Partying With The Princesses

My little Morgan just turned 4 and she decided shortly after her 3rd birthday that she wanted a Care Bear party next. I'm not a huge fan of all out character parties but can't deny my children their wishes so I usually choose a color or two that has to do with the character and most of the decor is designed around the colors rather than the character itself. For this party, I chose rainbow colors since Care Bears live in the clouds and play on rainbows.

This is the dessert table I designed with lots of rainbow colors and desserts.

I created a rainbow banner to hang above the table.

The cake was homemade this year...you'll see why. I had ordered Morgan a rainbow shirt and tutu on Etsy but the tutu didn't fit her. It fit the cake stand perfectly and really made the table pop. The colored M&M's brought in a lot of color as well.

The adorable cake topper was from Creating from the Heart on Etsy. This little cake topper is so well made and the details are amazing. She even looks a little like Morgan.

I used the same Starbucks Frap bottles from Madison's Princess Tea Party to serve a rainbow of drinks. I used Gatorade since it comes in so many bright colors.

Along with the cake, I served a rainbow of fruit.

These Chocolate Covered Oreos from Sweeties by Kim were delicious and pretty!

I got these yummy mini-cupcakes from Baked by Melissa in NYC!

The rainbow party hats were found at Target. I added a little pizzazz to them by trimming them with feather boa. I put a sparkly "M" on Morgan's hat to personalize it.

The party favors were Care Bear DVD's. I put them in slim jewel case and lined them with colorful scrapbook paper and tied them with a matching ribbon.

Morgan's Care Bear collection made for a great display and photo-op spot.

Care Bear coloring sheets and crayons sorted by color in matching cups awaited the party guests.

Everyone enjoyed coloring while waiting for the guests to arrive.

The girls were so surprised when a giant Care Bear joined us.

They played parachute, freeze dance, limbo, had a magic show and scavenger hunt with the Care Bear from Dave's Cast of Characters.

After an hour of fun and games, we sang happy birthday and enjoyed pizza and cake.

The kids were so surprised when I cut the cake and revealed this rainbow inside!

This was one of the most fun parties we've had. Morgan had a blast!

Happy 4th Birthday, Morgan Paige. I hope your Care Bear cheer is always here.

XOXO!

Mommy

In June, I threw Madison a 5th birthday party. What a milestone...I can't believe my baby is 5! The theme she chose this year was a Princess Tea Party. I was very excited to find out her preschool teacher had a small Princess Tea Party business. I booked the date with her and the planning began.

First, I had Madison's silhouette made by Vana at Le Papier Studio. I took a profile shot of Madison and sent it to Vana who came up with a beautiful princess silhouette. I bought the jpeg from her so I could use it throughout all the party decor.

Madison decided she wanted the colors pink and light blue as party colors. I love how it all turned out. Here are the details.

The invitation featured her princess silhouette, very simple and sweet.

I made a sign with balloons in the front yard to welcome the party guests. Here is the birthday girl waiting for her friends to arrive.

A framed welcome sign hung on the front door.

The banner I created hung above the dessert buffet.

I love placing the dessert buffet in the corner of the room. It works well for the birthday girl to stand behind when blowing out the candles.

The dessert buffet included...

wand lollipops

strawberry rice krispie treats (I cheated and bought pre-packaged ones)

cupcakes from Crumbs Bakeshop topped with the cupcake toppers I made

silhouette cookies made by my good friend Brenda...I purchased edible paper decals from The Frosting Gallery on Etsy. Brenda placed them on top of the cookies.

Crown cookies from Totally Scrumptious Cookies on Etsy.

pink macaroons

strawberry milk placed in these vintage looking milk bottles

(I searched high and low for vintage bottles at thrift stores and Ebay, but was unsuccessful. The week before the party I came across this post on Celebrations at Home blog that suggested using Starbucks Frappucino bottles. It was exactly what I was looking for and I drank 16 of these babies in one week. Crazy, I know!)

In the center of the table was the sweet and simple cake from Cornerstone Caterers with a custom-made cake topper made by Sweetie Pie Cake Topper on Etsy.

I decorated a wire dress-form I found at Homegoods with a my girls' princess skirt from their dress up box and my pearl necklace.

On the kitchen island I set up adult food for the parents who stuck around.

The menu consisted of tea sandwiches, mini Quiche, scones and macaroons to go with the theme.

Favors were in my apothecary jars. I had bracelets with a princess charm made for the girls and they each went home with a crown cookie and wand lollipop.

I hired Madison's preschool teacher for the entertainment since she has a Princess Tea Party business. She came with all the table decor, real tea cups and plates, food, drinks, games, prizes and princess dresses. She did an amazing job!