A Very Merry Unbirthday Princess Tea Party!

Natalie was the proud hostess of her first tea party yesterday morning! We had watched Alice in Wonderland and I asked if she would like to have a tea party like they had in the movie. She was ecstatic about the idea and after a few weeks of organizing schedules and making plans the day came!

 

She invited four little girls ages 3-4 to join her.

Queen Sarah might have gotten a little excited about designing the invites!
We cut these out, pasted to pink paper, and added a stick-on jewel to fancy it up.

I put up the tea party decor after Natalie went to bed the night before and awoke the morning of the tea party to crashing glass.  I jolted out of bed and must have had fire in my eyes because the second Natalie saw me she said "I'm so sorry mommy!"  Whoops, waking this sleeping bear did not start the day off right!  Thankfully none of the borrowed glass teaset was broken and mommy took a chill pill!

Due to a VERY busy 21 month old, all the glassware was stacked in the middle and all the chairs were stacked up on the counters.  Unfortunately, the tablecloth still proved to be a very tantalizing temptation for the Tedster!

 

Mommy made a feeble attempt at princess handwriting for the chalkboard sign outside our apartment door.  Unsuccessful as I was, Natalie was elated when she saw it!

 



Mid-curtsy, she caught sight of her "glass slippers" and got a little sidetracked!

 

The little ladies started by making princess hats.  I cut a template out of white tagboard paper and wrote their names in pencil in advance.  They traced their names with Qtips dipped in paint (a great idea credited to my sister!) but mommy's effort to cut costs by using existing supplies resulted in Natalie getting unwashable acrylic paint on her princess dress!! **UPDATED AT END OF POST**  Then they adorned their hats with adhesive jewels and glitter!



The Princess!

The Lady!



The Empress!

The Duchess!

 

The Countess!

 

While Mommy was hotgluing and adding finishing embellishments to the princess hats, the little ladies played a few rounds of "Princess Princess Queen" (aka Duck Duck Goose)



 

Here they are sporting their fancy new duds!

Then it was time to paint their fingernails.  They might have gotten more on their fingers than their nails, but they loved it!  

The Empress was very concerned that she "got polish on her cuticles"! Such a proper lady!

 

After the nails dried, they went on a bear hunt (by popular demand)!

 

 

Then they had a princess dance party!

Everyone was following the Countess' lead...

"Ok first we hold hands in a circle..."



"...then we jump up and down..."

"...then we shake and wiggle and spin!"

 

Finally to prepare for the tea party, they watched a little clip of the tea party in Alice in Wonderland.





 

While their eyes were glued to the screen, Mommy, with the help of Queen Toni, got the table set and tea party food prepared.  I snuck the platters into Natalie's play kitchen set and when the girls sat down to eat I said, "Princess Naterella you better look in your fridge". 

She was THRILLED to serve her guests out of her very own kitchen!

The ladies looking to see the cupcakes she was pulling out of her oven.

Her cheeks packed full of "dainties"... such a lady!

Poor Teddy, overrun by estrogen!  But at least he had his little buddy Z-man to keep him company!

 

Everyone got to decorate cupcakes to bring home to their families before taking one group picture!

Queen Sarah, decked out in my dress from senior prom, hopped in for a couple pictures too!!  I was reminded as it was getting zipped up that I need to start a diet, but Natalie's face when she saw it was worth every minute of being squeezed into it!

The tea party was over and it was a success! 
We've decided to make it an annual tradition!!

  

Pooped princesses watching Nemo.

**UPDATE**
Acrylic paint can be removed from clothing using a generous amount of rubbing alcohol and your fingernail!  Gotta love Google when you make a flub like this!