Bauer’s 4th Birthday Party – Princess Theme
Let’s start with the obvious: HOW DO I HAVE A 4-YEAR-OLD!? What happened!? I just brought her home from the hospital…yesterday.
Time is a thief.
We celebrated our little princess by inviting her girl gang of princesses into our home – no easy feat for a self-proclaimed control-freak when it comes to all things in my house. I’m outlining all the sources and a few tips below for any girl-moms brave enough to host a party at home.
Princess Party Decor
I wanted our home to feel “transformed” when Bauer came down the stairs the morning of her birthday – but given my affinity for design – I wasn’t too keen on the idea of some of the traditional decor you’d find in the aisles of Target or Party City. I found most of our subtle touches on Etsy, an oversized castle backdrop on Amazon and then leaned on balloons and flowers to fill the space.
My mom was in town (THANK YOU, JESUS) and she crafted a princess chair for Bauer to sit in at our table. Of course, at the end of the weekend when I asked Bauer what her favorite thing about the party decor was…it was the chair. My mom strikes again!
TIP: Make use of existing decor.
We used our large George + Willy Studio Roller (Daddy drew a cartoon-style Princess Bauer) and our Letterfolk Board as another place to call out the special day.
We pulled the girls dress-up hanger out from the playroom and put it in our foyer so guests could pick out a dress to wear when they arrived. We also had crowns and wands available at the entrance to complete their look – and double as party favors.
Sources: Oversized Castle Photo Backdrop, Personalized Bauer Banner, Letterfolk Board, George + Willy Studio Roller, Tablecloth, #4 Balloon in Rose Gold, Princess Confetti, Princess Banner (part of kit), Princess Chair via supplies from Michael’s, Tiaras Around Flower Vases, Crown + Wand Party Favors.
Princess Party Food
We held our party from 11-12:30, so we could serve lunch before cake. We opted for pizza because these kids are 4 and I hate to break it to you, but despite what Pinterest tells you they could care less about your fancy, homemade creations.
TIP: Don’t leave food out and accessible unless you’re suicidal.
If you’re Type A like me – the last thing you want are little paws grabbing handfuls of whatever here and there and then running around your house. Pick a time to serve lunch, gather everyone at the table and pull the food out then.
We skipped the cake and went with cupcakes from Publix. More affordable – and you don’t waste time cutting a cake when 4-year-olds are in need of sugar. I purchased cupcake toppers to match the banner and voila!
The real star of the kitchen were the custom cookies designed by a local artist, Pastry Shells. These cookies were absolutely gorgeous and equally delicious. Atlanta-area friends, you absolutely MUST reach out to her for your next event.
Sources: Cookies via Pastry Shells, Cupcake Toppers, Princess Dresses.
Princess Party Entertainment
I really believe that to be successful in life you need to know and leverage your strengths. Which on the flip side, means being keenly aware of your areas of opportunity. Entertaining 13 4-year-olds is not an area in which I excel. Therefore, I brought in the big guns: Cinderella. If you’re local, we worked with Look-Alikes and Characters in Alpharetta, Georgia. They were FABULOUS to work with and Cinderella truly made dreams come true. If you aren’t in the area – ask the Google. You’ll easily be able to find a similar service in your local city.
TIP: A schedule is your friend. As is a stair-gate.
If you want your home annihilated by all means host a party with nothing more planned than cutting the cake. If you want your furnishings and decor to live to see another day, and all your children’s’ toys keep all their parts and pieces intact – plan activities. Cinderella had various activities planned to entertain our guests for a full hour before it was time for lunch and cake.
We also limited the party to our downstairs. Unless I was able to clone myself 13 times, there was no way in Hell I was allowing a free-frawl of our home.
This is the only way this party was going to happen at La Casa de Basinger. I can barely host a playdate with three kids in our house without my anxiety reaching epic levels let alone an entire party.
Sources: Cinderella via Look-Alikes and Characters.
I hope this is helpful to any of you planning your little one’s big birthday. If you have any questions about sources, leave them in the comments!
JILLIAN says
Soooo fun!! Great idea. I’ll definitely remember the backdrop idea if we do princess again. Completely agree on entertainer. It’s soooo worth it. I love the cookie idea as it seems to be a center piece too. One thing we did was have the kids decorate the cupcakes with sprinkles while the princess painted faces. This was a good way to fill up some time. Looks so cute! Great job!