So imagine my delight when Betty announced that she wanted a Princess Bride birthday party! And then my dismay when she added that she'd like it to be a sleepover. But . . . a 10th birthday is a big deal, and her friends are really sweet girls, and my defenses were down because -- Princess Bride! So I said yes.
Disclaimer: It has been brought to my attention that I do not, as I previously believed, throw "simple" birthday parties. They seem simple to me, because I enjoy doing this sort of thing. So, before you scroll down, just keep in mind that I liked doing this, that it's mostly homemade, that some of it is wonky and I'm okay with that, that we planned, prepped, and partied as a family, and that we had fun on each of those steps.
Decor
I'm sure you can make all that tissue paper stuff and the flag banner pretty easily at home, but we didn't. We got all the decorations at Party City. The flowers are from the yard. Betty was especially excited about the goblets. Jack did the calligraphy for her. Gus mostly just stood around looking pleased with himself, as he is wont to do.
I printed the posters using Publisher. But if I ever get to redecorate a kids' room, I really want to buy this one:
 |
| from LittleOwlDesign |
 |
| by Nathan W Pyle |
Food
For dinner we made As You Wish Personal Pizzas, which was very fun, but required some attention, and I forgot to take any pictures. But here are the girls saying grace while the pizzas cooked:
For breakfast in the morning we had popovers from my grandfather's recipe with strawberry butter, apple butter, and loquat jam, lemonade, fruit, and various breakfast meats:
Cake
The cake! Yay, the cake! This was a very collaborative effort. Betty wanted it to be like a wedding cake (which I do not have the skill or equipment to create, but that's never stopped me before) and Anita suggested that it have them falling down the hill. Brilliant! So, that's what I did.
It was carrot cake inside and cream cheese frosting and it was super yummy. (Recipe here.) I made the words and figures with melting chocolate in a ziplock bag. The people are based on a t-shirt design.
The birthday girl was pleased!
Activities
There was nail painting:
And gifts:
 |
| Frankie didn't get any |
And a unicorn pinata because hitting a unicorn with a stick is appropriate for all occasions:
And pajamas:
And sleeping bags and watching The Princess Bride!
And there was even actual sleeping at a reasonable hour, but I didn't take any pictures of that.
It was a lovely time for a lovely 10 year old. Happy birthday Betty, my sweet, sweet girl!