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Combination Surprise and Princess Party My 8 year old daughter and I planned a Princess Party for a few friends. What she didn't know was the party was going to start as a Surprise Party. As
my daughter and I discussed the plans for the Princess Party I got an idea of who she wanted to invite and privately contacted the parents of each child. I needed to have their agreement to the idea
of their child being surprised before I could let my daughter invite them. One I secured the O.K. from each parent (all thought it was exciting and were more than willing to participate) I made
invitations on my computer. I drew up a simple crest with a crown and the letters HRH in it (Her Royal Highness) and tendered an invitation that invited the bearer to a Royal time.. With offers of
fun, team and treats and movies. They had to come dressed up as their favorite princess. To make the invite seem more elaborate I pasted the printed sheet on two layers of card stock, making a
double mat to present the invite. My daughter had some princess costumes in her dress up clothes but she wanted something different. I find second hand thrift stores a wonderful resource when
it comes to costumes. It was there we found a beautiful off the shoulder bright pink flower girl dress, complete with full skirt for only $7.00 We purchased a bag of plastic beads ($5.00) that
best resembled diamonds and made a simple tiara, matching choker and dangle earrings to match. It was not hard to do, all I needed was two shepherd hooks for her pierced ears and a necklace clasp
and fine beading wire. For the tiara I needed a crafting wire to form the three interconnecting arches over a beaded halo that fit her head. We secured the tiara by placing the bun over the
halo and securing with bobby pins. It never moved off of her head all night. With a pair of pink gloves and tights we already had her costume was complete at only minimal effort and
$12.00. costume in hand we began to plan our craft. I did not want to have a craft of making tiara's because as simple as it was for me, I could see how disastrous it might be to have kids
do it. So I bought beads of medium size to put on bobby pins. I bought the most elegant beads I could find and used the same fine spool wire I used to make the choker and earrings. It was
simple to teach the kids to do and short enough for there attention span to complete. I bought beautiful pink draw string bags of translucent silk at a wedding supply section at a craft
store. They were under $1.50 each (that is Canadian money don't forget) These were to give to each guest as they left. In it I put a foil pack of Disney Princess gummies. (available at your
grocer's candy aisle) Some candy hearts with love messages on them (the party was close to Valentines Day) and was to be the final resting place for the bobby pin craft, so it would not get lost and
the placecard that was on the table for the dinner. The Dinner had only two aspects to it. It had to be elegant and it had to be pink. I bought a square meter piece of bright pink
cotton/polyester and that was placed diagonally on a crisp white linen tablecloth I had. (cloth $2.30) I bought some bright pink fake flowers for the center piece to be placed in a crystal
vase. (flowers cost $4.00) I took out the fine china and paper dollies were used profusely were ever I could make them work. Two pink candle sticks, (I also happened to have kicking
around) and the table was everything for a girl to want. I served pink finger foods such as cookies and one mother sent us fairy bread. (White bread butter with sugar and sprinkles cut into
triangles) crackers and pink cream cheese and grapes. The tea had to be pink too, but with this we had to experiment. I found that just because the box is red the tea may not come out
red. The strawberry tea I bought was not very "strawberry" tasting enough for us as well. I fixed that by making the tea this way. I made a half pot of strawberry tea with three
bags, let it steep a bit and then I added a few drops of strawberry extract and three - four drops of red coloring as well. Then I added milk and sugar to taste. I served this tea and the girls
loved their pink strawberry tea enough to ask for more. Some parents offer there stock of Princess movies and sent them along with their child saving us money we could of spent supporting the movie
industry. We were pretty much set… as far as my daughter was concerned anyway. What I wanted to do was also kidnap the "little princesses" and steal them away long before the
expected party at our home. I found out from the parents when would be best to come and surpirse their child.. There is one thing though, and the reason for all my justification on low costs
earlier… you must have a camera to do this and to do this right. You will not regret it. We bought a camera for this party, even though we wanted one anyway the party helped us make the
decision faster let's say. The other thing is get a good camera with night vision. It has the ability to record with very dim light, just in black and white. Very helpful when you are
running around at six in the morning surprising folks. I suppose flash lights and lights on a camera and simply turning on lights as you go helps too, but lighting will be an issue. (and if I
were honest it only costs $30.00 to rent a camera),.. but you need a camera - period. The reactions you capture as you go from house to house is hilarious. I arranged with each parent to have a bag
with their princess costume in it, some sneakers, swimsuit & a towel. We did not let the kidappee's have much time to consider what was happening after we woke them. They could have a
potty break and brush their teeth, but they pretty much left the house pj's and messy hair and their bag. the girls were very excited and eager to find out what was in store. My daughter
was the first to be kidnapped of course and was a very eager participant in waking up her friends and letting them know they were starting the party early. I took them to Smitty's, a family
restaurant and they arrived and ordered on the kids menu enjoying the fact that they looked a bit out of place in their jammies. I interviewed the children at the restaurant via camcorder. We
had ransom messages to parents that went along the line of "the kidnappers want money Mom and Dad, you will need to raise my allowance to $40.00/week for them to let me go" You get the idea. I
went home for a nap after breakfast with the kids and let my husband take control of the fate of the girls. He took them to a local fitness center where the girls, for one fee, played basketball (still
in there pajamas) and then went swimming in the wave pool(In the swim suits we had the parents pack earlier). When the children started to get hungry it was time to come home. At home they got
dressed in there princess costumes to prepare for lunch. I had everything ready, as I was well rested and prepared for them. I filmed each princess make her grand entrance with a curtsy as I
announced each one. I gave them titles to go with there name such as Princess Rachel of the Pink Rose, or Princess Angie of the Green Forest. I used the girls favorite color and a natural
element to make the title. These titles were also on each placecard at the table. The girls hammed it up all the way. They sat so straight and ate daintily and discussed kingdom matters
with their pinky finger dangling out. I recorded them each telling the camera what they would do if they were a real princess. It was sometimes predictable and most times touching the things
they said they would do. After the luncheon we gathered around the TV to watch the video we had made. It was very funny and enjoyable to watch. Later the girls made their crafts while they
watched the video "Princess Diaries". They had a long day already and it was a good way to end the party. As each guest left, my daughter sent them off graciously as the host of the
party. We gave them the silk drawstring bags, and hopefully some good memories. We will make a VHS tape of the day and send a copy to each family that let us have the care of there special
little princess, so they can see the video document of the time they had. It was a wonderful day. I found this age (8 to 9 year old)was a good age to do this type of party. It was a
celebration of emerging womanhood and still retaining all the fantasy of childlike dreams. I could tell by the concerns the girls expressed on growing up that they understood they were on the brink
of change and were not so sure they wanted to go that way. This party seemed to fit the needs of young ladies approaching transition. It was for me a chance to celebrate both my little girl,
and welcome the beautiful young lady she is to become. I hope you can gleam something from this that may help you. God Bless
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