Cinderella will be four in March.
I am going to have a four-year-old.
How is this possible? Where has the time gone? I'm not old enough to have a four-year-old!
Regardless of my feelings on this, she will be four.
And this year, she should have a birthday party.
So, my question is this: What are your suggestions for how we should celebrate Cinderella's birthday?
Also: What are good ideas for party favors?
Thanks for your input!
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Fancy Nancy is my 6 year old's favorite book. we just had a dress up birthday party a couple of weeks ago. the kids came dressed up, and we read the story. They decorated a frame (real fancy) and took it home as the favor with a picture of themselves dressed up with the b-day girl. I got the frames for $1 at Michaels and had hubby print the pictures that I took upon their arrival, during the party. An activity and a favor all in one! There's also an online party kit that's free!
ReplyDeleteIf a dress up party isn't your thing, you should at lease check out the Fancy Nancy book. It's too cute!
Heidi's suggestion is great! Are you trying to have the party at home? If so, and it is all girls, then I think the idea already given for a dress-up party is fantastic. If your daughter has some other passion, you can tailor it to her. For example, we went to a b-day party at a fire station (it was free apparently in that small town) but with a Thomas theme. The kids decorated train sugar cookies, had the option of coloring Thomas pictures, and also did a picture with the fireman and firetruck. The favor was the picture tucked in a card.
ReplyDeleteOur parties have always been somewhere. While a little pricey, I love not being responsible for set-up and clean-up. For favors I usually give crayons, fruit snacks, stickers, and small coloring books. I try to avoid candy and anything that will drive a parent crazy. ;)
Ask your daughter what she wants. She might just want to have her friends over to play and eat cake. I'm guessing she really likes the Disney Princesses, so it seems you have a ready-made theme.
My strong opinion is that for the first few years, there should be no more children in attendance at a birthday party than the age of the birthday person. So if there are four little girls that Cinderella especially likes, invite them to the party, ask for small or no gifts, let them play together, let her pick the cake, and keep it simple.
ReplyDeleteBirthday parties have gotten so out of hand lately that I hate the idea that kids expect to get favors or treats just for showing up... the sense of entitlement kids get from that kind of thinking galls me to no end.
I love the idea of crayons for favors... you can also find little containers of play dough that are perfect for inspiring some creativity in kids.
But above all... have fun with Cinderella! She'll remember that more than what the theme was or what the presents were.
We had a dress up party when my daughter turned 3. I think 4 would be a better age for this. We asked the girls to come dressed up and if they wanted to give a gift we asked them to give a dress up item to add to her dress up box. That was fun! At the party I had moms help with a nail salon, hair styling, and craft (a purse w/ their monogram stamped on it.) It was tons of fun. We ended the party w/ a fashion show. The party favor was the purse they made. We found blank cards shaped in a purse to use for invitations.
ReplyDeletei agree with other commenters -- i always like party favors that are either made at the party or are in some way useful for the party's activities. example: a fairy party you could give each of the kids a set of wings to wear (find a quick pattern online...i once did capes, i have boys) and then ahve them make fairy wands and crowns. instant "goody bag"! i'm big on short parties (no more than 1.5 hours) and i also agree with the one kid per year of age thing. it helps to make the whole thing calmer. plus i don't feel as bad spending a few extra bucks on each kid's party favor/thing if i only have a few closest friends at the party.
ReplyDeleteI had a Cinderella party for my little girl a couple of years ago. We played "toss the rag in the bucket". Easy, just grab some clean rags and a clean bucket. Tie the rags in a not and put a broom on the floor as the line they can't cross. Let each child toss the all the rags in the bucket, see how many they can get in. The one who gets the most in "wins" if you want to have a winner. We also had a "ball". We put on classical music and had them all dance around until the clock struck 12 (we used a bell) then all the little girls had to drop a shoe and run into the kitchen for cake time. My son and his friend "the royal pages" stole all the shoes and hid them around the house with a goody bag in each one. After cake the girls went on a hunt to find their shoe and goodies. HAVE FUN!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all.. I love the fancy nancy and cinderella ideas!
ReplyDeleteI'm not a parent... but I throw a mean party! :) I say find the thing she's really into and really go with the theme. Since she's 4.. keep it simple with the games and such. Keep their attention spans in mind! Princes parties are always nice...I've been to great nemo parties (with blue jell-o and goldfish as snacks... tea-parties (with lady bugs and daisies as a theme... they could decorate hats for the favor) and even little kid luau's that were lots of fun.
Hope that helps!
Time flies! They grow up too darn fast.
ReplyDeleteI have some pictures from our Fancy Nancy party. For some reason, the link to my blog didn't connect from my comment the other day,
ReplyDeletewww.heidit76.typepad.com