My Little Princess Is Turning 4 - WOW Where Did the Time Go!!

Hello M.,

We just did a Princess/Pirate Party for my 4 year old and everyone had a blast. We also had Belle visit and everyone loved her. If you would like some help with the party or just like to rent dress up clothes or anything please let me know. I'm owner of Giggle Express and I can do everything for you from Setting up to Clean up. Please let me know if you are interested and I will give you a great price on whatever you need.

Thank you,
M.
www.giggleexpress.com

Chances are that if you invite all 22 kids from her class they won't all show up. Maybe half will show or you could just invite the girls in her class which would narrow down the guest list somewhat. Good luck,
B.
www.belleserelle.com

Are you sure you need to invite ALL her classmates? I read somewhere that inviting as many kids as the child was old was a good plan.

first off, have the kids dress up like old times. capes, hats, fancy clothes. no monsters or bad guys!

Cheap ideas: don't go out somewhere. make your own cake. make your own party favors.

actually, someone just asked this type of question and I responded today (Jan 12?)

my ideas included having the kids make their own party favors by using paper plates to make shields, hats (coneshaped for the little girls, with a tassle or ribbons taped to top of cone),

the kids can fill their own party bags (brown paper lunch sacks = leather pouches; kids can decorate), with candy or items that represent things:
red licorice = red for heart = faithfulness or courage
chocolate kiss = love
pretzel = brown = earth = steadfast, faithful
gold covered coin = treasure = worthy, valuable
stickers = leadership = leave your mark, do good
pad of paper & pencil = communication = true
50 cent bag of peanuts = earth = provider
lego piece = teamwork = unity = all part of the whole
kernal of corn = gratitude = reminds us of thanksgiving
eraser = gets rid of mistake = saying sorry when wrong

etc. - make it up!

games others suggested: bag of balloons = blow them up and have the kids pop them without using their hands or feet. This was evidently pretty funny. (be careful - flying bits of broken balloon can be inhaled by small kids)

Music freeze: Dance to music, when it stops, have the kids (and parents?) freeze in place. Maybe this is where you could have them holding their decorated paper bags and you could give each a piece of the candy/party favor and explain the significance or meaning. the music could be from old times - like Baroque or old English ballads, etc. The expense would be to purchase a CD.

I don't know if kids would tend to hurt themselves or each other with this idea, but inexpensive chopsticks from a chinese restaurant could be made into wands (fairy princess or magic wands) Paint sticks might be an option.

Whatever you do, decide to have fun and just tell the parents that you're on a very tight budget and had to be creative!

Kids love to color and glue and they love a fun story. Just have fun.

Oh! How about a treasure hunt around the house and yard? At each clue spot you could have them do a different activity - fight the dragon, pin the tail on the dragon, plant a field, dig for treasure, build a castle, row the boat across the snake-infested lake, etc. Carry the golden egg across the "field" (you know - an egg from the goose that lays the golden eggs) = team relay game

jousting! two or four teams: have them decorate boxes without tops and bottoms as horses. swim noodles are the jousting sticks, knock a block off the other guy's head. The kids "wear" the horse around their middle and have to coordinate holding the block on their head, and holding the jousting stick. I think the horse would need to have shoulder straps so the kid wouldn't have to hold the horse too!

Is this too much?

oops - I've been typing way too long!

Have fun! let us know what you decided to do!

A.

congratulations on the your daughter's upcoming birthday!

i agree with the poster that said u shouldn't have to invite her whole class. boys probably don't want to go to a cinderella party anyways :-) ask the teacher if u can bring cupcakes or something to class one day as a mini-celebration. then let her invite 3 or 4 of her best friends, and u'll be able to do something really fun with a smaller group.

or, if ur set on inviting the whole class, having the party at a local park is a great idea. very inexpensive and everyone loves the park. have just a couple of organized games/activities (all the kids loved the pinata at one 4-yo party we went to. just don't blindfold the kids at that age), otherwise let them play on the playground.

good luck and have fun!

I agree with the others, don't invite the whole class. Invite the girls and have a girly party. Play dress up, do cupcakes and "tea". For my daughters birthday party I am getting some of the animals that you stuff yourself, kind of like build a bear. I found a website were you can get an assortment of animals for $5 per animal! You have to buy the stuffing but if you save up some 40% off coupons on Michaels or JoAnns you could save a lot of money on that. You could also do a cooking party where you make mini cakes for all of the girls and they get to decorate their own cakes. Kids love that! Good luck

If you need invitations www.WorksofaWink.com

Hi, M.!

I own a children's party business, Ever After Parties (www.everafterparties.com) and have Princess-themed parties. I would be willing to work with you on the pricing, since you are planning on a larger party and are on a budget. I will take care of the games, activities, and dress-up, while you relax and enjoy the party...and take as many pics as you'd like. :)

You can also add a Noah's Ark Animal Workshop to your party. You can view my NAAW site at: www.noahsarkworkshop.com/stephaniehill4180. We are a traveling animal workshop that comes to you! It's all in the convenience of your home or party place and includes everything for the kids to make their very own animal friends!

Please, let me know if there is anything I can help you with. I know parties can be hectic, and I'd love to help you with your little girl's. Take care!

M.,

I don't know when it started; but why do parents feel like they have to invite the entire class for their kids parties?!

When I was a kid, it was always me inviting 3 or 4 of my closest friends. Why don't parents do that anymore?!

If you do that, then you have MANY more options! It's not like ALL of those kids even are friends with your daughter!

Go small and have more fun!

I Would definitely not invite the entire class - trust me - I've been there and done that - way tooo many kiddos. Invite her favorites, have a prince / princess costume party, they can have a tea party (cupcakes and juice) - if you have a digital camera and printer, you could take a photo of each kid, print it out, and have them decorate a picture frame to take it home it. My sister did this once, bought these small cheap fun foam frames and decorations, the kids had a blast.

Good Luck and Happy Birthday to your little princess :)

My daughter was invited to a princess tea party last year. The gitls dressed up in their dress up costumes (princesses). And they had strawberry tea and little heart sandwiches. They played and polished fingernails girly stuff like that. I think they got actual tea cups at thrift stores and garage sales none of them matched and that was part of their party favor. When all the tea drinking was over they a little flavored lip balm and candy in the cup and it was done. It wasnt exspensive and the girls had a great time. Hope this helps.

A.

Have a tea party at your house. Pick up a few fancy things - boys and girls stuff- from Goodwill so you're not out a lot of money. You can also get your daughter dress up stuff as part of her gift. Let them waltz and drink tea (sprite, lemonade, etc), eat finger sandwiches and cookies. I did that for my daughter and the kids (boys, girls, and parents!) loved it! My daughter was 7 but I really think they will enjoy that at any age. Hope you have fun!

I would have a ballet party. have a teacheror older student from a dance school or college dance student come to the party and have everyone dress up like a ballerina and have her do a "ballett class" with them.

If you need beautiful custom invitations, thank you notes and favors call or email me.

A. J
www.celebritypartyfavors.com

No specific ideas for party. I just wanted to say to enjoy every moment.

My little princess just turned 14 and I love it but I hate it because in just 5 or less short years.... she will be off to college and on her own.

It seems like yesterday.

My daughter's 4th bday party was at Planet Pizza in Plano at Custer/Parker.

Some of the best parties we have given and attended for that age group have been at home, with a rented bounce house. We have been to parties where the mom has also set up "play stations," with tables for crayons and paper; play do; etc; and at our home, we have set up the bounce house in the backyard, so the kids can also play on the playscape or with trikes, trucks, etc. We invited families to bring blankets to sit on the ground, and we served cupcakes instead of cake, which eliminates the need and cost of paper plates and forks. Small bottles of water and boxes of fruit juice were in a cooler, so people could help themselves. You might wait to put that out when you're closer to serving the cupcakes, because otherwise, people tend to take the drinks and only drink half before misplacing it and getting another (just a pet peeve of mine, plus unnecessary waste and expense!). Even if it is chilly, the kids will enjoy playing outside, or if it's cold, they can run in and out, if your tolerance allows. I personally think these kinds of casual, relaxed parties are the best for young children and the parents.

Another thought is to host the party at a local park. You don't need to provide any entertainment, because the playground is enough. You could provide a toy bucket and shovel as the main party favor, and let them play with those in the dirt, then just give a goodie bag of inexpensive treats at the end. The only other expense would be cake and drinks. Just make sure there is a porta-potty nearby, and have more than enough water bottles on hand, because everyone gets thirsty at the park!

Good luck!

here's my idea:
Since its March, Have a kite flying party at the park. You can buy kites at the dollar store with princesses etc on them. Make the cake yourself and you have a great party.

I definitely wouldn't invite her entire class. My son is turning 4 and I asked him who his fav friends were and then I also asked his teachers who his fav friends were. We invited the 3 friends that my son and his teachers said were his closest friends. Other than that, I invited his other non-school friends (the sons/daughters of my friends who he spends a lot of time with).

She would probably have more fun with just 4-5 girls anyway, especially if you're going to make it a girly, princess party. You can have the girls dress up, etc, which would be harder to pull off with a bigger group.

It's about quality, not quantity. :)

A great place to have a party is at a park. The kids get to run around and play with each other, then you can do the cake at the picnic tables. I threw a water balloon fight birthday party for my son when he was about 6 at the park. The kids had a blast, by the time we were all done with cake, presents, ect, they were dry and ready to go home. It was inexpensive and lots of fun.

Invite just the girls. I doubt there are any boys that would want to go to a princess party anyway and you could save a lot by cutting the list in half.

My Little Princess is turning 4 in March too, so I enjoyed reading all the responses.

My son is 5 and attend Mansfield ISD. We did send invitations to all the kids in his class
and had his birthday at a shelter and park.
Only about 3 kids came from his school, and a few from
his soccer team and we invited his whole team too.
We only had about 10 kids and that included family kids.

The best thing happened was we got to meet the parents of the kids he talks about all the time. And now my son goes and plays over at his house and he comes to our house.
So he now has a friend to play at. If I wouldn't of invited his class my son would not of had this chance.

I would say maybe 1/3 kids come, he had 24 kids in his class. We will go to the dollar store for party stuff, then maybe spend alittle extra for Princess things.

If the weather permits you can go to a park. All you would have to buy is some deorations and a cake. Or if the weather won't allow it then you can have it at McDonald's, the price is fairly reasonable http://mcdonalds.com/usa/rest_locator.html
Keep in mind that it is very unlikely that everyone will show up. Hope this helps.

There is a set of butterfly plates at the dollar store. Very girly and very cute. You could buy stickers at Party City for 2.99 and cut out butterfly shapes and have them decorate them it takes the whole group a while to do this. Then I always do a pinata. They have them at WalMart or Party City fill them with candy and/or stickers, little toys. A lot of things are sold at Dollar Store as well. Give each kid a baggy from the Dollar Store an you have your "favor bags". Cake and Ice cream maybe even $5.00 pizza from Cicis.
Just a suggestion.

I was a single mom when my daughter was young and on a VERY tight budget. So I either had a home party with a few games, cake then open gifts with all of her friends, OR

We went out (chucky cheese)and she could only invite 3-5 friends.

Parks are also a great location or the back yard of your house.

good luck

start purchasing items now...

you might check on craig's list or freecycle.com for birthday party items. never know

also for ideas check out www.marthastewart.com

good luck.

Hi M.,

It sounds like you have been provided some great responses and ideas. If you decide on a tea party (or a theme), we can help you. I have a tea room in McKinney called Alice's Tea Shoppe. Very quaint and centers around Alice In Wonderland. I can work within anyone's budget. Our regular parties run about $12.50 per child. This includes two sandwiches, fruit kabob (or veggies), two scones and a dessert or a birthday cake (we even make teapot cakes). Also we include goodie bags and a craft. My shop also has the feather boas and hats if the children want to dress up and we offer a private room. If you want to keep something simple, again, we can work within your budget. Please call me if you have any questions, ###-###-#### or check our our website at www.alicesteashoppe.com. C.

I own Fairy Tale Manor in Frisco and we are hosting a 4 year olds birthday today! There is a runway for fashion shows and you can play dance music in the ballroom.
It is a $150 for 2 hours and you have an hour to set up and an hour to clean up after.
www.FairyTaleManor.com
###-###-####

I just did a Simply Pretend dress-up party for my 5 yo and her large birthday party...worked great, inexpensive. Check out their website.

Try a dress up/Tea party. Check with friends and elderly neighbors to see if they have old hats and old jewelery, if not available go to local goodwill or hit garage sales, turn right around and donate back for a charitable contribution on your taxes. Also use all that old makeup you have stashed in the bathroom drawer, time to clean that out anyway. Barrow a polariod camera and give them all pictures as the party favor. Good luck and have fun dress up with them.