This year, since Emma was getting her first American Girl Doll for her birthday, we couldn't help but throw her a tea party for all of her friends and their dolls.
For the invitations, we found these wonderful printables from Mom & Wife. They are in picture format, so just drop one into a publisher document to add your own details.
Using the invitation as a starting point, we used the same color scheme for the rest of the party: pink, orange, turquoise, and lime.
The pom poms are a tutorial from martha. They are really simple to make, and each big pom costs about $1 when you by the tissue paper in single-color packs.
The food table was a blast to put together. We scheduled our party from 2-4 so we wouldn't be tied to a meal, but instead could focus on the fun food:
::french vanilla cupcakes, made by a friend
::tropical mike n ikes
::mandarin oranges
::cheese cubes (buy the square string cheese and make this super-easy)
::pixie stix
::cheesy popcorn
::Crush and Mexican Jarritos sodas in the right colors (I use Jarritos at every party!)
Activities:
::When each girl arrived we introduced her dolls to the others at the tables. We left them at their own table so they could get acquainted.
Hey! That's not a doll. It's baby Esther!
::Then we made these fancy hats out of headbands, paper plates, coffee filters (dyed with Easter Egg dye from last year), feathers and doilies.
I showed them how to scrunch up the coffee filters to look like flowers. Everything was glued together with school glue, so there was very little mess.
::After they were finished with the craft, they had a little free time to play with the dolls and change their clothes. Emma's Aunt Emily brought her collection of American Girl dolls and clothes. She had a lot!
This was Daddy's favorite part. He was right in the middle of them all during the dress up.
I think this is Emma's 6th pixie stick.
::Next came the cupcakes and snacks. I had my baker friend leave a dozen cupcakes un-frosted, and she sent the extra icing in a container. The girls loved designing their own cupcakes with all kinds of sprinkles and candies.
I made some mini cupcakes so the dolls had something to munch on, too.
::After tummies were full, we opened presents. Each girl got her picture taken with her doll and with Emma.
Again, this is Esther, not Emma's new doll.
Grandma V. looks darling in this picture!
A decoupaged train case full of art supplies from Grammie.
A hug for Aunt Emily.
::After gifts, we played a few games until parents arrived. The first was to walk around balancing a book on their heads. As a generalization, 6- and 7-year-olds are not good at this. The game did not last long. We also made up a toss game with some nesting bowls and flower beanbags. We gave each bowl a point value from 1-5 and kept score. This game was better.
::Don't forget the party bags!
Each girl got to pick out a green bag, a pair of sunglasses, a ring, a candy necklace, and some more pixie stix.
Sources:
::cupcake papers and straws from HeyYoYo on etsy
::favors from the dollar store
::Emma's and Esther's dresses from Gap
::favor bags from Lasso the Moon
