This is the third post in my three-part weekly series for living gladly and gluten free:
News n' Nibbles Monday,
Mid-week Menus
on Wednesdays, and today...DIY Friday! Today's project focuses on DIY
birthday parties. Sure you can go to Chuckie Cheese's, Monkey Jones, or
some jumpy place and call it a day. But with so many great ideas
available on the Internet for party themes and decor, why not arm
yourself with some toile and a glue gun and add some creative flair to
your little lady's special day?
My daughter loves to read books,
accents any outfit in her closet with something hot pink, and includes
words like "fashionable" and "thrilling" in her standard vocabulary.
When she turned 5 a few weeks ago, we didn't have to think too hard
about what her birthday party theme would be - Fancy Nancy. I enjoy
reading Jane O'Connor's
Fancy Nancy
book series with my daughter at bedtime, not only for their colorful
and creative illustrations, but also for the new vocabulary words she
learns with each story...."spectacular", "observant", and "brilliant" to
name a few.
I scoured the Internet a few weeks beforehand,
putting together a collection of favorite ideas from others' parties, as
well as my own ideas and personal touches. This was a soiree (that's
fancy for party) on a relatively low budget being hosted in a small
space. All foods and beverages served were gluten free too. All in all,
it was a smashing success, with 10 little girls entertained and my
daughter thrilled. Ooh La La!
Decorations
- Welcome Sign
- Number 5
- Bonjour Banner
- Fancy Table
I
started with a fancy welcome sign on the door, simply using a variety
of decorative scrapbook paper from Hobby Lobby. After the party, I slid
that sign right into my daughter's scrapbook along with some of the
snapshots from the party. I re-used these papers for guests' nametags
and decorative signs labeling the various snacks and beverages being
served.
The little lady and I crafted a tissue paper "5" to hang
for decoration together - so simple. We cut out a poster board 5, then
twisted and glued little pink tissue paper scraps on top. A "Bonjour"
banner using poster board, ribbon remnants, and my decorative scrapbook
paper added to the French flair.
As for the tables, the fancier
the better. I purchased glass parfait dishes at Walmart for 99 cents
each as the place setting for every guest. We added beads, boas to each
chair (warning: you will be vacuuming feathers for a week), toile, and
pink tissue paper flowers to complete the table scape.
Activities
- Get Fancy! Dress-up time
- Miss Devine reads a Fancy Nancy story
- Decorate purses with fancy decorations
- Fashion Show
With
10 little girls over for two hours, dress-up can only get you so far.
We had an agenda (that's fancy for a list of things to do) to keep the
girls busy and having a fabulous time. We started with a big dress-up
bin, allowing each girl to put together her own ensemble. Tip: Go to
garage sales or thrift stores for old dresses and purses. Look for a
used coat rack to hang all extra dresses and accessories. My mom was a
great sport, acting like "Miss Devine" and reading the girls a Fancy
Nancy story. Being the retired educator that she is, she took the
opportunity to teach the girls about some of the fancy words. They
really enjoyed it! We moved the party into our garage for our craft
project, decorating purses. Walmart and Hobby Lobby carry inexpensive
packs of purses perfect for little 5 year-olds. Buy some puffy pants,
stick-on letters, and sparkles to use as adornments, emptying them into
easy to reach bowls on the decorating table. My mom, sister, and I
supervised and manned the glue guns for the girls as they decorated
away.
Food & Beverages
- Make own parfaits
- Flower petal cupcakes
- Beverage bar with sparkling cider, water, and flavored milks
Following
the purse decoration, we moved on to the piece de resistance: parfaits.
Starting with vanilla ice cream, girls decorated their own parfaits
with chocolate syrup, sprinkles, bits of candy, cherries and whipped
cream. For the gluten free and dairy free guests (and host), we had So
Delicious vanilla ice cream, Hershey's chocolate syrup, ghirardelli
chocolate chips, K-toos cookie crumbles, Cakemate sprinkles, and Soyatoo
Rice Whip whipped cream. If that weren't enough sugar overload, we had
mini-cupcakes (gluten free and dairy free) in adorable flower petal
cupcake cups (Walmart again - $1.49). I printed up little "5"s that I
glued to toothpicks and inserted into each cupcake for a little extra
flair.
For drinks, we set up a "beverage bar" along with fancy
plastic cups and paper umbrellas. Each girl enjoyed their beverage,
pinkies up, with their parfait and cupcake.
Wrap-up
- Gift opening
- Fashion Show
- Fancy Nancy homemade gift bags
After
all the food and fun, it was time for presents. My daughter sat in our
over-sized living room chair, and each guest sat with her as she opened
her present. When gifts were all opened, we proceeded back to the garage
to retrieve our decorated purses (now dry) and have a fashion show.
Each girl walked the imaginary catwalk to RuPaul's "Supermodel", posing
for a photo with their new purse. Before we knew it, time was up. Guests
left with a Merci Beaucoup favor bag (Uline white paper bags with a
printed Fancy Nancy "thank you" glued on), filled with their feathery
boa, candy, and their fancy purse.
