Cinderella, Cinderella, night and day it’s Cinderelly…
I hope you read that with the tune to the popular song from the Disney classic. A Cinderella birthday party suits our princess quite well. She has courage, she is kind and she is loved by all.
There are a few party planning tricks I have mastered over the years that can turn even the simplest of parties into something Pinterest worthy. In this case we were celebrating Kate’s 3rd birthday with our immediate family, grandparents and great grandparents. There was absolutely no need to go over the top, to create party favours or designated areas per say, but as Julia Child once said “A party without cake is simply a meeting”. I interpret that quote literally most of the time and like to think she meant that if you don’t make something feel special it isn’t going to be special.
We kept the party food to snacks and desserts that were almost exclusively on this party platter.
The Cinderella touches were the mandarins made to look like pumpkins buy adding a green pipe cleaner stem and some themed sprinkles. Everything else is food that I knew the guests would enjoy, special recipes and contributions from my mother-in-law, items I had on hand and a dip for chips, crackers or veggies.
One of my best pieces of parenting advice is to listen/ pay attention to what your child loves to do at daycare. We have certainly been blessed with amazing early childhood educators in our lives who know our children so so well! Kate has been taking home bracelets that she is making at daycare regularly so I took my cue from there and created a Cinderella themed bracelet making station in the living room that everyone could have fun with.
Bracelet making was a hit from the 3 year old birthday girl to my 84 year old grandfather and everyone in-between!
Last but certainly not least Kate requested a “Castle” cake for the party. I can make a cake look half decent and even have some tips for decorating a cake when you’re not a baker, but a castle cake is far beyond my abilities. Thankfully I have very talented friends! When one stepped up and offered to make the castle cake for Kate I was so thankful!
Kate was blown away by the cake, in fact we all were! It was picture perfect and delicious… everything a princess could hope for in a castle cake.
The decorations for the party was made up of helium balloons, a Happy Birthday balloon banner from the dollar store ($4 and no helium required), items from home like flowers, a chalk board, a few streamers and a Cinderella doll. It was enough to make Kate feel special and not an overwhelming job to create.
The rest of the party was filled with laughter, gifts, getting our nails done and enjoying each other’s company.
If you’re planning a birthday and especially a Cinderella birthday be sure to follow this Pinterest Board for some party ideas and inspiration:
Have a magical birthday!
xo Jenna
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