Starlet Party (8-13yr) Glamorous Bakery Cake

8-13 year old Starlet Party  For all future starlets who dream of fame, welcome to this perfectly elegant bash, that’s totally you! Any young budding star will adore this economical but extraordinary party. 

GUESTS: invite a small group of close friends who are totally compatible. Don’t take any risks today by clashing personalities, because everything needs to be perfect! The guests should also fit in with the theme. Sporty, down to earth girls may find this party boring. Smaller parties are easier and cheaper to cater to anyway. 

INVITATIONS: use shiny metallic paper, colorful star stickers, glitter, sequins, and gel pens to make the most enchanting invitations you’ve ever seen! The card should read; You’re Invited to the Annual Junior Oscars, hosted by _______ (birthday child) at ________, ______, _______ (date, place, time). Please bring your own sunglasses and come ready for a show stopping time! mail in glitter-blasted envelopes, and include a pair of sunglasses with frames spray painted silver.  

DECORATIONS: drape flowery swags, strings of Christmas lights, and feather boas over stair rails, bedposts and lamps. Screw in colored light bulbs to add fun! Spray an enchanting scent around the party area so from the first whiff the guests will swoon! Hang movie star posters and shiny templates on the walls, and lots of bright balloons and streamers everywhere! A few moody candles lit can add romance and mystery. Bead draperies over doorways add tinkle and shine. And play pretty music in the background.  In short, You need;  Snacks, platters to serve them on, dinnerware and cutlery, dinner edibles, and drinks and ice/  the Cake/gallons of ice cream and toppings and syrups all Game props/prizes/favors/ favor bags/and invitations Decoration equip, candles, swags, etc. 

Preparations;  1.Two weeks in advance; Figure budget, theme, and party essentials, like what to eat and do, who to call, and where to go. Make and send out invitations. 2.One week in advance; know who’s coming or not, and how much food and favors to save for. Enlist dinner help. 3.Two or three days in advance; buy prizes, favors, dinnerware, napkins, other non-food items. 4.One day in advance; buy baked goods, chips, other snacks and perishable foods. Check off all party goods. 5.The big morning; bake or buy cake, set out buffet, clean, clear and decorate house. 

FOOD:  Buying food wholesale or at discount marketplaces can cut costs down tremendously. But don’t forsake the true quality brands that are worth the extra dollar. Have the kids come over after 2 so they’ve already had their lunch, and stay till 8 so they can have dinner and still have lots of time to play more.  0:00 -Snacks; have these set up on a buffet table so anyone can grab a bite anytime. Buttery crackers, oatmeal cookie sandwiches, chips and dip, fresh fruit, and an assortment of pretzel pieces from Snyder’s of Hanover work well. Stylish, yet quick finger foods.

And keep a cooler full of bottles of Welch’s delicious, star quality fruit juices.  6:00 -Dinner: serve beverages like sparkling grape juice, cream soda, ginger ale, and lemonade with seltzer to hungry Hollywood hopefuls, in plastic wine glasses of course. And for dinner, serve them the most elegant plate of pasta they’ve ever eaten! First, purchase bottles of top brand Alfredo sauce and Meat sauce as well as parmesan cheese, shredded mozzarella, and sparkly plastic dinnerware. You can buy bottles of the sauces from a local Olive Garden if you ask.

Then pick up different boxes of pasta- bowties, shells, rigatoni, spaghetti, and any other kind you fancy. Then boil the pasta, warm up the sauces, set the table, and call in your guests! Invite a few adult chaperones to play waiter and server, which includes wearing bowties and draping linens over the forearms! Also, practice the art of folding cloth napkins into swans or blossoms and have the pleasure of providing each guest with their own collapsible work of art at dinnertime. Don’t forget a snazzy tablecloth and jazzy, softly played background music.

Keep the lighting in the dining room dim, and have the ‘waiters’ float around like their ever so courteous counterparts. Serve sides like fruit salad and breadsticks. Guests can choose classic spaghetti sauce and pasta or go Alfredo for dinner, and they’ll adore the experience! Dessert; thick milkshakes or a store-bough pie snazzed up with whipped cream and fruit works well. 

The Cake; custom order a glamorous one from a bakery if time is a problem. Or whip up a smooth, soft, silky and buttery creation out of a box mix, and spread with canned or homemade frosting. Then add festivity with cake-icing color sprays from Betty Crocker, hard sugar decorations, edible decals, tinted whipped cream, cake figurines, buttercream roses, sprinkles, sauces, candies, cutouts, etc. make it fabulous! It doesn’t have to be fancy and professional, but any cake that tastes delicious and looks good!   Serve ice cream too. Supply at least three gallons of ice cream, different flavors, and all the popular toppings like nuts, cherries, whipped cream, cookie crumbs, sprinkles, chocolate chips, etc. Provide strawberry, caramel, butterscotch, chocolate, and fudge sauces. Let kids create, and have lots of cutlery and napkins on hand. 

GAMES/ACTIVITIES: For the birthday host of games; be flexible, and remember you may have to repeat old and new favorites. Go with the flow, the mood. BE yourself, have fun. 

1- This icebreaker is a classic I’ve found in a dozen places. Acquire pictures of highly recognizable teen actors like Freddie Prinze Jr., Julia Stiles, Kirsten Dunst, and Shane West. Tape a picture of a celebrity like this to the back of every guest, without showing them who they are. Divide guests into two teams. Each team then has 2-3 minutes to ask yes or no questions to anyone on their side who can help them figure out their character. If you want, enforce a rule allowing 3 questions per team member at a time. When the timer rings, the team with the most members in the know wins! You can make this activity less competitive by canceling out the division. 

2- Preteen parties tend to get rowdy, loud, and rockin’, so ask for no tight, shimmery, sheer dresses and short glamorous skirts to be worn. But since this is a movie star party, supply your own dress up box filled with items to jazz up any outfit, Hollywood style! Bright Mardi Gras beads, feather boas, sparkling rings and charm bracelets, novelty anklets and toe rings, sleek barrettes, rhinestone belts and bobby pins, beads, jewels, and faux fur. Lots of costume jewelry and hair accessories. A little touch of shine and sparkle makes for a true star! Guests should have free reign once they’ve arrived to pick up their own fashion statements. Once the girls feel glammed enough, move on to next beautifying step! 

3- Now they’re ready to rev up after getting acquainted and accessorize. Buy the cheapest, brightest lipsticks, rouges, blushes, eyeliners, and eyeshadows in outrageous colors and styles. Guest are sorted out into groups of three by alphabetical order, and each girl of every trio gets a chance at being made up classy! Makeovers rule! This is always so fun to do, and takes a long time to get just right, especially if the girl is not allowed to look until she’s done. Take before and after pictures, lots of random snapshots, and videotape everyone giggling, chatting, and applying the most extreme cosmetics! 

4- Now they’re totally in sync. Beforehand, dig up the outline for a skit, or a short play or musical. Acquire props and costumes, and supply Xeroxed copies of the script to each guest. Give them lots of time to prepare; try on costumes, hand out parts, come up with settings and scenery, and an hour to practice, practice, practice. Then, the girls can give a grand performance and you can videotape it for posterity. They’ll love getting into their roles if the skit is a juicy one. This is a main, and very time consuming, activity. 

5. Break to relax, snack and chat in-between activities. Sometimes, all party guests want is some quiet, quality time with the host. Take advantage of this opportunity to serve glasses of lemonade and soda to thirsty players, all the while beaming like an ever so gracious and all present parental guardian. This would be a good time to chill with ice cream sundaes too. Go wild with toppings, or have a contest! 

6- Now show a movie. Any cute teen flick, like She’s all that, Get over it, Save the last dance, Ever After, Never been kissed, Legally blonde, etc. or just hold a marathon if you can’t choose. But don’t eat up too much time here  Start preparing Dinner. 

7- host a short trivia contest, and a game of tag, in an original way. Each person again receives the identity of the Hollywood hottie they were in the morning, you know, Freddie or Kirsten. They line up on one end of your drive way, with the photographs now taped to the front of their shirts so the hostess can see. She stands on the other end of the driveway, behind a line that marks the finish. You can draw one with washable chalk. In her hand, the hostess holds information about all the latest movies, music, and more, as well as classic Hollywood trivia.

Starting to the left, she goes down the line, asking each star a question, as long as it is not about themselves. Tom Cruise is married to_____?  Name 3 music artists to crossed over to acting. Etc. if the star can answer correctly, she takes a step forward. If an answer is wrong, incomplete, or unable to be explained, the player takes a step backward. If it is his first turn, he is out of the game. Once all the stars have reached the halfway point, it gets interesting. If the person standing next to you gets the answer wrong, both of you have to run for your lives around the playing field 3 times before the hostess catches you.

If caught, you’re out. If you reach the finish line without getting caught, and answering every question right, you win first prize; the latest issue of a movie star magazine and a Hershey bar. Keep questions relatively easy. The distance between the start and finish line should be rather short too, so the guests don’t tire of the game or exhaust your question supply until the game is over.  Serve Dinner. Aren’t they all glad to eat after all that running around??!! 

8- If you just want the kids to settle down and let their food digest, try this; give them an array of movie star magazines/ craft materials like scissors, glue, glitter, felt, and stickers/ and colorful office and construction paper. They can read the magazines, and when through with them, cut them up and make glamorous collages to treasure and take home as favors. Provide coat hangers for older kids so they can make mobiles too! 

9-  Open presents. Eat Cake. 

10- Maybe the kids are ready for something different. Play hot potato with favorite movie soundtracks, or bingo with the grand prize bring the teaser poster of a new teen flick. Play limbo with a broomstick, and the winner gets a certificate to payless shoe store to get her own pair of Cinderella slippers. Truth or dare, movie charades, and any endless array of board games associated with movies like Scooby doo, Harry potter etc, are appropriate here. Anything themed Hollywood.  

11- now everyone’s ready to go home, just sit and talk until parents arrive and whisk their kids away. Give out goody bags too, and mail snapshots and thank you cards to guests later on in the week. 

ETIQUETTE: to the hostess and her guests= never branch off into cliques, or spend the whole time talking about people who aren’t there. This is supposed to be an innocent fun time, so no sneaking out, mean prank playing, etc. even if a fight breaks out, resolve it calmly. Ask for help anytime, if you need it. Graciousness, politeness, and flexibility make any party work. To the hostesses parents= make your presence known to emphasize security and a no nonsensical approach to sensible rule enforcing. But leave the girls some privacy to be themselves in. it’s just how teens get; they want their own space and then some. Avoid an embarrassing situation. 

MEMORY MAKING: you’ve taken lots of photos, right? Paste them in a special scrapbook, or just a notebook with a decorated cover, and add captions as well as gemstones, stickers, glitter, and other flourishes to the pages. As for videotapes, label them and store them in a safe, cool, dry place to show at future get togethers and family reunions! Send pictures and personal thank you notes to all your friends and make sure to write a memory page for the party. That means the date, time, place, who was there, what you did, where you went, and all your funniest jokes, wackiest contests, scariest moments, and wildest surprises! Make copies if you wish.