Warning: This post is definitely a departure from the usual decorating and DIY fare you find here!
I’m going to share photos from my nieces’ princess tea party, an event to celebrate their 4th birthdays last month.
My mom, sister and I put this little party together and the girls and their friends and cousins loved it.
I’m not going to pretend that this tea party compares with some of the little girls’ soirees I’ve seen featured on the web. If you want to get some amazing inspiration, check out these:
But we had fun nonetheless and we didn’t spend too much money.
My sister had the idea of hosting a tea party for the girls but there seemed little way to avoid some princess touches.
So we decided tulle, tutus and crowns would be part of the celebration – in addition to some antique tea cups, fun tea pots and finger foods.
The goal was to create a whimsical outdoor space while giving the kids lots of freedom to dress up and play.
We made tutus out of ribbon and 6-inch tulle. We used craft foam balls, dowel rods, ribbon and glitter to make magic wands. And we bought lots of costume jewelry – and foam crowns to decorate – so the kids could dress up.
I had fun scouring antique stores in Pierceton and North Webster – two northern Indiana towns near a family lake cottage – for the tea cups and saucers we used.
We knew the kids probably wouldn’t much like tea so we put store-bought cupcakes inside them.
We used vinyl table clothes bought for $3.50 each at Big Lots, clear plastic plates and polka dot pink napkins. The placemats were just pieces of 59-cent scrapbook paper.
I found some candle holder with plastic “crystals” at Goodwill and painted them pink. We hot-glued tea cups on top. We filled a vase with our magic wands, which made for a cute centerpiece until we brought out the food.
We hung the tutus on the backs of some folding chairs. We worried the black chairs might not look good but, like most things, it all worked OK.
The table was centered underneath a dining canopy, from which we hung some pink paper lanterns and lime green tulle. In the house, it felt like we had so many lanterns and tissue balls but they really didn’t go that far!
Under another dining canopy, we set up a card table with another Big Lots table cloth and some teapots filled with flowers. We used it as a guest table.
We also brought out an old dining table that had been painted black and used it as the craft table. That’s where the kids added glitter and decorations to their foam crowns.
When we were getting things ready the night before, the costume necklaces kept getting tangled in the basket I’d brought. So we decided at the last minute to make a necklace tree.
We spray painted a branch with the very last drops of the pink spray paint, stuck it in a pot and I had the twins hang the necklaces. It was adorable.
I think my favorite part of the day is when the girls – in all their regalia – ran to the swing set to play. They used the little “fort” above the slide to wave their wands and make pronouncements.
So cute.
Please indulge me as a I include a few more random photos from the day, which was absolutely beautiful.
If you’ve read to here, you’re an incredible sport! Thank you!
And I promise we’ll be back soon with more typical interior design and DIY posts!
