Planning a Tea Party Themed Birthday for Girls

Little girls love fancy things. Dresses, lace, and dainty tea cups will greatly appeal to most girls. Give them a chance to be girly and host a tea party for your daughter and some of her friends.

Invitations
Pick out birthday invitations that are on the more formal side. They don't need to be expensive though. Choose a simple boarder, a pretty font, and print them off your computer on to card stock. Encourage the girls to dress their best on the birthday invitations.

Decorations
Put aside fears of breakage and stains and use some of your best stuff. Well, maybe not your very best. Use a table cloth and set the table with nice dishes and cloth napkins. Decorate with pretty little things such as doilies and candles. The atmosphere will make the girls feel special, and it will encourage them use their best manners.

Food
Think small and bite size when it comes to food. Make sandwiches with thin bread and cut fun shapes with cookie cutters. Use kid friendly fillings such as peanut butter and jelly or turkey and cheese. Serve fruit and veggies cut into small pieces. Use mini pie shells for bite size quiche or pies. Make cookies and other foods extra small. Serve cupcakes instead of a larger birthday cake. Provide toppings, and let the children decorate their own cupcakes. Offer a fruit flavored herbal tea for kids to try, as well as juice and milk.

Games and Activities
Let the girls get dressed for tea. Set up a few full length mirrors and provide dress up clothes for the girls to try on at the tea party. Fill a box with various hats, scarves, play jewelry, and shawls. After the girls are dressed up, take their photo on a digital camera. Provide simple picture frames from a craft store for the girls to decorate. Provide decorations that are age appropriate whether it is simple stick ons or glue and glitter. Run the photos off on your computer so that the girls can take their framed photo home.

Favors
A special tea cup for each girl to take home will make a treasured favor. Check out thrift shops, ebay, and dollar stores to find tea cups inexpensively. They don't all need to match making finding them easier. Add a few pieces of chocolate or other individually wrapped candy to the tea cups. Need something for the younger set? Choose favor bags made out of a pretty material such as organza. Small dress up items such as necklaces, bracelets, stick on earrings, and small play silks make good fillers. Another good filler for both the tea cup or favor bag would be a few Go Stix, a natural powdered drink mix, by Celestial Seasonings.