Even a Toddler Can Have a Wonderful Cinderella/Princess Birthday Party--My 300th Review
Nov 30 '06
The Bottom Line My little princess had a ball at her Cinderella Dance Party; yours can, too.
Though I was all prepared to treat my daughter and her friends to a unisex Elmo party for her 2nd birthday this year, she decided a few months ago to become a huge fan of Cinderella. She has the bed, the wall stickers, the carriage, numerous books, clothing, dolls, etc., etc. So out went her first boy/girl party, and in came the prissy, girly Cinderella-themed one I threw two weekends ago.
Guests of Honor/Invitations
I decided I couldn’t entertain toddlers and family and friends at the same time so we had two parties for my daughter on separate weekends. I determined that the most kids my living room could support would be 10, but ideally five. So I invited about seven or eight kids and parents. Since it was going to be a girly party, I spared myself from inviting any rambunctious little boys and was able to pare down the guest list accordingly. I also decided to keep the girls close in age so that the things I was planning would appeal to all of them. I think the oldest girl I invited was two and a half.
Instead of mailing out invitations, I sent them through Evite.com, an online invitation site I’ve used several times over the years. I was able to import a Cinderella picture into our invitation and also come up with my own cutesy reply messages. Instead of “yes, we’ll come,” guests clicked the “My glass slippers are already polished” check box; instead of “no, we can’t make it,” they clicked the “My carriage is in the shop” box; and instead of “maybe,” they clicked “Only if I can find the perfect gown.” For those who aren’t wordsmiths or who just don’t have the time to come up with unique responses or pretty backgrounds, Evite lists a bunch of themed responses from which to choose and has many invitation styles and colors. It saved me postage and made RSVPing a lot easier for my guests. It also gave me a single spot to track the RSVPs and allowed me to easily invite anyone I had forgotten on the first go-round.
Preparation, Decoration, and Anticipation
I’ll admit, I spent way too much time planning this party. My mom never threw cool parties for me so this was not only an opportunity to shine in my daughter’s eyes, but to have a fun party for myself. I checked out a few party supply stores as well as mass merchandise stores and a couple of $1 stores before purchasing decorations. I got a good idea of what was available and made mental notes about what I thought would work. I also made mental notes about the things I saw being used at play dates and at library storytimes. I checked out some CDs from the library as well as from my own collection to compile a sort of soundtrack to the party to help guide me and the kids through the different elements of it. I wanted to make sure everything was age-appropriate and entertaining.
My idea was to transform our living room into a Cinderella ballroom so I bought a white paper disco ball to hang from the ceiling fan, a glittery silver curtain to hang in the doorway, and a Cinderella castle backdrop to cover up my bedroom door. I also put several Cinderella dolls and books that we own on display around the room and threw a disposable Cinderella tablecloth over our leather ottoman, on which I planned to let the kids do arts and crafts and later eat. I threw a solid-colored blanket over our 47 inch TV, because I didn’t want that to attract attention, and strung a Happy Birthday banner over it across my wall unit. Next, came the balloons.
Crafts, Balloons, and Bubbles
The one thing I learned over the years from having and going to bad parties is that you need entertainment. For toddlers, that’s fairly simple. You don’t want to bombard them with too much stimulation but you do want to occupy them with things they love, namely, balloons, bubbles, and autonomous play.
I bought a disposable helium tank at a party supply store and a bag of white balloons (the tank came with a hodgepodge of mixed colors which weren’t all appropriate) so that we could flood the living room ceiling. With about 30-40 balloons scattered around, my living room looked very festive but not completely saturated. I tied ribbon to all of the balloons so that the parents could easily reach them if the kids wanted them and so they could bring them home with them at the end of the party.
I also bought a $10 bubble machine at Wal-Mart. My last investment into the bubble-making industry was kind of a flop but it taught me that bubbles bring smiles to the faces of little ones. I also saw a bubble machine in action at one of the library branches near me during a Halloween party. Kids ages 1 to 5 were enamored by them and knew just what was expected (to run around popping them all). So I knew my $10 splurge would be a good investment for this party and any future gatherings.
Last, but not least, I needed a craft idea. Obviously, one and two-year-olds are more into eclectic splashes of color than intricate glued-on patterns so I opted for a free-for-all coloring project. I bought brown gift bags (that would be used as loot bags for the kids to bring home some treats), stickers, markers/crayons, glue sticks, pom-poms, and even some pumpkin decals (some of the stuff I had at home and the rest I knew would get used by my daughter long after the party). I personalized each bag with a child’s name and one pumpkin sticker. My idea was for them to transform their pumpkin bags into “coach” bags (a la the Fairy Godmother’s transformation of a pumpkin into a coach to transport Cinderella to the ball). So I printed out pictures of Cinderella’s carriage and cut them out. At the party, after the coloring and decorating took place, my brother (who valiantly volunteered/was coerced) donned a pair of fairy wings and held a magic wand, went around saying, “poof,” and glued the coach stickers onto the bags. The kids seemed confused but entertained and the parents got a good laugh.
Musical Eggs
The other entertainment lesson I’ve gotten from attending numerous library programs geared to infants and toddlers is that “shaky eggs” work. Though you can purchase pre-made musical eggs in toy departments (I’ve seen them at Target and Wal-Mart), it’s simple to make them. I bought a package of plastic Easter eggs at my local dollar store and filled them with edible items. In this case, I used Cheerios, but I’ve used Gerber Veggie/Fruit Puffs and Goldfish crackers in the past. For older children, or if you plan to glue the eggs shut, you can put beans or rice inside. I also bought some “clap hands” at a party store. My daughter spotted them first and they are easy noisemakers for toddlers to use. I’m not sure what they’re actually called, but they have a handle on one end and three plastic hands on the other (one is stationary and the other two move when it’s shaken). When you wave it around, the hands make a loud clapping sound. It’s the perfect noisemaker for this age group. I don’t remember how much they cost but I think it was either 50 cents or $1 each. I knew I’d get more use out of them so I didn’t mind spending a few dollars.
I put all the eggs and clappers in a basket and let the kids grab their own while the music played. I had burned a CD a few weeks before the party with lots of fun, upbeat songs from my collection, some of which came off the Disney Cinderella soundtrack. Although I didn’t end up using all of the songs and only planned to use some of them as background music, below is the tracklist off my compilation. I probably only used a quarter of these songs at the actual party. I let the first track repeat while we did the arts and crafts project since it’s a nice, quiet, relaxing song. I played “Clean It Up” to indicate it was time to clean up and move on to the dance segment. I played the second track to introduce everyone and then I played a few vibrant songs, including “Fruit Salad Salsa,” for independent dance with the musical eggs. I played “All the Pretty Little Horses” while they ate to calm them down and prepare them for the cupcake tower.
1. We’re Going to Be Friends by Jack Johnson
2. More We Get Together by Laurie Berkner
3. Dorothy’s Birthday Party by the Wiggles
4. It’s Not Just Make Believe off the Ella Enchanted soundtrack
5. Cinderella Main Title off the Disney Cinderella soundtrack
6. A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes off the Disney Cinderella soundtrack
7. Fairy Godmother Song off the Shrek 2 soundtrack (this has some sexual innuendo in it)
8. I Really Love to Dance by Laurie Berkner
9. La Mariposa by Colibri off the Putumayo Kids World Playground album
10. Clean It Up by Laurie Berkner
11. Baby Hokey Pokey off the Baby Face album
12. Rock a Bye Bear by the Wiggles
13. We Are the Dinosaurs by Laurie Berkner
14. Here Comes a Bear by the Wiggles
15. Fruit Salad Salsa by Laurie Berkner
16. Shakin Down the Sugar by Laurie Berkner
17. The Locomotion by Atomic Kitten off the Thomas and the Magic Railroad soundtrack
18. Bring Your Clothes by Laurie Berkner
19. The Goldfish by Laurie Berkner
20. The Airplane Song by Laurie Berkner
21. Sesame Street Animal Birthday
22. Little Wheel a-Turnin’ by Laurie Berkner
23. All the Pretty Little Horses by Laurie Berkner
24. Goodnight by Laurie Berkner
A Case of the Munchies
Hungry children are cranky children. So make sure you have snacks. Even if you don’t plan on serving lunch, make sure there’s some sort of healthy snack (fresh fruit, crackers, apple sauce) and drink for your guests. That includes the parents.
For our party, I thought a buffet table worked best. I didn’t bother with any Cinderella-specific foods, though I had thought of doing something with a pumpkin, but I did think that a Cinderella ball should have a buffet table. I set up the table in my kitchen where I stacked juice boxes; apple sauce containers; a crudités tray with dip, celery, carrots, and some crackers; soda and cups for parents; paper plates, spoons, and napkins. I also put a bowl of Goldfish crackers in the living room where the little ones could easily access it. Though they didn’t fit into the Cinderella theme, they were still a good choice for the crowd I was entertaining.
While the kids decorated their bags, I put the lunch buffet items in the oven. I made chicken nuggets and French fries for the children and made some hors d'oeuvres (spanakopita spinach pies and mini quiche) for the parents that I had picked up at Costco in bulk. I also cooked up some frozen mixed vegetables.
Instead of a big birthday cake, I made cupcakes. I bought a Wilton cupcake tower (I had been eyeing them and patiently waited until I had an excuse) and some decorating details (a number 2 candle for the topmost cupcake, Cinderella figurines for the second tier, and some edible castles and crowns for the rest). I didn’t have to deal with cutting up cake or any extra utensils and the kids loved being able to eat them by themselves (with just a little assistance). My daughter, being the princess that she is, refused to hold the cupcake and stuck her face in it instead.
Don’t Let Your Guests Leave Empty-Handed
No matter how nice a party is, it’s always better if you leave with a goodie bag. In this case, I filled the “coach” bags with some magical accessories: some bubbles to clean up in a fun way like Cinderella, a bracelet to use at the ball, Play-Doh for transforming nothing into something with some imagination, and of course a Cinderella party blow out to make some noise. Another idea, if you want to bypass the juice boxes on the buffet and just get the kids one nice treat to bring home would be to buy them all Cinderella sippy cups. Then those can be put into the "coach" bags at the end of the party.
Let the Children Lead the Way
I had a lot of things planned for our party that didn’t happen and that’s fine with me. It’s always best to have extras planned, but don’t get upset when you need to drop them off the itinerary. I took cues from the kids. When I saw what a great (and quiet) time they were having decorating their bags, I let them have some extra time and chopped off some of the dance party section. But as soon as I noticed a little antsiness, we played the “Clean It Up” song and moved the table over for the dancing. Likewise, when I saw a couple kids eyeing the cupcakes, I knew it was time for food.
There were a few extras I planned that I will hold onto for later parties. I had wanted to let the kids put their shoes in a laundry basket when they first arrived so that they’d have to find their matching shoes at the end just like Cinderella. I had also wanted to do a freeze dance segment and a few more interactive dances, such as the Hokey Pokey and Tick Tock (“Tick, tock. Tick tock. I’m a little cuckoo clock. Tick tock. Tick tock. Now I’m striking one o’clock. Cuckoo! Cuckoo!”—it progresses until 12 o’clock). Though I had first put “The Evil Stepmother Says” (my variant of Simon Says) on my list of things to do, I decided against it since two-year-olds aren’t good at following orders and wouldn’t get the fun of it. But we did do the “Wheels on the Carriage,” my own variation of the “Wheels on the Bus.”
A few other games/activities I thought of but decided against using were a circle time castle tower building session and a clean it up basket. For the castle one, we would’ve all sat in a circle and each child would’ve been given one block. Then we would’ve taken turns going to the center of the circle to place the blocks on top of each other. As for the clean it up basket, my idea was to put a bunch of scarves or articles of clothing into a basket and then throw them up in the air. Then the kids could play with the soft clothing and put them back in the basket so I could throw them on the floor again. We could’ve repeated this game a few times and it would’ve mimicked the way Cinderella was forced to clean up her house over and over again.
(Toddler) Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!
The kids had a blast, I had a blast, and I think all of the other moms enjoyed themselves, too. While I spent a lot of time planning this party, it was over before I knew it. The kids were great. I really worried that they’d go ballistic long before the two hour party (most sources advise 1 ½ hour long shindigs for this age group, but ours ended up running 2 ½ hours and everyone was just starting to get restless). The bubbles were a hit, especially with one little girl who hovered near the machine and tried to catch all of them (most landed on her head!), the balloons caught their attention, the craft went over amazingly well, and the cupcake tower satisfied their sweet tooth. The shaky eggs and the “clack hands” were winners, too. Just like the big kids, toddlers want to sing, dance, and have fun. This party let them do it all at their speed.
This essay is dedicated to two big events happening today: my big 3-0 birthday and my big 3-0-0 anniversary on Epinions. Since I never got the cool birthday party I wanted, I’ll have to settle with my visceral experiences through my daughter. As for Epinions, I never thought I’d write 300 reviews (all very helpful, though after some vigorous updating, I might add) and look forward to writing 300 more. Have a great day and thanks for reading!
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