How about a BARBIE Fashion Fairytale Party?

My friend Kari just threw the most adorable party for her 5 year old little girl.


When she asked the bday girl what she wanted to do for her birthday, the answer was 

FASHION FAIRYTALE!!

Not being very into Barbie these days, I had no idea what she was talking about.  Luckily, every girl knows how to have a fashion show!  I had so much time brainstorming this party with Kari.  

She and her husband Mark made this a party her little one will never forget!  Every detail was perfect and the birthday girl relished in it all.

Here's the scoop on how it went down:

DECOR:

Mark made a real, red-carpeted runway for the kiddos to walk down and model their fashions.  

He also attached a disco ball to the ceiling that was a huge hit with the kids.  They loved dancing in the "falling sparkles."  A disco ball is a FABULOUS investment!  I bought mine at a resale shop, with a bag of strobe lights included, and have used it for dance, 90210, and Michael Jackson parties.  They are such an easy way to add festivity to any theme.  Keep you eye out for one (unless you are a friend of mine IRL, because I love to share!) and snatch it up if you see one.

Mark and Kari also made a curtain out of  plastic tablecloths that served to separate the runway from the dressing room.  They hung them on pvc pipe that hung from ceiling hooks.  

Which leads us to the action spot.  On the other side of the curtains, every little girl's fantasy came true (the two little boys there seemed to be enthralled as well).  Kari used a clothes rod that she had on hand.  She took the extenders out and, voilà! a kids sized rod held all the dress up clothes perfectly!  We used a coffee table, end tables, and trunks to display all the accessories.  There were tiaras, tons of beads (leftover from MARDI GRAS), hats, purses, feather boas, and shoes lined against the wall.  The kids couldn't wait to dive in and start dressing.

Timeline:

11:00 am 

The kiddos arrived and decorated sashes (we used 3" ribbon) with fabric markers.  We had glued them the night before and the glue wasn't dry, so we ended up stapling them which worked fine.  The fabric markers didn't show up very well on the ribbons, but the kids didn't seem to notice.  They decorated to their heart's content.  If you decide to do sashes, I would suggest using chart paper and washable markers or ribbon and glitter paint pens (this will be messy and probably won't dry quickly but would be very fancy!).

11:15

The kids dressed up and had makeup done.  The makeup was a very subtle pink blush, put on with cotton swabs and a pink lip gloss put on with fingers or qtips.  Even though the makeup was almost invisible, the kids got a hug kick out of it!  Win/Win in my book!  I love stations at parties.  If you have stations, like a make up station, or a decorate your own stash station, it's very helpful to ask a friend or relative beforehand to man that station.  When you are hosting, I find it's not very practical to expect to be able to oversee an activity.  It works better for me to have people (thanks Sara and Bridget!!) that will do that for you, so you can mingle and play hostess.

11:30

The kids strutted and twirled down the runway to a special playlist Kari created, including Katy Perry's "Firecracker" and Ru Paul's "I Want To Be A Super Model."  It was so cute to watch how much fun they had.  Kari and Mark had a karaoke machine hooked up to the TV, so the runway was also viewable on the TV and the kids loved watching themselves.  Kari used the mic to introduce each model.

11:45

Most kids wandered into the playroom for some free play while we cleaned the leftover accessories off the tables and set up for pizza.  Then it was PIZZA time.

12:00

The kiddos drifted back for some more free play while we cleared the tables again in prep for cake.  We have such a great group of friends who all helped clear and keep an eye on the kiddos.  I hope you have these types of friends at all your parties!  If no one offers, don't be afraid to ask someone to clear the plates and cups as kiddos finish.  I find that guests are often eager to help, especially moms at a child's party.

12:15

CAKE and ice cream

12:30

More free play while the adults cleared the cake to prep for opening gifts.  For a kiddos party, it works well to have a designated space for free play in between activities.  I remember when, for a Fancy Nancy party,  I had cleared all the toys out of the playroom (packing them away in closets) to make space for an elaborate dinner table arrangement for the kids.  We had stations for nails, hair, make your own perfume, and necklace making for the girls to rotate through.  Once everyone had finished getting fancy, and had enjoyed eating their petit fours and parfaits, a little girl walked up to me and said "We've had so much fun.  Now all that's left to do is play.  Where are the toys?"  Lesson learned!  Since then, I try to leave some toys out for free play.

12:40

Gifts were opened.  We usually don't open gifts at our parties, but it really does seem to be a hit.  The kids were mesmerized watching each package being opened.

12:50

Favors and goodbyes

What a Fashionably Fun party.  Now to sleep off my cake-induced coma!