Ideas and tips for planning a princess-themed birthday party, including invitations, decorations games, party favors and food suggestions.
A birthday party is a time for wishes to come true. Every little girl dreams of becoming a princess, and a royalty-themed party is the perfect opportunity to be a princess for a day. There are many different princesses, but with appropriate snacks, coordinating decorations, and exciting activities, any party becomes a fantasy.
Princess Birthdays: General Tips
No matter what type of princess party is planned, guests should be informed beforehand so they can bring any necessary materials, such as a wearing a specific type of clothing or bringing along items for craft projects. Guests may even select gifts based on the party's theme. A stylized invitation not only states the theme, but gives a visual clue about the general decorations to build anticipation for the event.
To avoid hurt feelings, it is important that every guest at the party is a princess. The birthday girl is the birthday princess, but her friends should not be cast as her subjects or servants, a role that may foster animosity and competition. A more elaborate crown or other accessories distinguishes the birthday princess while avoiding unnecessary hierarchies.
Princess Birthdays: Cinderella
Cinderella is one of the most well known fairy tales - a beautiful girl saved from wicked stepsisters by a fairy godmother and handsome prince. To announce a Cinderella party, the invitation can resemble a sparkling slipper, castle, or pumpkin, and guests should be directed to dress for the royal ball or for the simple drudgery Cinderella performed before her fairy godmother appeared.
Decorations can range from the dusty, shabby kitchen where Cinderella did her chores to the glittering ballroom of the castle where she danced until midnight. Ideally, decorate two rooms so guests can move between them as the party progresses. Shabby decorations include mops, brooms, and dustpans, with ashes or gray makeup to create smudges on faces and hands. Tubs of soapy dishwater, stained aprons, and an assortment of dingy rags complete the image of a servant's life. In contrast, the castle ballroom should be sparkling clean with white or pastel streamers, crisp tablecloths, and other luxurious accents. Guests can play dress up with old gowns, lengths of bright fabric, and costume jewelry to be appropriately attired for the ball.
Other than dress up, Cinderella-themed games include hiding a slipper, creating cone hats with netting or silk ribbons as colorful accents, or using sandals to create unique slippers for each guest. Glitter, craft gems, beads, and gold spray paint are all useful items to fashion Cinderella slippers, but crafts should always be supervised by an adult.
Birthday parties are not complete without tasty treats, and a Cinderella party deserves royal snacks. Pastel candies or mints sparkle in crystal dishes, and tiny sandwiches are dainty enough for any princess. A pumpkin or spice-flavored birthday cake coordinates well with the theme, and a castle cake is easy to fashion. After frosting a round or square cake, frost ice cream cones and roll them in sprinkles to create fantasy turrets, and an assortment of candies make delightful decorations. Gold, silver, or rainbow candles are all appropriate for this fantasy confection.
Princess Birthdays: Native American
A Native American princess, such as Pocahontas, is the perfect inspiration for a nature-oriented birthday party, ideally in the fall when many natural decorations are available. An arrowhead invitation sets the tone, and corn husks, hay, leaves, pumpkins, and teepees fashioned from blankets complete the setting, transporting guests to an indian village. This party is ideal for an outdoor event, but felt or paper leaves and other decorations can be substituted for an indoor celebration.
Face painting is a popular activity among indian princesses. Girls love playing with makeup, and they will delight in creating their own unique designs to symbolize their native spirits. Braids and beaded jewelry complete the costume. Beads can be made from small rolls of colored paper or painted macaroni, and craft stores offer a variety of beads in different colors, shapes, and sizes. Necklaces should be long enough that they can be slipped on without trouble.
A carrot or spice-flavored cake is perfect for a Native American theme, while a chocolate cake represents the indians' connection to the land. A teepee or leaf shape is simple to devise, and decorating the cake with candy corn adds a rustic touch. Other snacks can include toasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or homemade trail mix with raisins, candies, nuts, pretzels, and other favorite items.
Princess Birthdays: Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty is another popular fairy tale and the perfect theme for a slumber party. The beautiful Princess Aurora is cursed and pricks her finger on a spinning wheel, which makes her fall into a deep sleep until her prince wakes her with a kiss. A pillow, bed, or spinning wheel-shaped invitation announces the theme, and guests should be asked to bring their prettiest nightgowns.
To create a royal bedchamber, wrap white twinkle lights around furniture and attach glow-in-the-dark stars to the walls and ceiling. Pretty canopies from netting or gossamer fabrics can be draped from the ceiling, and sewing lace onto plain pillow cases adds delicacy to the atmosphere. Many pillows of different sizes, shapes, and colors should be available in soft piles for tired princesses to nap.
Storytelling is an integral part of slumber parties, and girls delight in making up the sleeping princess's dreams, or describing her happily-ever-after when her prince awakens her. Weaving friendship bracelets from colored yarns is reminiscent of the spinning wheel Aurora pricks her finger on, and a pillow fight is a fun way to work off excess energy before bedtime.
A star, moon, or bed-shaped cake is perfect for a Sleeping Beauty theme, and fluffy frosting reminds guests of cozy pillows and comforters (whipped cream is a good choice). Other nighttime treats include s'mores, hot chocolate, or other soft, warm foods.
Princess Birthdays: Mermaid
A mermaid princess theme is perfect for a summertime pool or beach birthday party. A shell, fish, or wave-shaped invitation announces the underwater festivities, and other decorations include green and blue streamers arranged in waves, netting, shells, and strings of pearls, all of which are available at craft stores. Translucent clear, white, blue, and light green balloons resemble bubbles and are another great accent.
Pool games are appropriate for a mermaid party, such as swimming, diving, and other competitions, but no guest should be forced to participate if she is not comfortable in the water. Fashioning seashell jewelry is a great land-based activity, and each guest can customize a necklace or bracelet. Blowing bubbles is another great game, especially when using string or wire circles to create giant bubbles.
Mermaid snacks are as plentiful as fish in the sea. Fish-shaped crackers, tuna sandwiches, and candy fish are all popular choices. Blue Jell-o with fish candies is a simple and delightful dish, and a green salad can represent seaweed and other mermaid treats. The birthday cake can be fish-shaped, fashioned like a wave, or a tropical island with a mermaid figurine on the beach. For an additional surprise, tint the inside of the cake light blue with food coloring to create an underwater masterpiece.
Princess Birthdays: Magic
Some of the most popular princesses are magical fairies that inhabit enchanted forest glades in faraway lands. To create a fantasy glade at home, choose a pretty outdoor location such as a park or garden with plentiful flowers. Invitations can be shaped like wings, flowers, or stars to spread the word about this magical occasion. While the garden itself provides an abundance of decoration, adding colorful streamers, sparkling ribbons, or gold and silver accents creates a truly fantastic setting.
Fairies love to play, and to equip each guest as a fairy, prepare cardboard wings from poster board with bits of string or ribbon to attach them. Star or heart-shaped wands are easy to create, and adding glitter or ribbons enhances their magical properties. A myriad of fairy games can be played with wands, such as tag, freeze, or other playground favorites. Another option is to weave colorful flower chains for necklaces and crowns, but be certain that picking flowers is allowed before beginning.
Fresh fruits, sugar cookies, and other light treats are perfect for a magical princess gathering. Ethnic foods such as baklava or regional sweets personalize the party, describing where these fairies live. The birthday cake can be any flavor or color, but colorful sprinkles and rainbow candles coordinate well with the riot of color in the garden. For an added surprise, choose a white cake and bake colored sprinkles inside to reveal a burst of color when the cake is served.
Whether she dreams of a sparkling castle, underwater grotto, or fairy-filled grove, a princess party can make any girl's birthday wishes come true. Themed decorations, tasty snacks, and fun games combine to create an event fit for royalty. Those magical memories will last for years, and the birthday girl will know that she is always a princess in her loving parents' hearts.
