Royal Princess -3yr- Bippity Boppity Parlour

I LOVED doing this princess party for my daughter's third birthday.  The kids invited ranged in age from a few months old to four.  I think everyone had fun and the party looked amazing.  It was a lot of work, but my daughter loved it and is already asking when her next party is! 

INVITATIONS:  I wanted to do something different but elegant.  I designed a 5x7 Invitation with a bright blue damask border, a picture of a castle at the bottom, and a ribbon stretched across the top with a pink scallop Princess seal on the front.  It said, Hear Ye, Hear Ye Welcome to Princess Chloe's Royal Fairy Tale! I printed this on photo paper and attached it to a sheet of glittery foam.  On the back I attached another printed sheet that was pink with fuchsia and blue borders and attached jewels to the corners.  It read, Her royal highness, Princess Chloe, requests the honor of you presence at the illustrious celebration of her third year of birth on the 2nd of April.  

The celebration will commence when the clock strikes eleven for feasting, merriment, fortune, and more!  Come dressed in your finest royal attire to Goddard Castle at (Street) in the Kingdom of (City).  You may plan for your carriages to depart at two o'clock.  Please RSVP to (Phone #) if you plan to attend this royal gala.  The castle needs to plan for your arrival!  Princess Chloe can't wait to see all of her royal friends at this magical celebration! I placed these in envelopes and my daughter helped me drip sealing wax on them and seal them with a fleur-de-lis stamp.  I wrote the guests names on the front in calligraphy and then put them in a larger envelope to address and mail.  

DECORATIONS:  The colors I chose were pink and light aqua blue with fuchsia and silver accents.  I covered all of the walls of my back porch with two Disney Ballroom Scene Setters.  On the left wall I had a two-tiered dress rack with tons of princess dresses for the girls to wear if they didn't have one.  I covered the poles of it with pink rose garlands.  Next to it I had a pink hanging shoe organizer with a bunch of dress up shoes in it.  On the back wall I used another extra wide dress rack as a backdrop.  I draped a large white piece of fabric down the middle and on the sides had fuchsia cloth shower curtains which I tied back with light pink feather boas.  At the top, in the middle, I made a swag with some bushes of roses.  This I used as a backdrop for the makeover table.  

On the makeover table I had a silver treasure chest full of necklaces and boas (bought a wood one from craft store, spray painted it, then glued on a bunch of jewels) and a silver platter with nail polish (which I attached pink and blue bows to), nail polish remover (which I covered with pink glittery paper), cotton balls (in a princess cup), and flower nail stickers.  I also had dress-up gloves, a Disney Princess Glamour Case with jeweled bracelets in it, a huge fancy mirror (which I spray painted silver, painted again with glitter glue, and attached jewels to) propped up on a silver easel stand, two white necklace busts with fancy dress up necklaces for display, pink satin makeup bags with a nail kit or lipgloss in each one, a pink hand mirror tied with a fluffy pink bow, a lighted makeup vanity box with makeup in it, a Cinderella toothbrush holder which held some disposable mascara and lipgloss wands, a bunch of princess crowns, and some organza bags with a large princess wand, a sequin coin purse, a feather boa, and a princess crown in each one for the guests.  

I covered the table with a white tablecloth and sewed a gathered fuchsia tulle table skirt which I topped with a light blue feather boa garland.  Next to that there were two tall silver barstool chairs for the girls to sit on.  On the right wall I had a large round table with a white table cloth on it and made pink tulle swags around to top edge. On this I had the party favor buckets and egg hunt boxes, which I displayed on different sized square gift boxes (wrapped in blue, fuchsia, and pink polka dot wrapping paper).  I also put the prize gift baskets on this table as well.  I painted a pink scroll sign on foam board that said Bippity Boppity Princess Parlour on it and hung it in front of this whole area.  5' Belle and Cinderella standees that I made stood nearby.  

I had a pink table cover roll that I used to cover the stairs leading down from the porch all the way across the yard to where the princess throne was.  Also lining this path I had a lighted arch covered with pink decorating mesh, pink roses, and fuchsia nylon butterflies.  From this and swooping from several pink poles (pipe that I covered with fuchsia table cover plastic and screwed into wood bases) I hung a pink and blue pennant banner that I had made by cutting out the different colored pieces from construction paper, laminating them, and then sewing them together with a long fuchsia ribbon. 

At the end was the princess throne, which was an ornate chair I found for free, spray painted silver, re-covered with fuchsia velvet, tufted the seat cushion with jewel buttons, and decorated the back with fancy curtain rod ends, jewels, and a tiny plastic princess crown.  Over this I draped a fuchsia rose hanging canopy.  

To the left of the throne I had a princess castle play tent which housed the gifts for the birthday girl.  On one side of our yard I set up a 10 x 20 white canopy tent that I found on Craigslist.  There were 6 poles which I draped a white tulle curtain on either side of and gathered them at the middle around the pole with a puffy fuchsia ribbon to look like drawn-back curtains.  From the canopy I hung blue and pink paper lanterns and from the center I hung a large chandelier that I made.  I bought a glittery silver ornament chandelier on clearance after Christmas and hung pink, blue, and silver glittery ornaments from it and draped silver bead garland in swags all around.  

In the center of the tent I lined up 5 small kid's tables to make one long table.  I covered it with a long white table cloth and then put another pink one on top.  I gathered the pink one at the corners and other spots so that it lay in swags all the way around.  I used silver platters from the dollar store as chargers and real white china.  I glued jewels to silver plastic tableware.  I bought plastic champagne flutes and glued feather boas around the base and rimmed the top with jewels.  I bought fuchsia swiggle straws and attached glittery blue cardstock tiaras with jewels glued on them to the straws.  In the center of each plate was a fuchsia napkin which I fan-folded and placed a mini tiara in front of.  Each spot was marked with a princess dress-shaped gift box labeled with each girls name (with gum balls  inside).  I made two short flower arrangements to go in the center and used a candelabra (which I spray-painted silver and hung a couple of chandelier jewels from) as the centerpiece.  

I covered all of the chairs with chair covers (I just made large pillow-case style covers and tied the corners in the back since I couldn't find covers made for kid's chairs) and added a fuchsia organza chair sash to each one.  In an L shape surrounding the children's tables I had the adult tables, decorated similarly with flower topiaries (which I made) as the centerpieces for each one.  Nearby I had a dress form with a princess dress on it and a scallop sign hanging around the neck that said Welcome to Princess Chloe's 3rd Birthday Party and a balloon bouquet hanging from the top (this was near the entrance).  

On the other side of the yard I had an area with a play cottage and made all seven dwarves on 2 foam board, attached them to stakes and staked them around the cottage with a 5 Snow White standee (which I also painted on a large sheet of foam board).  Nearby was a 10 x 10 white tent with three walls.  Inside I had a candy buffet/cake table  on the left with jars of pink and blue candies and a 2 castle cake as the centerpiece.  The beverage table was in the back with a glass drink carafe on a silver pedestal and a ribbon and pink and blue scallop Princess Punch label, two flower arrangements, princess napkins, pink and fuchsia cake plates, and water bottles that I made custom pink and blue Princess Chloe's 3rd Birthday labels, and some princess cookie bags.  To the right was the food table.  I displayed the food on tiered platters, pedestal plates and bowls,  and silver platters.  

I used crystal candlestick holders with pink taper candles and framed pictures of my daughter in different princess costumes to decorate the table.  In the center was a metal cinderella carriage with the royal feast menu framed in the center. I also sprinkled large blue diamonds on the table.  All of the tables were covered in white floor-length table cloths and had pink rose garland swags around the front and sides.  The food and candy tables were also topped with bunched up pink organza and a Sleeping Beauty standee stood nearby.

Above I hung the three fairy godmothers and a silver faux chandelier which I painted on foam board. To the right of this tent I had two coffee tables, covered in pink and blue princess table covers for activities and a princess folding table in the center to hold supplies for some of the games.  I had large princess balloon bouquets behind each and two white garden lanterns between them.  These were the craft tables.  All over the yard I had large pink bouncy balls for the girls to play with and tons of pink and white balloon bouquets.  I also stuck large nylon flowers in all of the gardens to add some extra color.

ACTIVITIES/GAMES:  Each girl got a makeover at the beginning of the party.  While they were waiting for their turn, the other girls got to DECORATE A TREASURE CHEST at an activity table.  I bought little wooden chests and spray-painted them silver.  I bought a bunch of adhesive foam letters, princess foam stickers, and jewels for them to stick on.  Each kid got some chocolate coins to put inside. After that we had lunch, sang happy birthday, and cut the cake.  While I was serving the cake, the kids got to fill up a treat bag with candy from the candy buffet.  

Then we did a GLASS SLIPPER HUNT. I told the girls that Cinderella's stepmother had hidden her glass slippers and whoever could find one first would get a prize.  There were five.  The first girl got to choose a prize basket and the rest got some more chocolate coins for their treasure chests and they got to keep the glass slipper.  Next I told the girls that a dragon had laid its eggs all over the palace.  Before they hatch, dragon eggs contain treasures.  I gave them each a blue gift box that I had decorated with pink tulle to make it look like it had a tutu around the middle and had their names on each one.  

We used those to do a DRAGON EGG HUNT.  I had different colored eggs in different nests around the yard.  They were to take one of each different color. Each color had a different kind of prize (princess hair bows, hair clips, clip-on earrings, candy, princess socks, and rings).  I gave the parents sheets with clues so they could help their kids find the nests.  We took a break from games and let the birthday girl open some of her presents on her throne.  

After that the girls got to make COOKIE CASTLES.  I covered little squares of cardboard with blue wrapping paper for the bases and put canned frosting in some little bowls with a bunch of popsicle sticks stuck inside.  I cut out flowers and drawbridge doors from fondant and let them dry ahead of time.  I also had little silver-wrapped Hershey's Kisses for the spires. The girls used pink wafer cookies (some I cut into little squares to make the parapets along the top edge) and the frosting as glue to make cookie castles.  I made a sample one ahead of time for them to see.  I was worried it would be too hard for them but it it ended up being a big hit. 

We then played a PRINCESS AND THE PEA GAME.  I told them the story of the princess and the pea, showing them some pictures from one of my daughter's story books.  I asked if they were real princesses and they said they were.  I hid a green ping pong under three pink throw pillows (which I found at the dollar store!) and had them feel each one to decide where the pea was. They had a fun time guessing and when they found it I gave them a certificate (that I designed on photoshop, backed with pink paper, and laminated) that said Goddard Castle in the Kingdom of (City) declares that (kid's name) is a true princess! Even the two-year-olds had fun lifting the pillow up and finding the pea. After that my daughter finished opening her gifts and I handed out all of the favors.  The kids had fun playing with those, putting on more makeup and getting their nails done, and playing with my daughter's new toys.  

I had also planned to play a two different DRAGON SLAYING games.  For one my husband would dress up like a dragon and the girls could throw pink water balloons with potion that the royal wizard made for us at him and for the other I painted a dragon on foam board and sewed some beanbags to look like flames.  The kids would have to hit the dragon (for older kids you could have a hole that they would have to toss the bags through) to earn chocolate coins.  We had enough games so I cut these two out.

COSTUMES: The girls mostly came dressed in princess dresses but those who didn't got to borrow one of my daughter's many princess dresses and dress up shoes.  Chloe wore a pink fluffy princess dress that we found at Target with the dress-up clothes.

FOOD:  I made white chocolate covered oreo pops which had pink and blue 3's and little flowers on each one and pink and blue glittery cake balls with little fondant tiaras on top of the pink ones.  I also made some glittery tiara, glass slipper, and blue heart cookies which I packaged in a tall bag, separating each cookie with a food sealer so it was individually showcased, and sealed the top with a bag label I had made that said Princess Treats and had a picture of Cinderella's carriage and the date on it. 

For the candy table I packaged pink and blue cotton candy in clear food containers and labeled them with a ribbon and a scallop Princess Fluff label. I wanted the food to be like a royal feast.  Originally I thought about having whole rotisserie chickens, but thought that would be too hard to serve, so I had two flavors of roasted chicken legs, mild boneless buffalo wings, a cheese platter, lots of fruit (strawberries, grapes, pears, apples, etc.), a caesar salad, a bread platter, a rustic-looking apple cranberry gallette, and some roasted vegetables.  To drink we had pink lemonade, water bottles, an several bottles of sparkling cider.  

CAKE:  The cake I made was a two-tiered castle cake with tons of turrets.  The tiers were covered with white fondant that I rolled with an impression mat to make it look like stones.  On top of each turret were silver spires and pink flags.  The base of the cake and the windows I put on were all decorated with pink fondant flowers.  I used the Wilton castle cake kit.  It was still a lot of work, but the end result was pretty impressive. The flavor was yellow butter cake with lemon curd and fresh raspberry filling and cream cheese frosting.  It was so yummy! 

FAVORS:  I think the girls ended up leaving with as many gifts as my daughter!  Every time I went shopping or researched online I found new favor ideas that were so cute I just had to incorporate them somehow.  The main favors were big pink sand pails with light blue handles.  I filled these up 3/4 of the way with candy.   On top of that I arranged the favors:  princess brushes and hair accessories, a princess beach ball, princess crayons and pad, a princess puzzle, and a pink punch balloon.  We had one little Prince so his was a blue pail with a stick horse, a shield, knight's armor, a knight's tunic (that I sewed with some scrap fabric and ribbon I had), and some court jester juggling balls.  Each bucket was wrapped in a large, clear basket bag which I gathered at the top and tied with several coordinating colored curling ribbons.  

There were a couple infants there, too, so I used small princess buckets stuffed with blue easter grass.  On top I placed a fuchsia baby utensil holder, a fuchsia sippy cup, some princess hair clips, and a Princess in Training bib.  The girls also got to go home with a makeup bag with lip gloss or nail polish, treats from the egg hunt, the organza bag with boa, crown, coin purse, and wand, their treasure chest, cookie castle, glass slippers, and candy bags!  Since I couldn't find any boy toys that fit in the eggs, I put little plastic coins which the little prince could use to purchase" some larger wrapped gifts (bath toy sets).  

For the prizes I had two gift baskets.  One had a pink lunch box princess ice pack princess water bottle and two different princess plates.  The other had a princess white board large princess crayons and markers and a princess stamp set. 

I got a lot of great ideas from this site so thanks everyone for your submissions!