Thrifty Southern Living: Ava's Dress-Up Party

Friday, September 28, 2012

Ava's Dress-Up Party

It goes without saying that Ava loves to dress-up. She has a big imagination, and I can see her being in theatrical productions in the near future:). When trying to decide what to do for her birthday party, Brittany suggested a dress-up party and told me to just wait until we moved-- great advice (she also knew that planning a party three weeks after moving into our new house would seriously motivate me...more on that later;). When I was five, I would have thought I'd died and gone to heaven if I had as many princess dresses as Ava. The majority of them have been yard sale finds (paying $1-$3 for them is perfect compared to the $25 tag at Target!) and birthday/Christmas presents.
I love etsy and pinterest! It makes party planning even easier. I found her printable invitations and cupcake toppers here. A few days before the big event, the girls and I went to Hobby Lobby to get ribbon, plates, napkins, ect.
One of the best ideas I've ever had was asking Jordan, a precious teen from church, to come help me. She made everything so much easier, especially since my sister couldn't be here. Jordan pitched in and did stuff before I could even ask her to. It.was.wonderful.
On the day of the party, Ava was in full dress up mode by 10 am (the party started at 6 pm)...sparkley dress, tiara, jewelry, lip gloss, glitter eyeshadow... She couldn't wait for her friends to arrive. It was such a fun night. The kids played and giggled for hours. There's nothing better than having family and friends around and seeing your child laughing and having the time of her life.
I went to bed that night very, very thankful (and very tired:).

Ava & Tuesday

I love crafting.

Thankfully, I just had to raid the playroom to come up with plenty of things!

Niki & Mary Abbott

Mimi (I have a feeling my mom was worn out from all the stuff I had her doing before!), Papa, & Addison with her tutu on

I borrowed my friend's Pampered Chef kit. Loved it so much I bought one.

Britt saw this idea on Pinterest and passed it along to me. They made edible jewelry out of chocolate covered pretzels, fruit loops, cheerios, and gummy lifesavers.