For my daughter Abigail’s 5^th birthday we had a perfect princess tea party. Although parties at home can sound like a lot of work they can cost significantly less and be remembered twice as long. Some come on in and learn how you too can throw a princess tea party on a small budget! Here is a play by play of what I did.

Decide on a date and how many children you will invite!

Buy tea cups, plates and saucers in a thrift store, a garage sale or on craigslist to decorate your table. I spent $5 on a white set of china at the Goodwill. It came with a tea pot that matched and it was cheaper than buying paper products and made the party seem real to Abigail.

Buy or make invitations. We bought invitations but it could also be fun to make them with your daughter.

Decide on a menu. I fed the girls fruit salad, veggie sticks and tea sandwiches. Peanut butter and jelly were more popular than the cucumber sandwiches. We also had some confections and pettifores.

The teapot cake! Click to go to the recipe.

Activities: We did a ton of things to keep the girls busy.

· Picture frames. I found kits in A C Moore craft store with crowns and the word princess. They were simple to assemble and the girls had a great time making them. Throughout the party my husband took pictures of all of the girls. They were sent home with a new picture frame and a picture already in it.

· Princess Fans: This was an easy craft. All you need is construction paper and a doily. Glue the doily onto the paper and fold as a fan. The girls can then glue gems onto their fan across the top. This was simple, cheap and EASY!

· Dress-up relay race. Divide the girls into two groups. Have a bin with dress-up. We used a crown, a gown, dress up shoes and necklaces. I bought all of it in our local dollar store. Line the girls up in two lines with the dress up about 10 feet away. Have them run to the bin, put all of the items on, take all of the items off and run to tag the next person. The team who goes the quickest wins. I did not do prizes because this often causes tears and I hate to deal with tears.

· Princess Tea party freeze dance. I bought the Disney princess tea party CD and played it and shut it off. Anyone who did not freeze was out and had to cheer on who was left.

· Musical chairs: Also on the Disney Princess CD there was a musical chair song. I put the CD on repeat until we finished.

Gift bags: I found a great idea for tea bag gift bags that was inexpensive and really cute. Take white craft bags and place items inside. We did some costume jewelry, a notepad and pen, a small tea cup that they could paint at home and stick on earrings. Once the bag is filled you simply fold the upper corners of the bag to the center. You then fold the top down and staple a string to it. Staple a paper name tag at the end of the string. Abigail was even able to help me make them which always make life more fun!

princess tea party