kids

It has been such an exhausting few weeks here. Between back to school, cheerleading 4 times a week, various weekend events, working on some exciting stuff for the site fall, all while operating on sleepless nights with our toughest teething baby yet, I am only now ( barely ) coming up for air, which is why it’s been so quiet around here.

Amidst all the craziness, our baby girl turned 6. SIX. I still can’t even begin to process it.

For her party with her school friends, she requested a “Princess Cupcake” party theme (an off-shoot of last year’s “Princess Puppy” party- which was definitely, unique). And while I usually relish in planning parties for the kids, this year, I did not pine through Pinterest even once… I just didn’t have time or the energy.

I wanted to throw her an amazing birthday party, of course! But I also wanted less DIY, and more simplicity.

I teamed up with Just Pretend Kids to pull together a no-fuss and fab cupcake princess party that reminded me, that contrary to all the DIY fabulousness we see all over Pinterest, we don’t always have to kill ourselves to make a memorable party for our kids.

Here is how we pulled off a No-Fuss Princess Cupcake Party that was deemed by Delaina’s 6 year old friends as, and I quote “Fabulous” { Insert Mom Victory Dance. HASHTAG Winning }

Party In A Box – Setting the ground work

Just Pretend Kids offer a “party in a box” of sorts that is all sorts of awesome and contains all of the basic essentials, including a high quality costume for the birthday girl (or boy) so we started there.

They have over 12 different party themes and their Sweet Treats Perfect Present box was perfect for us.

For $131, the box includes:

•  1 – Fairytale Princess Dress for the Birthday Girl
• 1 – Sweetheart Tiara
• 8 – Invitations
• 8 – 9″ Plates
• 8 – 7″ Plates
• 16 – Napkins
• 1 – Tablecover
• 8 – 9 oz. hot/cold cups
• 8 – Matching Cutlery: forks, knives and spoons

(additional invites and supply can be purchased from Just Pretend Kid’s site if you have more guests)

When the box arrived, Delaina went BA-NA-NAS.

No. Seriously.

The dress is absolutely GORGEOUS. It is so detailed and full. Delaina has worn it non-stop since we got it, and received so many compliments on it. I also love that it wasn’t a Disney Princess gown. All due respect to the princess’ but on her birthday, our princess had a look of her own and it really was stand-out.

Invite Guests To Dress Like Royalty  & Plan A Royal Entrance

On our cupcake invites, we asked the girls to wear their favorite princess dress. Having a group of girls all dressed up like royalty is seriously the sweetest thing you will ever see and instantly makes the event special.

Simple tiaras and wands are inexpensive and are perfect to hand out during each princess’ grand entrance.

Keep It Short And Sweet

Two hours is the perfect time for a no-fuss and fab kids party. It gives the kids just enough time to play a few games, have pizza and cake without feeling like you need to fill down time with those DIY projects.

Double Duty Entertainment

It’s tempting to feel like you need to plan a bunch of different entertainment options but now that you’ve decided on keeping it short and sweet, there simply is no time for big elaborate games.

With the exception of Freeze dance, all of the “entertainment” we planned doubled with something else.

Piñata- Favors

We found a great cupcake piñata that matched our sweet treats theme and filled it with candy and other princess goodies such as rings, bracelets, tattoos, etc. This doubled as a game and their favor.

 Cupcake Decorating- Cake time

We couldn’t have a Princess Cupcake party without the cupcakes, so to make it more fun I made cake time into an decorating activity.  To avoid getting the princess’ dresses messy, I iced the cupcakes ahead of time and then used cupcake liners to hold some simple decorating treats such as, candy, sprinkle and chocolate chips. The girls LOVED it.

Admittedly, the day of the party I began to feel a little guilty that I hadn’t done a single DIY project for the event, but seeing how great it all turned out without an ounce of stress, or spending $350+ at a party center, put things into perspective for me.

Delaina gushed and said it was her best birthday EVER (yes, even better than the Night Owl Pajama party that I painstakingly made 16 felt pillow owls for). And during the cupcake decorating, her friend said “Your party is FABULOUS!” , to which I insitnctively replied “Aww, thank you!” and was quickly corrected “No, not YOU. Delaina’s!”  HA!

It’s a Mom-win in my book, kid!

Bonus Tip:

Oh hey! And if you are planning a Halloween party? I just saw that Just Pretend Kids added a new Halloween party box that is super super cute.

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Disclosure: Just Pretend Kids is a paid sponsor of Complicated Mama.