Homemade Spa -8yr- Compact Mirror Invite

For my daughter's 8th birthday party, we made all of her friends an "appointment" at our own homemade spa party. 

The invitation was a small, flat compact mirror we found at the dollar store.  We decorated the outside of the mirror with glamorous lipstick and high heeled shoe stickers we also found at the dollar store.  The party information was typed on clear address labels and then placed directly on the mirror itself--a really fun effect.  That way the girls could peel the labels off and still use the mirror for purse or play.  The wording included:  "You have an appointment at Lauren's SPAtacular Birthday party!"  "SPAtacular treatments include:  Professional Hair Design, Manicure, and Facial." "Please wear your favorite pajamas." My daughter was so delighted to deliver these little mirrors to her friends.  From that moment, it was all they talked about at school was how they couldn't wait to get to the spa!  (We were so lucky to find those little compact mirrors.  Originally I was thinking of using a round hand held mirror--it could have worked just as well.)     

Setting up our own spa at home was a lot of fun too.  We decorated the bench on our porch with pink and purple pillows from my daughters' bedrooms.  We replaced the welcome mat with a long pink floral rug also from my daughter's bedroom.  Opposite the bench, we used a pink cardboard dress up changing stand from our toyroom.  My girls decorated this stand with dress up scarves and hats for a glamorous effect.  The signs on the front door read:  "Lauren's Luxurious Birthday Spa,"  "Walk In's Welcome" and "We do birthday parties!"  Our entryway was decorated like the front waiting area of a spa.  We had a front desk where the girls checked in.  Lauren gave them each a name tag with a code we later used to determine who did which spa treatment first.  She also gave them a menu of spa treatments that were the events for the evening.  Behind the front desk was a waiting area.  We filled our own magazine rack with "American Girl" magazines that the girls could read while they waited.  There was also a tray of chocolate covered strawberries and chocolate mints to munch on.       

As the girls arrived, we gave each of them a shower cap to wear for their "Before" picture.  The shower caps were brightly colored and very tacky (also a dollar store purchase).  This made the girls really giggle.  When I took their picture with my digital camera, I told them that I knew this was hard for them, but I wanted them to look as grumpy as possible.  This also brought a lot of giggles as they watched each other get their picture taken.     

We started with "Facials by Carrie."  As a spa worker, I was dressed in sophisticated black attire with a pink flower in my lapel.  All the girls stood around the island in our kitchen and were given a white hand towel.  I introduced the different facials available.  We had a mud mask, pumpkin scrub, egg yolk mask and tormeline mask (some of these were in my bathroom cupboard, a couple I purchased from a beauty supply store.)  When the girls chose their mask, I spooned or squeezed a small amount into a plastic nutcup.  They applied the mask looking into a long mirror I had placed on top of the kitchen island.  While the masks dried, we relaxed in the living room and let Lauren open her birthday presents.  We also passed around cucumbers for those who wanted the true spa effect.        Next, the girls lined up in the bathroom and used a sink and towels to remove their masks.       

We then used the "code" on their name tags to divide up in to different groups.  One group went to "Nails by Linda and Jayne" at the kitchen table.  Linda and Jayne were family recruits also dressed in black attire.  The table had a pink table cloth and bright colored boxes filled with nail supplies. Linda cleaned and manicured their nails while Jayne painted and applied decorations.  The "American Girls Skin and Nails Book" was a great resource.  It tells step by step how to give a manicure and had lots of fun nail ideas pictured at the back.  We used this book and let the girls pick their nail designs.     

Another spa station was "Jewelery Making with Leslie"--another friend we recruited to work at our spa.  The goal at the jewelery station was for each girl to make at least one bracelet to wear home.  We used stretch string and charms and the girls made beautiful bracelets.     

But by far the most popular event at the party was "Hair by Haylee."  Haylee is my sister in law and a professional hair stylist.  We set up her "hair station" in a small toy room we have adjoining our kitchen.  We took all of the toys out and replaced them with a bar stool, mirror, hair supplies, and a "Hair by Haylee" sign. The girls each had a turn getting a magnificent "up do" from Haylee.  (This was truly the hit of the night.  Haylee did this as a gift for Lauren, but now that I know how crucial this element was to the party, I would have shopped around and hired someone to do hair for a couple of hours if I hadn't had this connection.  It would have been worth it!)     

When their hair and nails were finished, I took a smashing "after" photo of them showing off their new look. While they ate pizza and cake, I loaded all the photos on to my computer and we had a "before and after" slide show--which really made the girls laugh.  My spa personnel helped me think of prizes to award each girl at the party:  best nail design, most expensive looking bracelet, most daring hair style etc. Lauren "awarded" them a spa gift bag made up of nail polish, bobby pins, tail comb, nail file, and hair product sample (all purchased at wholesale cost from our hair stylist.)  The girls ended the evening watching the classic "make over" movie-- "Princess Diaries."       

This website has always been such a great resource to me.  I hope that some of the ideas here help someone in planning a special party for their daughter.  It was truly a memorable one for my 8 year old.