Every time I look at my blog I cant believe how long it has been since I last wrote a post! You would probably be silly if you believed me this time when I say I am going to be blogging more often. :) I so wish I had the time to do more regular posts. I have about ten blog posts in the works that I need to catch up on. So many fun ones! They are coming, (someday) please bare with me!In November my little girl turned four. FOUR. That just simply sounds old. This year for her birthday I was 6 months pregnant and sick. I kept saying it would be a more low key party because I was quite sick and we had just taken on a huge redesign project at church. (fun future post!) However my smart little cookie had a different idea. Lola can tell you about each and every one of her birthday parties, we usually go all out and I have so much fun planning them for her. This year was a little different, she knew exactly what she wanted: A Princess Party. Ugh. I think I asked her if she was sure 100 times, and suggested 100 different theme ideas. ;) I do not love the tradition birthday party themes, I enjoy coming up with something a little more original, and special. So we decided to combine two of her favorite things so it could be a little more unique, princesses & tea parties! (she gets her love of tea from her Mimi!) Lola loved the idea and we went to town on the invitations. Here's how they turned out!
Front:
Back:
After the invitations were ordered, Lola & I headed to Hobby Lobby to find our party inspiration. We were looking for the perfect tea party fabric to cover the table. Lola picked pink, she will always pick pink! Here is the fabric we chose together, as well as 20 yards of pink tulle to create a fun table skirt. I simply pleated the tulle as I sewed it to the fabric. It was super easy, and I think it had a big impact!
I knew a main part of the tea party would be finding all the cute food holders. I started looking around but got a little discouraged when I realized how much they cost and how many I would need to buy in order to create the look I had come up with. I spent a little time on Pinterest and my problem was solved! I would make them! My husband would make them! I am so blessed to have married someone who entertains all my crazy ideas and helps me figure out how we can make them all happen!
After a quick visit to St. Vincent de Paul and Goodwill, I had all the candle stick holders we needed. William cut plywood for the tops into the shapes and sizes I desired and routered the edges to make them look finished. He glued the plywood tops to the candlestick holders and then spray painted them for me. (Usually I am the spray painter, but I was 6+ months pregnant and it was November so it had to be done in the garage.) :/
I absolutely love how they turned out! I couldn't have found ones I liked better if I had bought them in a store. Total cost for 9 food holders was right around $40.
I bought some fun supplies for our party online! I wanted the girls to drink out of real teacups to make it more tea-party-y (is that a word? Ha!) however, in the interest of my carpet I looked for an alternative that is more 2-4 year old and carpet friendly. :) I found these square bottles and thought they were so cute. Bonus was that they came with lids. I had my handy husband drill holes in the lids so we could use some adorable stripped paper straws. We wrapped them with a little ribbon and they were all set! Lola helped with so much of her party this year! Usually I am doing all these projects alone, but this year she wanted to be apart of it all which was so fun! I ordered most of my fun party supplies online from Shop Sweet Lulu. I was so impressed with their quick delivery, reasonable prices and adorable shipping material. I will use them again for all my future parties!
Lola really wanted to serve pink tea. I am not a tea drinker, so I am not sure if there even is pink tea? We instead went with pink lemonade. It was a hit, who doesn't want to drink straight (pink!) sugar? :)
Since we were unable to use teacups for the kids' drinks, I wanted to find another way to have teacups displayed on the table. I decided they would be perfect for holding the cupcakes at each place setting. Another trip to Goodwill and I found some little teacups that worked perfect! I paid only .50 each. Bought some cute cupcake liners and we were all set!
I always purchase my cupcakes from Safeway, not very glamorous I know! But they are surprisingly tasty, reasonably priced and they always allow me to bring in my own sprinkles that they will use on the cupcakes for me so they match our party.
It was a lot of fun to pick out the food for the party. I wanted to have an adult display of party food, as well as separate food for the kiddos that would be displayed on their par-tea table. Lola helped picked out the food and chose some of her favorite snacks!
Here is the spread:
Cupcakes
Animal Cookies
Rice Krispies Treats
Mini Pot Pies
Caramel Apple Pops
Little Smokies
Here is my little helper making the Rice Krispies Treats! :)
I made some tulle pom poms to hang from the ceiling to add some more color & fun!
This is the adult buffet:
The Tea Party Table:
For favors we gave each girl a princess crown & wand, and each boy got a prince crown & a sword.
We also made bags of Pink Princess Popcorn for all of our guests to take home. It was pink tinted chocolate drizzled over popcorn, and boy was it tasty!
The birthday girl:
The party planners :)
This was my favorite party yet! Each year is more & more fun as Lola is getting older and wants to help me plan, shop, and decorate everything for her party. Cant wait to hear her ideas for next year! : )
