Help with birthday party planning

[littlebug42]

I am currently in the process of planning my daughters' 9th/7th birthday party. Their birthdays are only one week apart and they have the same friends basically so we are doing the party together. This is the first b-day party with friends so I want to make it special for them but have only limited funds. They want to have a very girly tea party and it will include approx. 12-15 girls ages 7-11. One close friend also has an egg allergy so I would like to include some yummy stuff that she can eat as she usually tends to get excluded from the cake etc at other parties. I am looking at having the party on a Saturday mid afternoon or so. If weather permits, I would like to have it outside as space is limited inside at our home.

 

Thanks for any ideas given. I appreciate it. I am not a terribly girly girl so I need help sometimes when it comes to these things.

[littlebug42]

Wow this board moves fast. Any ideas?

[AK_Mom4]

There are some excellent brownie recipes that don't use eggs. Allrecipes has one we really like

 

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/egg-free-brownies/Detail.aspx

 

if you have mini-muffin pans, make these up as little mini brownies. Think little finger foods (mini carrots, little cookies) as these are more fun at girly parties.

 

For my DD's at that age, they LOVED when I would make punch for their party in my fancy holiday punch bowl. I use a really simple punch recipe - 2 liter bottle of 7-up, 1 can frozen OJ concentrate, and orange sherbert. Mix it up with a hand mixer so you get a sort of fluffy punch..... They loved getting to drink out of the fancy cups.

[specialmama]

I threw an awesome tea party a few years ago. I found a lovely set of birthday candles on ebay (one teapot and several teacups) and based the decor around them. I made invites with the same teapot on them, and crafted an elaborate piniata to look identical to the teapot. I went to a second hand store and bought enough pretty mix and match demitasse cups and served juice with miniature teapots. I picked up some dainty lace doilies and threw them over a pink bedsheet to make a lovely tablecloth that I didn't mind getting stained. I put daisies in teapots and the piece de resistance: I asked the local daycare if I could borrow 15 small chairs. I covered these with pretty floral patterned or solid pink pillowcases that again, I bought from the second hand store. They fit perfectly, like fancy banquet chair covers. I tied a pretty ribbon around each chair, fashioned a bow and inserted a stem of daisies into the bow. We served juice and finger-sandwiches, some in croissants, others on fancy bread cut small. I became Miss Manners and in a (very bad) English accent, acted all snooty and taught the girls how to drink tea like a lady with pinky raised, and how to place the napkin on their lap and then dap their lips *just so*. I asked a friend who is a photography (for hobby) to come and capture the day so that I didn't have to worry about it. We made pastel coloured cupcakes instead of birthday cake and played very girly games, like "Walk Like a Princess" where they had to walk like a lady down the hallway, but trying to pop as many bubbles as possible (I put a sheet of bubble wrap on the floor.) They played "Wake the Lady" where each pretended to be asleep and me and the birthday girl went around trying to make them laugh without touching them. The winner won a prize. They opened the piniata which was full of girlie things: hair accessories, lip gloss, ring-pops, bracelets, etc. They put all the piniata goodies into little purses that I bought in leiu of gift bags. For a craft I bought a bunch of cheap Easter bonnet hats and they glued fake flowers or ribbons on them. They posed for a bunch of pictures, we opened gifts, and that was that. I love planning parties and this was, I think, the best one yet. Enjoy!

[anotherbrother]

I threw an awesome tea party a few years ago. I found a lovely set of birthday candles on ebay (one teapot and several teacups) and based the decor around them. I made invites with the same teapot on them, and crafted an elaborate piniata to look identical to the teapot. I went to a second hand store and bought enough pretty mix and match demitasse cups and served juice with miniature teapots. I picked up some dainty lace doilies and threw them over a pink bedsheet to make a lovely tablecloth that I didn't mind getting stained. I put daisies in teapots and the piece de resistance: I asked the local daycare if I could borrow 15 small chairs. I covered these with pretty floral patterned or solid pink pillowcases that again, I bought from the second hand store. They fit perfectly, like fancy banquet chair covers. I tied a pretty ribbon around each chair, fashioned a bow and inserted a stem of daisies into the bow. We served juice and finger-sandwiches, some in croissants, others on fancy bread cut small. I became Miss Manners and in a (very bad) English accent, acted all snooty and taught the girls how to drink tea like a lady with pinky raised, and how to place the napkin on their lap and then dap their lips *just so*. I asked a friend who is a photography (for hobby) to come and capture the day so that I didn't have to worry about it. We made pastel coloured cupcakes instead of birthday cake and played very girly games, like "Walk Like a Princess" where they had to walk like a lady down the hallway, but trying to pop as many bubbles as possible (I put a sheet of bubble wrap on the floor.) They played "Wake the Lady" where each pretended to be asleep and me and the birthday girl went around trying to make them laugh without touching them. The winner won a prize. They opened the piniata which was full of girlie things: hair accessories, lip gloss, ring-pops, bracelets, etc. They put all the piniata goodies into little purses that I bought in leiu of gift bags. For a craft I bought a bunch of cheap Easter bonnet hats and they glued fake flowers or ribbons on them. They posed for a bunch of pictures, we opened gifts, and that was that. I love planning parties and this was, I think, the best one yet. Enjoy!

 

I can't imagine a need to have a tea party, but that sounds amazing. I hope the OP can use some of your ideas.

[Sasharowan]

When my dd had a tea party birthday, we went to the thrift stores and got a dozen or so teacups for about .25 each. We had the option for iced tea or fruit juice for their cups. We also picked up different hats at the thrift store and let them dress up.

[littlebug42]

Thanks for the ideas. We are definitely doing the thrift store tea cups and cloth napkins etc. I love all of the ideas. Fortunately, I have until the end of October but I wanted to give myself plenty of time to find what I need as inexpensively as possible.

[Ferdie]

When my dd had a tea party birthday, we went to the thrift stores and got a dozen or so teacups for about .25 each. We had the option for iced tea or fruit juice for their cups. We also picked up different hats at the thrift store and let them dress up.

 

We did the dress up thing too. Before the tea party the girls went on a treasure hunt, (with clues) and in the treasure box were rings and bracelets from the dollar store, and boas from the fabric store. So fun!

 

My dd's tea party was a butterfly theme so we had the girls each decorate a butterfly cardstock cut out as they arrived. They hung them in the dining room as decor and took them home as their craft. They also decorated cupcakes as a craft, too.

 

Our menu was chicken salad sandwiches, cucumber sandwiches, deviled eggs, chocolate dipped stawberies, small fruit kabobs and heart-shaped short bread cookies.

 

Have fun!