Princess toys and clothing are favorites of many young girls. So what could be more fitting for her birthday than letting your daughter be princess for a day? A princess theme party is guaranteed to be great fun for all involved.

Princess Party Invitations and Decorations

Princess parties are quite popular, so you can find princess-themed invitations at many discount and party supply stores. You could also design your own with your computer, or you could make them from scratch.

Crown-shaped cards would be very fitting. You could add stick-on jewels from the craft store, or some silver or gold glitter. Other shapes that are good for princess party invitations include castles and glass slippers.

For decorations, you could make a princess banner and put up lots of pretty streamers and coordinating balloons. A princess needs a throne, and you can whip one up in no time using a chair, a sheet, some ribbons, and a soft pillow to sit on. Piñatas are decorative and serve as a party game as well. Choose something like a unicorn or castle to go with the rest of the décor.

Princess Party Favors and Food

There are lots of party favors that would work well for a princess party. Wands, goblets and costume jewelry are nice if you’re going with store-bought favors. You can also find inexpensive paper crowns to use instead of the standard party hats.

You could easily make your own party favors to save money and add a creative touch. Card stock paper will make a fairly durable crown, and you could provide stick-on jewels and other pretty things to the girls and let them decorate their own. You could also cut out stars from cardboard, decorate them with glitter, and glue a dowel to the back of them for homemade wands. For a simple yet elegant favor, put some assorted candy in some pretty tulle and tie it up with a ribbon.

Miniature sandwiches make a dainty food for a princess party. Simply make regular peanut butter and jelly or ham and cheese sandwiches and cut them into quarters. Pink lemonade or fruit punch served in goblets or teacups provide royal refreshment.

Castle cakes are a hit at princess parties. Most bakeries can make them. If you want to make your own, you could use a regular sheet cake with a smaller cake centered on top of it. Add upside-down ice cream cones at the corners to create a castle shape. Then decorate with icing, and add a tiny princess figurine to complete the look.

A princess party doesn’t have to be expensive to be fun. You can make almost everything on your own, or you can find inexpensive favors and decorations at your local discount store. Your little princess will have a memorable birthday, and her friends will talk about what a great time they had for weeks to come.

Birthday party invitations are often expensive when you buy them in the store. Making your own invitations can save you money, but that’s not the only reason to do it yourself. Creating original invitations is a fun project for you and your child, and it makes the party guests feel extra special.

Balloon Invitations

A fun and easy way to make great invitations is to put them into balloons. You’ll need to use regular paper instead of card stock to avoid potentially putting a hole in the balloon. Simply write a note with the party details on it, roll it up, and insert it into a balloon. If you can fill them with helium that’s great, but it’s not necessary.

Balloon invitations will have to be hand delivered. Calling ahead to make sure the recipient will be home is a good idea. When you give them the balloons, be sure to tell them to pop them – they may not realize that there is something inside!

Puzzle Invitations

Kids love puzzles. So puzzle invitations are sure to be a hit. There are a few different ways you can make them.

A simple way is to write your message and the details of the party on card stock and decorate with stamps or stickers. Then just cut it up into pieces. The pieces should be large enough not to get lost in the shuffle, but small enough to provide a challenge. Then just put the pieces in an envelope and mail or deliver the puzzles.

You can also make a puzzle with craft sticks. Lay enough of them side by side to write your party details on, and paint them with spray paint or craft paint. Let the background color dry, then decorate by painting on designs or using rubber stamps. Then paint the party details on, or write them with a permanent marker. Once everything is nice and dry, mix the sticks up and tie them together with ribbon.

Making Invitations with Your Computer

It’s easy to make great invitations with your computer. There are lots of software programs available that have premade card designs that you can customize to your liking. Most programs also have clipart and fancy fonts that you can use to design a card that is totally unique.

You can add to the personalization of the invitations you make on the computer with some craft supplies. Scrapbooking scissors with fancy designs, punchouts, and stickers can all add character to your cards. If you’re feeling especially creative, you could forgo the computer and use card stock and craft supplies to make the invitations completely from scratch.

Easy Invitations: Use Your Home Computer to Create Stylish Stationery for Weddings, Birthdays and Other Occasions

Kids’ birthday parties are lots of fun, but planning them can be somewhat stressful. There are decorations and favors to buy, refreshments to choose, and games to plan. For the guests, there are arrangements to make and gifts to buy. And throughout it all, there are lots of etiquette issues to consider on both sides. Here are some tips to help you get through it all.

When Your Child is the Host*

If you can invite some but not all of the children in your child’s class at school, mail the invitations or deliver them to their homes if possible. Doing so will save hurt feelings. If that is not possible, have your child give them to friends as discretely as possible, and tell her to try to avoid talking with them about the party at school.

* Be as specific as possible on the invitations. If you want the parents to drop the child off, put the child’s name on the invitation instead of just “you.” If a parent or sibling is welcome to come as well, add the words “and parent” or “and guest.”

* If guests do not RSVP, feel free to call and ask politely if they are coming. It is their responsibility to let you know, but some people just don’t. Calling to find out one way or the other will make planning much easier.

* Talk to your child before the party about his responsibilities as the host. Reinforce his good manners, and encourage him to make sure that all of his guests are having a good time. If he forgets to thank guests for their gifts, a gentle reminder should suffice.

* Have extra food and favors on hand. An unexpected parent or sibling may show up, even if you were extremely clear about who was invited on the invitations. The best thing you can do is be prepared for this.

* When the party is over, have your child write thank you notes. If she is too young to write, she can help you by telling you which guest brought which gift or signing the cards herself. The idea is to show her that it’s the right thing to do, even if she’s not capable of doing it all on her own yet.

When Your Child Is a Guest

* Read the party invitation carefully to see whether the parents should stay or the child should be dropped off, and whether the child is invited to bring a guest. If it is unclear, don’t be afraid to call the parents and ask.

* Get your child to the party on time. If you’re dropping him off, be back to pick him up on time too.

* Refresh you child’s memory on the subject of good manners. Even the best mannered child in the world has a lapse every now and then. It doesn’t hurt to remind her of the finer points.

Boys love to play pirate. Eye patches, swords, and hooks are all the rage these days, with all of the movies and television shows that feature pirates. A pirate birthday party is sure to be lots of fun for any young swashbuckler.

Pirate Party Invitations and Decorations

Invitations for pirate parties can be lots of fun. You can probably find a variety of designs at any party supply shop, but it’s much more fun to make them yourself if you have the time. Your soon-to-be birthday boy will probably be glad to help.

Treasure maps are ideal for pirate party invitations. You could make a regular card with a treasure map on front, or you could make an authentic-looking treasure map with the party information on the back. Using parchment paper, or paper that is of a similar color, will make the maps look more authentic.

If you’re hand delivering the invitations, a message in a bottle is lots of fun. Simply write the party details on some parchment or similar paper, roll it up and tie it with string, and put it in an empty glass single-serving soda bottle. You could even put in some sand or small shells for added effect.

For decorations, you could use Jolly Roger flags or toy swords hung on the wall. Pirate or ship piñatas also make great decorations, and they provide an easy party game as an added bonus. Large treasure maps also make great decorations.

Pirate Party Food and Favors

There are several types of cake that would go well with a pirate party. A skull and crossbones cake is a popular choice. A cake with blue icing would make a great base for a pirate ship cake topper. Alternatively, you could use cupcakes topped with pirate-themed toppers or candies.

Fish-shaped snacks go nicely with a pirate party. Goldfish crackers or gummy fish could be served with the cake. You could also cut apples, pears, or other fruits in half and stick a toothpick in the middle of the flat side, adding a triangular piece of paper to make a pirate ship.

Small pouches filled with chocolate coins make fun and simple party favors. Goodie bags can also be filled with items such as eye patches, small toy swords, and other treasures. A treasure hunt makes a great party game and allows guests to “earn” their favors.

Planning a pirate party is lots of fun, and the party itself is even better. Playing pirate is great, and it’s even more enjoyable when you have lots of props and plenty of friends to play along with. Make sure you have a camera on hand, because there will surely be many memorable moments.

When we think of birthday party gifts, the first thing that comes to mind is the gifts that guests bring for the birthday boy or girl. But it’s also nice to send the guests themselves home with a small gift. It’s a nice way of expressing appreciation for their attendance.

If you’re playing party games, gifts could take the form of prizes. But unless you come up with a way for every child to win something, you’ll also need some party favors to give everyone. Here are some ideas for inexpensive take home gifts for birthday party guests that won’t break the bank.

Party Favors

You can often find inexpensive party favors to use in grab bags at your local dollar store. It’s possible that they’ll even have something that matches with your theme. If they don’t have items that have exactly the same theme, you can almost always find some more general favors like costume jewelry, bouncy balls, or toy cars.

Some nicely packaged candy is an appreciated and inexpensive favor. You’ll just need a large bag of candy, some small cellophane bags or tulle, and some ribbon to tie them up with. You can also add shaped beads or other decorations if you like.

Letting kids make their own favors provides a fun party activity and a unique favor to take home. It’s even better if you can find a project that fits well with the theme. For example, girls at a princess party could make tiaras out of construction paper or poster board and decorate them with markers, paint, or stick-on gems.

You could also use more general items for projects. For example, you might buy inexpensive items such as plastic visors and provide paint for the kids to personalize them with. These types of projects are inexpensive, easy and fun.

Prizes

If the kids will be playing games for prizes, offering something a little more elaborate than the standard party favors is in order. It doesn’t necessarily have to be more expensive, just something above and beyond what everyone is getting.

Filling a jar with jelly beans, hard candy, or some other small treat provides both a game and a prize. Guests can write down their guesses as to how many of the items are in the jar, and the one who gets the closest can take the jar home to enjoy. Or, if you prefer, you could provide another prize and let everyone have some of the candy from the jar.

The dollar store should also have some good items to give away as prizes. Small stuffed animals, jump ropes, and other inexpensive but fun toys work nicely as prizes. You could also get a few even less expensive items and put them into a gift bag or basket for a special prize.