - After all the tiaras were in place, we led them down the hall and into the living room and told them whoever found the glass slipper in their shoe would be the winner.  As each girl found their respective shoe, they were excited because they EACH had a (plastic) glass slipper in the shoe!  They were all winners and received a bag of Princess gummies for finding the slipper.  (I found these generic Princess gummies at Big Lots earlier in the week for just $1 for a box of 10 pouches)!  We told the girls that we wanted to play another game, so they'd have to deposit their glass slipper AND the gummies in their favor boxes and led them to the kitchen to do so.  In the kitchen, we had the island covered with a Disney Princess table cloth.  We placed each favor box in a circle along the edge of the island so the girls could see them (although it was a bit difficult for them to reach them -and a few couldn't yet recognize their names - their parents and our family members helped). 

The favor boxes were the Disney Princess favor boxes with pictures of each of the Disney princesses on either side.  In each box, we had already placed a Disney Princess pencil, Disney Princess marker on a necklace, Disney Princess box of crayons, Disney Princess stamper/marker, and Disney Princess stickers.  We made sure that if the favor had a picture of just one of the princesses, each girl was sure to get a variety of princesses in their box, so if their crayon box had a picture of Cinderella, we made sure their stickers were Ariel and their pen was Jasmine, etc.  On the handle of each box, we attached a tag with pink ribbon.  The tag was printed on parchment paper with calligraphy font and read:  Princess Kayla, (each girls name), Thank you for being a special part of my Royal 4th Birthday. Love, Princess Ayanna.  By doing this, we were sure they each received a thank you AND there was no confusion as to which box belonged to which Princess.

In the center of the island, we placed a large crystal vase.  In the vase, we placed Magic Wand, also a favor for each girl.  The wands were made using rice krispie treats cut into the shape of stars and attached to small dowels (found at Michael's Craft Store  very inexpensive).  I made these a few days ahead of time so they could get a bit harder, and then covered them with cellophane and tied them closed with pink, curly ribbon and attached a tag made from parchment paper and printed in calligraphy font that read:  You don't have to wear a tiara to be a princess; You are special just the way you are.”  We kept these in the vase until the girls left the party.  At that time, they could grab their favor box and their wand.  After each princess had found their box and deposited their shoe and gummies, we moved into the hallway.  Our hallway is very wide, and so we could do our third activity there. 

Activity #3  Pin the crown on the Princess.  On a piece of poster board, I had drawn a picture of a princess (not too bad if I do say so myself).  She had long, flowing hair, a gown with a pink bodice and a lilac skirt.  Ayanna helped color her gown, which also had a huge pink flower on the bodice.  We dotted the background of the poster board with lilac, pink and silver dots, using scrapbook pens.  Each girl had a lilac, poster board tiara.  I had cut out each tiara, written their name on it with silver scrapbook pen, attached two pink flower stickers and one silver, star sticker and a few silver streaks, and then laminated each one.  On the back, I used one scrapbook sticky, so they could peel it off and then stick it to the poster princess.  We used a flowered, silk scarf to cover their eyes, and we placed the Princess poster on the bathroom door (which is in the hallway) by attaching a dowel to the back of the poster board with first glue and also masking tape to hold it in place.  We tied pink ribbon to each end of the dowel and then placed it over the bathroom door and fastened it to the hook on the opposite side of the door.  It didn't budge.  Each girl got a turn (birthday girl first).  They all did such a great job, that we gave them each a set of Princess candy rings to add to their favor box. 

Activity #4  back to the family room to sing (we were just buying time at this point and waiting for a special guest to arrive). We sang, If you're a princess and you know it clap your hands they loved this.  We added wear a crown, curtsy low, and smile big.  For being a time-filler, the girls certainly enjoyed singing this song.  Then we asked them to please go into the living room for another game.  As they were moving down the hallway, the doorbell rang.  We made a bit of a big deal out of this.  Saying, who could that be..everyone is here, etc.  And into the room walks Cinderella.  It was an amazing moment  I work with a young woman who is just gorgeous.  She is a Cinderella look-alike, and she loves children.  She jumped at the chance to play the part.  We purchased a Cinderella gown for her to wear (which fit perfect even though she is about a size 2, and the dress said, fits to size 14).  She had her long, blonde hair done just like Cinderella's  and was wearing a tiara that she had borrowed from someone that was full of rhinestones and light blue stones.  She was also wearing gorgeous shoes that she had worn for her wedding.  They had huge rhinestones and gems and were very princess-like.  The girls were in awe, and they surrounded her and had a million questions.  Cinderella singled out Ayanna and wished her a happy birthday.  Then she got down on their level and began to answer a million questions.  Do you have cows?  Where are your horses?  Where is your dad?  How did you get here?  Where is your mom?  Are your sisters nice, now?  She answered each question and was so sweet to them.  AND  she knew their names because they had used the foam letters and they were on their tiaras.  She asked them if she could have her picture taken with them, and we led them into the family room, where she asked to sit on Ayanna's special chair (of course, Ayanna said yes).

Activity #5 - we took a group picture followed by individual pictures.  These pictures are priceless.  Every girl's smile is huge, and Cinderella is gorgeous.  My sister, Holly, took these pictures, and after getting every picture, she immediately took her camera to the kitchen, where she had set up the camera dock and printer, and printed the individual pictures, placed them in individual Disney Princess frames, then into envelopes printed with each girls name and into each girls favor boxes. 

Activity #6 - While Holly was doing that, Cinderella led the girls into the living room, where we played Pass the Glass Slipper.  We also had the living room decorated.  We moved our big floor mirror in one corner, next to the fireplace.  The top of the mirror was draped with lilac tulle.  The tulle was decorated with lilac butterflies and a few lilac flowers.  Next to the mirror, we had a  cluster of balloons tied to an iridescent balloon weight.  None of the little girls could resist looking at themselves in the mirror.  On the coffee table (which is round), we had a piece of lilac fabric remnant (also purchased very inexpensively).  It was large enough to cover the entire table and hang down over the edges.  We had sprinkled the table with iridescent confetti and small, iridescent stars.  In the center of the table, we placed a 24 inch, white Christmas tree.  We decorated the tree with all types of hair accessories (some princess, some stars, some hearts, and a few just pastel colored), and also a few pastel, beaded necklaces that looked like garland.  We used a piece of lilac tulle around the bottom of the tree also.  On the end table, we placed Ayanna's CD player (which happens to be pink), and a basket filled with small gifts.  Each gift was wrapped in Disney Princess paper and tied with pink, blue, yellow and lilac curly ribbons.  For the game of Pass the Glass Slipper, we used an extra plastic slipper and had the girls form a circle.  They passed the slipper while we played princess music on the CD player.  When the music stopped, we had the girl who was holding the slipper, go with Cinderella and choose something from the white tree.  They LOVED that!  The winner was the last girl left in the circle.  She was permitted to choose something from the tree and also won a box of Disney Princess flash cards.  Because there were so many things on the tree, we allowed each girl to go back to the tree to choose another item as well.  They then went into the kitchen to deposit their goodies. 

Activity #5  to settle the girls before eating, we asked Cinderella to read them the story of Cinderella.  We had the Cinderella storybook in the basket with the small, wrapped gifts.  This worked nicely, and at the end of the story, Cinderella gave each girl a gift to open, which was a set that included a Disney Princess brush and a few hair accessories.  Some were pink and some were blue.  They then took their gift to the kitchen to deposit in their favor boxes.  Then,  on to the dining room..(we kept that room fairly closed to the girls before this time).  There are two entrances to the room.  On door from the kitchen, and one from the hallway.  For the doorway in the hall, my husband made a fantastic castle façade which fit tightly into the door frame.  Using a piece of insulation, he cut out the shape of a castle with three towers, and painted it pink and lilac.  He then cut an arched doorway just big enough for the girls to fit through.  The girls loved this, and some of the parents entered the room this way, too.  The others just went in through the doorway in the kitchen. 

The dining room was to be the grand event!  We used the Castle Scene Setters on two of the walls.  The bottom four feet looked like a grand ballroom with large pillars and arches everywhere, and the top four feet looked like crystal chandeliers.  The Scene Setters had tints of gold, pink and lilac, and went perfectly with the castle façade and the table settings.  Since the other two walls in the room already went with the theme, we didn't need the Scene Setters on them.  One of the walls has three windows.  Those windows are covered with plum-colored curtains and have plum flower garlands on the top.  We just added a pink, sparkly star garland to the flower garlands.  The other wall has the marble buffet table and two sconces.  We used a piece of white tulle wrapped in shiny, pink, star garland on the large light that hangs over the dining room table in the center of the room.  We also used white tulle wrapped in shiny, pink star garland for the top of the chair at the head of the table for the birthday girl.  In the center of the back of her chair, we attached a large Mylar balloon that was the shape of a castle and had all the Disney Princesses on it. 

On the dining room table, we used a lilac table covering sprinkled with iridescent confetti and iridescent stars.  The plates were Disney princess plates in the shape of hearts.  We wrapped a lilac fork and spoon in the Disney Princess napkin and fasten it with a pastel hair band and placed one set at each place setting.  Each of the hair bands had a small flower attached, and the girls were able to keep them.  They each had a plastic, pink, Princess goblet for their drink, which had a purple stem, and was printed with the word Princess.  They were also able to take these with them when they went home.  The castle cake was grand and sat in the center of the dining room table.  It was the Wilton castle cake decorated in white with the seven towers trimmed in lilac with pink flowers.  It was a huge, fantastic cake and was made by someone we know who makes cakes.  Ayanna, the girls and all the parents LOVED it!  We served sandwiches cut in the shape of flowers, stars, hearts and butterflies; carrots and dip, Bugle chips, strawberries with strawberry cool whip, and pink M&M's.  We had all of these items on the table in crystal dishes. 

To go with the cake (which we hated to cut), we served strawberry ice cream.  For a drink, we had pink lemonade, and in each glass, we gave each girl an ice cube with a maraschino cherry frozen inside (they thought that was pretty cool).  On our buffet table, we placed another lilac table cloth and sprinkled the iridescent confetti and small iridescent stars.  We had a cluster of balloons on each side of the buffet table, weighted down with the small, iridescent balloons weights.  We placed our chocolate fountain in the center of that buffet table.  We used white chocolate in the fountain.  After the girls ate everything else, they made Fairy Godmother wands using large pretzel rods.  They dipped the rods into the chocolate and then dipped them in pink sprinkles, and several other kinds of pastel sprinkles we had in crystal dishes on the buffet table.  We also had smaller Disney Princess plates and napkins on that table for their use. Cinderella and the parents were a huge help in making the chocolate covered wands and the girls enjoyed that activity.  After all the goodies were eaten, and we sang Happy Birthday to Ayanna (we used four sparkling candles  although they didn't sparkle very much), we went back into the living room for gift opening.  Each guest handed their gift to Cinderella, and Cinderella sat next to Ayanna on a stool and handed the gifts to the birthday girl.  While they were busy with gift giving, we cleared the dining room table and placed an interactive Disney Princess Game for the girls to play. 

Activity #7 - This is a very cute game.  It was a long, heavy plastic table cover (of pink) with a huge, thick, cardboard castle in the center. There was one Disney Princess on each of the towers, and pictures of other Disney Princesses around the castle.  It is no small castle and very nicely done.  The covering has pictures of princesses all over it.  The castle fits over a plastic box with an on/off switch.  Once turned on, the voice asks a question, and the players had to then touch a picture of one of the princesses on the table covering that correctly matches the question (for example:  who can swim under the sea  and they would push Ariel's picture).  It was a good way to wind down as the guests were getting ready to depart for the day.  When the parents arrived, or when they decided it was time to leave, the girls went home with their favor boxes filled with goodies, their Princess goblet, their tiara, their rice krispy wand, and hopefully very good memories.  It was a ton of work but needless to say, a good time was had by all and I'd do it again in a minute just for the chance to again see their little faces!  These party pictures will take up PAGES in Ayanna's scrapbook!