This year my daughter turned 5, quietly.
It was a crazy time of year, school supplies and clothes shopping, the beginning of school to prepare for and Summer was coming to an end. I just couldn't get friends together and orchestrate a big party for her just then. There were not enough hours in my day. But sometimes good things are worth waiting for.
With my daughter now gone for the afternoon, I have missed our special time together. She is learning and growing at such a fantastic pace and I am so proud of her. She really deserved a celebration. So I decided that the Sleeping Beauty DVD release was the perfect occasion to throw a Sleeping Beauty worthy Spa Party ...and secret belated birthday bash for my little girl.
No, really, throwing a party can be easy!
With two now in school and my toddler underfoot, I wanted to make the party memorable, but also easy on me. So I turned to Walmart to pick up all our party essentials plus the Sleeping Beauty Diamond Edition DVD Gift set, that would be the centerpiece of our celebration.
We headed into Walmart to pick up everything we needed for the party. I told my daughter that we were getting together for a Royal Spa Party, but didn't let on that it was also to celebrate her 5th birthday. She helped me shop and had no idea what I had up my sleeve!
We found the Sleeping Beauty DVD back in the electronics section and my daughter was so excited we were getting a copy. The movie was my favorite growing up and she hadn't watched it yet. I was thrilled for the chance to show it to her and all her friends.
If you have done any shopping in your local Walmart lately, you might have noticed that the costume section is bursting at the seams with great Disney items. My idea was to make each little girl attending our party feel like a princess, so I picked up a costume for each guest in a variety of characters. My daughter wanted to go as Aurora and asked each of her friends who they wanted to be for the party. I loved that there were so many Walmart exclusive costumes with lockets at a great price.
I also found many small Spa themed items to go in the girls' goodie bags. From heart toe separators and finger nail polish to lip gloss and princess candy bracelets, there was plenty to keep all the little princesses looking their best.
For a treat, I skipped the typical cake and went for a quick Fairy Godmother Puffed Rice Treat. I used strawberry marshmallows to make them pink, sprinkled the treats with candy sprinkles before cutting them out with a star cookie cutter. Adding on a cookie pop stick, they were ready to grant the kids' sweet wishes. ...and as an added bonus, they were already in individual servings.
My daughter's big request for the party was fresh flowers. Now, I had to agree that most spas put a lot of effort into the decorations and these pink roses were perfect for our main table.
The Fairy Godmother wands were the centerpiece for my table and I decorated the rest with princess stand-ups and bottles of matching nail polish, feather boas, and marked each place at the table with a Sleeping Beauty coloring sheet and boxes of crayons or markers.
Princesses love to color.
To keep with our Disney princess theme, I found an assortment of items from American Greetings for the party. From plates to cups and decorations, my favorite was the pack of invitations and thank you post cards. It is such a nice idea to make it easy to teach proper manners to my little host. Those cards were easy for her to fill out, with help, to thank her guests for coming to our party and for the wonderful gifts they brought.
Did you know you can save $3 with any $10 purchase of Disney-themed American Greetings Celebrations supplies at Walmart? The coupons were right in the party section and coupons are available in-store through October 31st.
My side table I used for all the plates, napkins, glittery wands and the goodie bags. It is nice to keep the main table free for sitting and eating.
My buffet held snacks, drinks and later our food which I had delivered during the party. I wanted to spend as much time enjoying the kids and not serving food. Having a simple buffet means everyone could help themselves.
Of course any self respecting spa offers refreshing lemon water, I had pink lemonade for the princesses, and healthy salads and pita wraps were available for everyone as well.
Because I didn't have time to move everything out of my kitchen/dining area for the party, I chose to use existing pictures for my theme. I taped a Sleeping Beauty silhouette over an already existing picture and then decorated another frame with cut-outs of the 3 fairies from the movie. I love how it turned out and it was so simple.
And since my piano is just there in the dining area... of course I had to decorate it as well! You can see all the costumes hanging by the entryway to greet guests, and more Sleeping Beauty silhouettes and princess stand-ups were used here as well.
Once the guests started to arrive the house was a whirl of activity! Some girls were shy about getting dressed up at first, though all of them were excited to pick out their own costume to take home. (Instant Princess Halloween costumes!) The girls were much more interested in the crafts and activities than checking out the food. I found a large bag of self-sticking jewels for their crowns so no messy glue was needed.
At this age adorning things is still more important than adorning themselves, so creating the perfect princess crown was serious business!
Then I put on Sleeping Beauty for all the parents, princesses and even the little princes, to enjoy. I just let the DVD keep playing throughout the party so kids and parents had a chance to watch whenever they wanted.
How long has it been since you watched Sleeping Beauty?
Most of the adults agreed that we didn't remember all of the scenes in the movie, just the key moments. It is such a classic, now that I own it I know I will be watching it over and over until I have it memorized.
The kids loved the movie and our Sleeping Beauty-worthy Spa Party was the perfect chance to get together with friends, princesses and little princes alike.
It was also a perfect way to celebrate my daughter's 5th birthday. She was shocked when her friends arrived with birthday gifts and well wishes. Many of the gifts included more Disney princess items to her delight.
Because planning and throwing a memorable party doesn't have to be a lot of work, here is a great Party Planning Checklist to use for your next big birthday bash. My rule is keep it organized, keep it simple and get help when possible. My favorite help is food delivery, to be sure!
Here is a recap slideshow of the fun:
LoadingOur Sleeping Beauty -worthy Spa Party #DisneyBeauties #shop #flipagram We enjoyed a Sleeping Beauty - worthy Spa Party (and belated birthday) for my daughter and her friends. Come check out the fun on the blog today. #DisneyBeauties #shop #party #Disney made with @flipagram ♫ Music: Taylor Swift - Red
I don't know how many years I have left of princess parties, fairy wands and glittery finger nail polish, but I know, at least for one night, I was able to celebrate my little #DisneyBeauties the way they should be celebrated.
Do you have a favorite Disney Princess?
When was the last time you watched Sleeping Beauty?
