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Posted July 15, 2009 by Mary Dixon Lebeau

Birthdays. Last day of school. First day of summer. 

There is so much to celebrate in the life of a princess, so it was only natural for Libby to request a party. But not just any party... she wanted a royal tea party.

Well, we nixed the tea (we'd lose too many friend if we caffeinated their daughters) but we did okay the party. We bought dollar store tea cups and filled a trunk with Libby's princess gear and a some yard sale jewelry and invited five friends over to sip some lemonade, play some games, and celebrate their royalty. 

Want to have your own tea party? Here are some ideas to get you started:

The Invitations
You know what they say about first impressions, right? Well, your invitation is the first glimpse your guests will see of your party, so you want to make sure the invite fits the theme.

The last time we had a tea party, we presented each of the invited guests with an envelope containing an un-inflated pink balloon attached with ribbon to a tea bag. On the tea bag tag, we wrote "You're Invited." When a helpful adult inflated the balloon, the guest could read the details of the party, which we had written with pen (very carefully) on the balloon. 

Even though our friends raved about the creative (shall I say uplifting?) invitations, we went a more traditional route this time around. Instead of a party invitation in an envelope, each special guest received a rolled scroll held by a pink ribbon. When opened, the "princesses" read the following decree:

"Hear ye! Hear ye!
Let it be known that at royal decree
Princess Lots-of-Locks
requests the honor of your presence
at a most spendilicious tea party"

The time, place and RSVP info followed. Of course, we used paper with a document look (check your scrapbooking supply store, or make it yourself with some brewed tea) and wrote the invite in our fanciest "calligraphy."

The Games
The princesses in attendance at our party ranged in age from 8 down to 2, so we needed games that were not only royally fun, but all-inclusive as well. These worked especially well:

The Graceful Race -- Since princesses are known to be graceful, we challenged the girls to a footrace -- but not just any footrace. This race, which proved grace is more important than speed, involved walking as far as you could while balancing a book on your head. Princess Becca was declared the winner, as she carried a copy of "My Bedtime Book of Favorite Princess Stories" across the living room and straight into the kitchen.

The Glass Slipper Pass -- This game is a lot like "Hot Potato," but with a decidedly royal twist. Instead of passing a spud, the girls stood in a circle and passed a glass slipper while we played songs like "I'm Wishing" and "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes." When the music stopped, the princess holding the slipper left the circle (and controlled the music for the next round).

We used a plastic glass slipper, complete with attached blue pillow, from a Cinderella board game Libby owns. If you don't have a similar prop, it's easy -- and fun -- to make your own "slipper." Decorate an old high heel with glitter and stick on jewels before the game begins.

The Royal Buffet
Even though it was a tea party, our princesses didn't complain when we served pink lemonade in their pink teacups (a takeaway). Finger sandwiches -- such as jelly and Fluffernutter, ham and cheese, and tuna -- were served for dinner. (The royal steed Sid enjoyed the crusts.) We also served "decorate your own mini cupcakes." Chocolate and vanilla mini cakes were iced with whipped cream topping, then we let the girls decorate their own with butterflies, hearts and rainbow jimmies.

After the buffet, moms and dads arrived to pick up their princesses and head home. But before they left, we all lifted our tea cups to toast the coming summer -- and a successful party. With pinkies raised, of course!