The party CAMPUS CORNER

Whether it’s a special occasion like her birthday or Easter or just an ordinary day, having the perfect princess tea party is as easy as 1, 2, 3.

Planning the perfect princess can be as much as fun as the tea party itself. You are only limited by your imagination. If your little princess is old enough, use this time to plan the tea party together and make the experience extra special.

You want to first start out with a theme. Choosing a specific theme can make planning so much easier. For example if you want to do a Cinderella theme party, you already know that everything should be silver, light blue and white. If you want to choose a simple princess themed that is not character based, then white, pink, purple and yellow are the basic colors used most often.

After choosing your theme, you must now choose the invitations and party dcor. If you are planning a formal tea party, choose an elegant invitation. If you are creating your invitation this is easy to achieve by choosing a script font and pretty, dainty paper. For extra elegance incorporate a bow or lace to the invitation. For a more whimsical party, try using glitter and stickers to jazz up your invitations.

The party decor should follow suit. An elegant tea party should use linen table covers and napkins. Use porcelain, silver or ceramic tea set and adorn the table with a floral centerpiece. Silver cutlery compliment will compliment any of the tea sets wonderfully. To finish off the table dcor add strings of faux pearls and rose petals.

The whimsical princess tea party is a lot less formal, but can be just as pretty fun. A plastic or porcelain tea set will work great. You can find lots of pretty plastic tea sets with the Disney Princesses on them. Cutlery can be colorful plastic ware used for a party. Table covers can be plastic or paper. Coordinate the table ware, table cover and napkins for a more uniformed and festive look. Fill a basket with faux flowers or jewelry and use as a centerpiece. The whimsical tea party is less expensive and is better suited for the princesses under age 8.

The princess tea party menu can be just as simple. Keep in mind that the food is for little fingers and tummies when you create the menu. Your little princess’ input can be a huge help. What’s a tea party without tea? I don’t know too many little princesses that are regular tea drinkers. Try substituting hot tea for iced tea. This is a great solution for the younger princesses. They can still pour their own tea without the worries of burning themselves. It also works well with the plastic tea sets. Another alternative is tea filled with fruit. These teas taste more like fruit punch and the princesses won’t even know the difference.

Keep the foods small. The children’s tea sets are small and the food should be able to fit on the plates perfectly. Finger sandwiches, mini croissants, mini muffins and small tea cookies work well. If the tea party is for a birthday party, try substituting a traditional birthday cake for cupcakes. Place the cupcakes on a tier pedestal for a festive look.

Keep the princesses entertained with a few princess tea party games. A princess favorite is kiss the frog. Place a disposable picture of a frog on the wall. Apply lipstick to each princess. One by one blindfold each princess and spin her around a few times. She them kisses the frog. Whichever princess comes closest to the frog’s lips is the winner. If she is lucky enough she may just have found her prince.

A few more games are:

Which Princess Sings This? Each princess can sing and act out the scene of a princess movie and the rest have to guess the princess and movie. Can be made more challenging by not singing and just acting it out.

Royal Findings this game is great for the younger princesses. Before the party begins hide several princess themed articles around the party area. Examples include crowns, wands, jewels etc. Whatever they find they can keep or trade. Be sure to either hide plenty for everyone or give them each a turn. After they find one thing, it’s the next princesses turn.

Last but not least is Dress Up. For a more formal tea party the princesses can wear their own very pretty party dresses. For the more whimsical party purchase a dress up trunk and allow the girls to swap outfits. Put out a spread of jewels, make up and feather boas and watch the beauties emerge.

Other princess activities include make your own tiara, design your own slipper and make your own wand. Most craft stores carry these party activities kits or can find them online at party or princess websites. Another option is to find articles that tell you how to create these projects yourself without having to purchase the kits.

Other tips to keep in mind are:

Most tea sets come with enough pieces for 4 people. You may need to purchase several tea sets to accommodate a larger party.

A whimsical tea party is suggested for princesses under age 8. The tea sets and dcor are better suited for them. With plastic table covers and tea sets, mishaps are a breeze to clean up.

If you need to purchase several tea sets, you don’t want to be left with so many sets after the party is over. Give each princess their table setting as their favor. You can purchase nice gift boxes to place the set in after cleaning. Adorn with a bow and tag with party information.

Use the table time to teach the princesses proper table manners and etiquette. This may be more suitable for the older princesses. A 3 year old may have a hard time figuring out what you are talking about. So if you are trying to teach a room full of 3 years olds, you can wind up pulling your hair out.

Most of all have fun!