So You Think You Can Dance -9yr- Ticket Invite

So You Think You Can Dance Party-age 9  For my daughter's 9th birthday we decided on doing a theme from her favorite television show, So You Think You Can Dance.

We made INVITATIONS on yellow construction paper that said, Congratulations! You've been chosen to compete in So You Think You Can Dance! Here's your golden ticket to Vegas! , and we listed our address, the date, and time. We found a logo online of a silhouette of a group of dancers and printed a few copies of it in black and white, to glue on the back of the cards, making it look like the logo from the show. We wrote on the bottom of the cards, Come celebrate Ava's 9th birthday. You can choose to be a dancer, a judge, or the host. We did the invitations like that because many episodes of the show had preliminary try-outs in several major cities and the people who made it to the next round got a ticket to go to the next phase of the show, which was held in Las Vegas.

From there, it was easy for us to find DECORATIONS for a Las Vegas themed party. We went to the local dollar store and found giant purple and red fuzzy dice, small dice, a disco ball, purple and red sparkly streamers, a toy microphone, purple and red paper plates, cups, and napkins, and a purple plastic tablecloth.

We also stocked up on party FAVORS like candy, sparkly pencils, sparkly mini notebooks, a package of miniature dice, and even a bag of miniature disco balls. Ava also liked the miniature sports balls that are like hackey sacks, so we got a few packs of those, too. We made goody bags for each of the 8 children invited, just putting the party favors in paper lunch bags, with their name written on the outside in purple and red marker.

ACTIVITIES preparations: For the dancers, we made necklaces out of glow sticks. We then got a bunch of purple and red foamcraft paper and wrote a series of random numbers on them, and using a hole-punch, connected the dancer numbers to the necklaces. We cleared out the front room so the kids could have ample dance space; and moved the dining room table almost against the wall, placing three chairs on the long end for the three judges. We put the tablecloth on the table, and the large dice in the middle. Something was missing, so I found some little plastic palm trees and put them in the center to make it look more Vegas-ish.

GAMES: When the girls arrived, we asked them if they'd like to be dancer, judge, or host. Every girl chose to dance, so we gave them each a glow necklace with their random numbers, to wear around their necks. I assigned three adults to be the judges, and gave them each a list of ideas for positive comment and critique. My husband was the dj for the day. He hooked up his ipod to speakers and he played random songs to each dancer as they competed. Michael Jackson's Billee Jean, Madonna's True Blue, Cindy Lauper's Girls just Wanna Have Fun and She-Bop, and Danger Mouse's Crazy were some of the selections. I played host, and did a silly impression of Cat's accent, announcing each contestant and saying a tidbit about each one before and after they danced. We passed around the fake microphone to each judge and they did a super job, giving sweet advice and encouragement.

We had a lot of adults there, so before and after each dancer had danced, we clapped and hollered for them. My advice to anyone attempting to throw this kind of party is to keep it short and sweet. Also, if your star dancer likes to breakdance,  save that for last. Because since Ava went first, tearing up the dancefloor with her mad skills, it seemed like all the other kids wanted to go beyond what they knew and could have hurt themselves. One child looked like she just jumped up in the air and tried to do a breakneck move. As the collective audience of parents and friends gasped in horror, the little girl crashed to the floor! So we cut the song short as she, thankfully, came up laughing, unhurt.

FOOD: We had pizza and veggies with dip set up in the kitchen on a long table and grandma made mini mimosas (orange juice and sprite) for the contestants. Each girl helped herself to some food and then went to Ava's room to play while we got the cake all lit up. It was homemade chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. We put little dice all over it and it looked cute enough with candles.

After the cake, the girls surrounded Ava while she opened presents and the adults sat on chairs and ate the leftovers Ha Ha. I guess my advice would be to have more food and drink for the adults if a lot of parents and family are planning on coming. The dj played songs all during the present portion of the party. Some girls danced when they got bored of watching presents being opened, of course. So that was a good idea, I think.

When it was time to leave, each girl was given her goody bag. They all seemed to have a good time. I was happily surprised all of the girls wanted to dance. In retrospect, I probably would have kept it less formal, just having them all dance around and no judges. But to be true to the theme, it worked out okay. In all, the party cost about $80 with the pizza (delivery) and the decorations and favors. Ava said it was the best party ever. And that's what matters!