Birthday on a Budget

After having three boys and having my fair share of frogs and snails and puppy dog tails, having a daughter has been DELIGHTFUL for this mommy.  She has brought a lot of SUGAR and SPICE into our lives (if you know what I mean)!  I have been dreaming for the last few months about having a princess birthday party for my little princess.  I decided to try doing everything the most economical way possible.  I started with handmade party favors.  The wands above were made of felt that I had lying around.  I hot glued two pieces together with a bit of cotton and a dowel rod and ribbons stuck inside.  Then I unearthed the sequin trim that was waiting in some dark corner of my craft supplies for this exact project!  That got hot glued to one side  of the wand. The only thing I bought for this project, was a  pack of dowel rods for $.97.  The jewels I had gotten earlier for a different project and the ribbon I had on hand as well.    These were a hit!

 These tiaras (above) were also party favors.  I bought the headbands in a pack of four for $1 at the Dollar Tree.  The sparkly white felt I had on hand.  I hot glued the felt to the headband and then glued on the jewels.  These were great because not everyone had a tiara with them at the party, so they could  put one on and instantly they were a princess!

 I wanted a birthday cake that was not very messy because the girls at the party would be 2 years old to 6 years old.  Cupcakes (which I love) or cake could end up making a disastrous mess (especially on my MIL's living room carpet)!  To solve the dilemma my MIL made me these twinkie cakes!  They were VERY yummy!  They ate them like a sandwich with minimal mess.  I printed out the little tiara shapes (on paper that my scrapbooking SIL donated to the cause)  and taped them to the toothpicks.    I also bought the serving platter at Walmart for $4. and painted it white.

The other food we had was very simple: PB & J cut into princess shapes (with cookie cutters bought at Walmart), chex mix and grapes.  Little girls don't eat very much anyway, for the most part!

This cake was just for pretty.  It caused the little girls to OOH and AAH over it, so it was worth the $5.98 I spent on it (Walmart).

On the table, I set the wands and tiaras at each place with a vase.  I borrowed most of these from my MIL.  I also brought the shabby chic candelabra (found at Goodwill and painted white) that sits on my kitchen table to be the centerpiece.  Everything was setting on a piece of sheer fabric that had small flowers glued to the underside of it (this was a relic leftover from my wedding nearly 10 years ago).

 

The chair covers are ruffly curtains that used to hang in my bedroom at my parents house.  We cut them and draped them over the blue and orange chairs from the Sunday school room at church.  Big improvement!  I bought the stiff wide ribbon on a 25 yard spool real cheap at Walmart.

 I found the tissue paper ball idea on the internet and watched the tutorial on how to do it. This was a lot of fun!  JoJo has these hanging in her room now. 

 Below is a picture of the Princesses eating at their royal table.

 For entertainment, I found this princess version of "Pin the Tail" at the Dollar Tree.  It even came with a little blindfold.  This was a hit.

We also play Duck duck goose, using the wands to tap the girls' heads.  They didn't really "get" the game, but they loved tapping with the wand!  

 

Over all, this party was very fun and inexpensive.  Most importantly, my little Princess had a very special day!