It's Good to be 4...

"What kind of party would you like this year?"  "A Cinderella party..."  What else would a typical four year old girl want?  Princesses, of course, LOTS of them....

So I asked mom friends for advice, Googled the heck out of princess parties.  Man, there are some crazy moms out there with TOO MUCH time on their hands.  Makes us average moms look like schleps.  I did glean some pretty cool ideas, though, and set to work to create a memorable party.  Not sure how much a four year old retains.  Sorry, mom, but I have no idea what you did for me on my 4th birthday! 

Princess cake:  I bought one last year and the dang thing cost $100.00!  Don't get me wrong...it tasted great and looked pretty good, but a hundred bucks?!  So I Googled doll cakes, and sure enough, they aren't too tricky.  A couple of round layers, a Pyrex bowl, a few cans of frosting and  voila!  Cindy in a cake!  Make sure to wrap the doll in plastic wrap to keep icing out of certain crevices.  She will like the wrap....might reduce cellulite!  Yeah, as if Barbie ever had those pesky bumps on her backside...Anyway...I added some roses and royal icing additions and my cake rivaled last years, hands down!

I am totally addicted to brownie pops!  Talk about bang for the buck!  They are so easy to make and your friends will think you went to some ridiculously over-priced bakery in a chic part of town to get them.  These I made to resemble the poison apple from Snow White.  For sure, the "poison" is sugar shock.  One bite of these and your little party guests will be taking off like a rocket.  They are pretty tasty, too....

So, the big day arrives and it is time to Cinderellify Kate.  That cartoon hairdo is no small task, given a fidgety toddler with super slippery hair.  Hot rollers must come into play, but how? 

So I tell her, "We are going to use "warm" rollers on your hair."  "Not the HOT rollers, Mom???!!!"  "Well, yeah, Kate, we need to use them if we want your hair to look like Cinderella."  "Will it hurt, Mom?!"  "Not too much....." I say.  After the rollers came out with little protest, I teased her hair up and it looked like a washed up Vegas show girl.   Then wrangled the mess to look like Cindy's do.  The results speak for themselves... The pouf in front strangely resembles the daily updo of certain strict Christian religions or Michelle Duggar, but I digress.   Once she donned the lovely acetate and practically carcinogenic plastic dress, she looked the picture of Cinderellic loveliness.  She felt pretty and I beamed!

So, the girlies arrived and were treated to instant makeovers of nail polish, face painting, "jewelry"

 and a paparazzi photo in front of a green screen. They sort of look like mug shots here, but the finished photos were really cool.   Tom generated their photo in front of Cinderella's castle.  Looks like we piled all the kids on a private jet and flew them to Disney for the party.  Tongues will be wagging for sure!  haha! 

Next were party games like "Freeze Dance" and "Pass the Slipper", which are pretty easy and fun for the PreK set.

"High Tea" was served in the castle drawing room....heart shaped sandwiches, strawberries dipped in pink whipped cream, carrots and pretzels....simple and non controversial.  Parents sipped mimosas and enjoyed lunch from Pompeii.

Then the Cake! 

 The best part of the day was when I tucked Kate into bed and she said the best part of her party was the cake....

You are only 4 once.  Might as well be the princess, I say!