Ella's Dancing Party 2yr - Rice Crispy Hearts

Ella is known as Fashionista Baby" at our church there was no fee for us.  Before the party I sent out princess invitations and received RSVP's from about 40 guests that would be attending. Our guest list included: 9 girls & 9 boys plus all the parents and grandparents. The children's ages ranged from 1 - 14. Girls attending the party were asked to dress in their prettiest princess dress or costume. (Boys were asked to prepare for a very girlie party!)

My 14 yr old niece does beauty pageants so I asked her to come dressed as a "Princess." I dressed my daughter in a fluffy Purple tutu and a little white top they said "Tiaras make you Taller" in purple. I bought her a purple tiara and wand from the dollar store. We decorated the very large party room with streamers balloons banners door hangers and more. We brought 3 plastic toddlers picnic benches from home and lined them up. We decorated the tables with pink plates white cups with princess stickers on them and pink & purple party hats. Our church provided tables & chairs so we set them up for the adults to have a seating area near the children. Each table had pink table cloth a princess centerpiece and white flower petals.  I then lined the room with activity tables: "Glamour" I asked my 12 year old neighbor girl to get the girls glammed up as they walked in. I placed a pink table cloth on the table and laid out earrings necklaces princess tattoos rings body & Hair glitter spray press on nails Tiaras and of course a hand mirror for them to view their makeovers. They were then offered a "Rice Crispy heart wand" and directed to sit in the princess throne for a photo.   "The Throne" I decorated my son's upholstered rocking chair as a throne by purchasing shiny lavender fabric on the clearance table and stapling it to the chair with fabric staples. I then lined the arms and back of the chair with 2 white boas that I picked up a dollar store. We had a tripod with a camera designated to take throne pictures.  Parents were asked to place the gifts next to the throne so Ella could sit there and open them later. 

"Decorate a Cookie" Boys were asked to decorate a cookie at this table. Cookies frosting sprinkles and plates were waiting for them on a pink table cloth. After they decorated the cookie they were given a soft "Knight" sword and asked to sit in the throne for a picture. "Dance" My husband made Ella a Princess CD. It included 23 songs from various princess movies and more. There was a surprising number of princess songs out there. Even a fun hip hop song. We put out 2 dance mats with ballet bars and my husband set up a laptop with a Ballet Instruction DVD set to play when needed.

"Food" We made tuna fish & Peanut butter & Jelly sandwiches in the shapes of Hearts & Stars. Set them out platters. Used another Pink table cloth and more white flower petals. I made 2 pitchers of pink punch and put out more princess cups. I also had bowls of tomato & Basil chips in various places (They look quite pink when you put them in a pink bowl.)

"Cake & Ice Cream" We ordered a large cake with Strawberry filling. The bakery kept it frosted white and wrote Happy Birthday Ella in purple at the bottom. I put pink sprinkles all around the border and placed a tiara on top. I also made Pink Ice Cream pies so the kids each had their own individual pink pie. Each activity table had a sign that I made out of scrapbooking letters on poster board. We left one half of the gym open for sword fights and basketball. (The gym has a basketball court so we put out balls for the big kids and dads to shoot hoops.)The swords were a huge hit with the boys and girls. I only wish that I'd bought twice as many.  Each child was given a treat bag which included a punch ball princess stickers candy bracelets candy rings and other princess favors. After guests ate cake ice cream pies sandwiches & chips I asked all the kids to come to Ella's Throne while she opened gifts. I usually feel the children closing in on me while I assist my kids with gift opening so this time I came prepared! I laid out a large white blanket and asked the children to sit on the blanket if they wanted to watch Ella open gifts. This worked like a charm!  After gifts we asked all the Princesses & Knights to head to the back of the Gym for a group photo. The photo was adorable and showed all of their personalities and costumes beautifully!


Finally we had a Special Guest...A Real PRINCESS!! My niece wore a hot pink pageant dress and a real tiara and looked absolutely beautiful! All the girls bought it and wanted their picture taken with the Princess! Thank you cards were sent out with pictures of the child in the throne and/or with the Princess. We made a web page for them to add pictures to or just view the ones we posted. It was a wonderful party for all ages! Everyone talked about what a great party it was and told me I should go into the business! The entire Party cost around $100!   "