princess party ideas
BY A PROFESSIONAL PARTY PLANNER
Ideas include:
Princess party invitations
Princess party drinks
Princess party food ideas
Princess dessert table ideas
Princess birthday cake ideas
Princess party decorations
Princess party favors
Princess party games
Princess party supplies
Princess party costumes
There are lots of different ways to interpret princess party ideas for a kid’s birthday or tea party, from traditional Disney characters such as Cinderella, Princess Jasmine from Aladdin, or Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog, to more comical ones such as Princess Fiona from Shrek. Not to mention probably the most popular, Anna and Elsa from Frozen.
Regardless of which type of princess is your child’s favorite, there are lots of imagery that is common to all princesses.
So, below are lots of universal princess party ideas, which you can always tailor to a particular Disney character if you wish.
Personally, I always think it’s better to create your own individual princess party theme rather than rely too heavily on Disney-branded merchandise—a few little touches are fine, but you don’t want your birthday / tea party to look like an advertisement for a film.
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i’m matt james
professional event planner
welcome
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01 princess party invitations
Below are some suggestions for invitations to go with these princess party ideas:
ADVICE FROM A PRO
Matt’s tip
“I think it’s important to create a big first impression, which is why I always try to include some sort of 3D object tied to the printed invitation with ribbon.
This is a little trick that’s often used by professional party planners to make invitations stand out.
It doesn’t have to be anything expensive, just some cheap novelties, and you can use it re-enforce your party theme. For example, kids sunglasses or a flip flop for a beach party, a toy dinosaur for a dinosaur party, or an eye patch for a pirate party.
People just love to receive unusual invitations; it really captures their imagination and gets them excited about the party.
Click here to check out some examples of 3D object invitations from my party invitations page (opens in a new tab)”.
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3D PRINCESS INVITATIONS
You can pick up plastic tiara’s, available here, and wands, available here, really cheaply nowadays—for around $1 each—so I would suggest sending these out as a 3D invitation. They’re certain to get people excited about your princess party. Plus the guests can wear the tiaras to your party.
Tie this cute princess dress printable invitation, available here, onto the tiara / wand to communicate all the party details. I think when you’re sending out a 3D invitation, you can get away with using a printable invitation because the main focus is on the 3D object anyway.
If you want to make these even more special, lay them on some pink tissue paper in one of these decorative box mailers and tie up with ribbon. You can always hand these out on the school run to save posting
Update: Alternatively, you can now buy something similar; an invitation that comes with a princess wand, available here.
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TRADITIONAL PRINCESS INVITATIONS
Alternatively, check out both this supplier and also this supplier for lots of well-designed invitations—including ones that can be personalized either with or without a photo—that will tie in nicely with these princess party ideas.
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INVITATION WORDING
If you’re making your own princess party invitations, don’t forget to compliment these princess party ideas, by including lots of formal words and phrasing in the text, for example:
Don’t forget to include information on the dress code, especially if you want everybody to come dressed as a Prince or Princess, ex, ‘Dress: Royal Attire’.
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02 princess party drinks
Below are some drinks ideas to go with these princess party ideas:
ADVICE FROM A PRO
Matt’s tip
“Always create a signature drink for your party—it’s one of the easiest things you can do to make your party unique.
If your party has a theme, think about what flavors you can use in your signature drink that will convey it.
Don’t forget about styling and presentation too. You could serve drinks in individual bottles, jars, or novelty containers, add your own labels, use themed ice cubes, decorative straws, or drinks picks, or add a simple garnish.
A sprig of berries or a single flower head on the rim of a glass can make a simple cocktail look really stylish”.
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FRUIT TEA
Tea parties are synonymous with princess party ideas, so you might want to serve the drinks in some old fashioned tea cups with saucers.
You probably don’t want to serve normal tea, but there are some nice fruit flavoured ice teas like those from Snapple which make flavors such as peach, raspberry and lemon tea. Just remember these still contain caffeine, although they do make a caffeine-free Pomegranate Raspberry Red Tea which is probably the best option.
Even if you don’t serve fruit tea, present your drinks in teacups. Ideally you want to use old fashioned granny style teacups with saucers, available here, or these cute glass ones, available here, or check out the cheaper disposable tea cups and saucers here.
For younger kids, use plastic kid’s tea sets or these tea cup style sippy cups. You can always take the screw top and big bendy straw off and replace with a regular straw to make them look more delicate if you wish.
Alternatively, you can pick up these cute Disney princess themed bottles, available here, (other designs available).
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PINK LEMONADE
Alternatively, make all your drinks pink by serving things like pink lemonade. This looks great in a big serving jug or punch bowl with just some simple lemon or lime slices as garnish (see photo below left by Quentin Bacon on My Recipes).
You can still let them drink this out of tea cups with saucers so they feel more like a princess. Alternatively, these princess bottles available here, tie e in nicely with these princess party ideas.
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MORE PINK DRINKS
For more pink drinks try making these cotton candy milkshakes (below left by Happy Harvest on Tablespoon), or this cute polka-dot strawberry milkshake made with marshmallows (below, by Sweet Paul, photo by Alexandra Grabewski).
Alternatively, for something quick and easy, just serve this cotton candy Shirley Temple instead (below, by Simply Suzanne’s).
These would look great served in these Disney princess themed party cups, which are only around $1 each, available here. There are different designs available for various princesses, such as Cinderella, Belle, Snow White, and Anna and Elsa from Frozen.
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water
Give regular water bottles a princess makeover with these printable labels, available here. There’s lots of different designs available, including these cute ‘Melted Snow’ Frozen themed labels.
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DRINKS STYLING
You can make your party drinks more interesting with these cute princess wand or princess castle ice cube molds, both available here (other princess themed molds available).
Alternatively, use princess themed straws, such as the ones below (more designs available), available here.
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03 Princess party food
Below are some food suggestions to go with these princess party ideas.
ADVICE FROM A PRO
disclaimer
“As a professional party planner, I’m lucky enough to be able to collaborate with some amazing chefs to create menus for my events.
As I’m no chef myself, and cannot create dishes from scratch, I’ve searched the web for recipes that I think would work well for this party theme.
All credit goes to the talented people who have created these recipes, so please click through to their site for full details, ingredients, methods, and in some cases step-by-step tutorials”.
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AFTERNOON TEA
For princess party food you could look to the English tradition of ‘Afternoon Tea’ for inspiration. Little princesses will love this as everything is so delicate and lady-like.
Traditionally, afternoon tea comes served in teapots with tea cups and saucers alongside bite-sized sandwiches cut into small triangles with the crusts removed. Traditional English fillings are cucumber (but you could add cream cheese for children), egg and cress (substitute with egg mayo for kids), ham, or smoked salmon.
All the sandwiches are usually presented on a tired cake stand accompanied by a selection of small cakes or scones with jam and Devonshire (clotted) cream.
Over the past few years, traditional English Afternoon Tea has become really fashionable again. The Berkeley Hotel in London has gone one step further and created Prêt-à-Portea, which is a modern afternoon tea with cakes and biscuits inspired by dresses, handbags and shoes from the current season’s catwalk collections (below). It’s then all served on china designed by British designer Paul Smith.
So you don’t just have to think in terms of traditional afternoon tea for your princess party ideas – mix it up with some cute shoe or dress shaped cookies, cakes and candies.
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PRINCESS COOKIE CUTTERs
If you want to make the sandwiches a little less formal, use cookie cutters to shape them into crowns, castles, princess dresses, and glass slippers to turn them into princess party food (see example, below left from Betty Crocker).
Check out this supplier for princess cookie cutters.
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PRINCESS COOKIES / COOKIE CUTTERS
Of course you can also use the cookie cutters to create any number of different princess themed cookies.
There are cookie cutters for individual princess faces, such as this Elsa from Frozen cutter, available here, or if you’re not really a baker you can buy all sorts of ready-made princess cookies, available here. I particularly like these Disney princess dress cookies.
crown / pumpkin COOKIE CUTTERS
Likewise, there are princess crown and pumpkin carriage cookie cutters, or you can just buy ready-made crown cookies or carriage cookies.
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PRINCESS CROWN PIZZA
Remember, in addition to using these cutters for sandwiches and cookies, you can also use them on slices of cheese, or fruits, such as watermelon. You can even take a similar approach to shaping mini pizzas, such as these crown-shaped pizzas from by Pillsbury.
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DISNEY PRINCESS PARTY FOOD
These ‘Rapunzel’s Braids’ by Susie of What Do I Know of Holy? are really creative. They’re just puff pastry with jelly brushed on them, which are then braided and baked. Alternatively, you could make these really cute Rapunzel Tower Cupcakes (below, by Robin at Bird on a Cake).
The cake is baked inside the ice cream cups. Or for a healthy option, check out these ingenious ‘Cinderella’s Pumpkins’ by Rebecca from Daily Rebecca. She uses little bits of celery stuffed into tangerines. So clever!
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MORE DISNEY PRINCESS PARTY FOOD
These Pretzel and Cheese Broomsticks by Debbie at One Little Project at a Time would make great Cinderella’s broomsticks.
These Rice Krispie Apple treats by Mandy at Gourmet Mom on the Go would make great Snow White’s (not so) poison apples.
Or just re-name Goldfish Cracker’s as Ariel’s friends like in this photo from Our Happily Ever After.
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MORE DISNEY PRINCESS PARTY FOOD
These Cinderella-inspired Rice Krispie Magic Wand treats by Sara at Mom Endeavors are really cute.
For something a little more healthy, make these Princess and the Frog apple snacks by Lisa & James at Home is Where the Mouse is.
Or for a Frozen theme, make these ‘Melted Olaf’ puddings by Kylie at Made by a Princess Parties.
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FRUITY MAGIC WANDS
For something a little more healthy, make these simple fruity magic wands, below left by Sheri Silver on Babble. Or check out these more elaborate ones from Weelicious.
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STUFFED STRAWBERRIES / EDIBLE TEACUPS
Pink cotton candy or strawberries dipped in white chocolate with pink sprinkles are also perfect princess party ideas.
Or for something a little more unusual check out this amazing step by step guide for how to make Cupcake Stuffed Strawberries! (Yes, you did read that correctly. Below left by Jasmin at 1 Fine Cookie) or this variation of Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries (below , by Melissa at Sugar Derby).
You might also want to let the kids get involved in making some of the princess party food for their birthday, so let them try their hand at these cute Edible Teacup Biscuits (below, from Planning with Kids)
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TEA CUP MOLDS
Use these cute tea cup molds, available here, to bake and serve your cupcakes in – perfect for a royal tea party.
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DISNEY PRINCESS CAKE POPS
If you’re not really a baker, you can buy these really cute Disney princess cake pops. They also have Anna and Elsa from Frozen. Check out all the options here.
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DISNEY PRINCESS CUPCAKE TOPPERS
If you prefer to make regular cupcakes, use these cake toppers, which are available for most of the Disney princesses and just frost your cakes with the appropriate colored frosting.
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DISNEY PRINCESS FONDANT TOPPERS
Alternatively, you can buy these edible fondant cupcake toppers which look amazing, available here.
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PRINCESS CUPCAKE TOPPERS
If you prefer not to go down the Disney princess route, there are plenty of other princess cupcake toppers, available here, such as the ones below.
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PRINCESS PHOTO CUPCAKE TOPPERS
I particularly like these fun personalized photo cupcake toppers, available here, which are made from a photo of the birthday girl.
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PRINCESS CANDY
There are lots of princess themed candy, available here, and princess lollipops such as wands, glass slippers, and carriages, available here, which are a good way to fill out a dessert table.
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CANDY BUFFET
You can also buy dessert table candy by the color, available here, so you can use pink, white, and lavender for a princess party theme.
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DISNEY PRINCESS PEZ
For a Disney princess party, you might want to include these fun Pez dispensers, available here, on the dessert table.
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PINK POPCORN
One final pink-themed recipe to add to the princess party ideas is this cute Pink Popcorn (below, by Erin at Erin Cooks). Alternatively, you can buy it here.
04 birthday cake
Whether you’re making a birthday cake from scratch or just decorating it, below are some suggestions to go with these princess party ideas:
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PRINCESS CAKE PANS
If you want to make the birthday cake yourself, there are a few different baking pans available which tie in nicely with these princess party ideas, including crowns, carriages, and castles. Check them all out here.
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PRINCESS dress / castle CAKE PANS
Alternatively, you could try one of these 3D cake kits to make either a princess dress cake, available here, or this amazing castle cake set, available here.
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PRINCESS EDIBLE CAKE IMAGES
If you’re not really a baker, these personalized edible cake images, available here, are a really quick and easy way to theme the birthday cake in keeping with these princess party ideas. Just roll out onto your cake. (More designs available).
Update: Check out this supplier for some different designs.
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PRINCESS FONDANT CAKE TOPPERS
Alternatively, there are plenty of edible fondant cake toppers, available here, that you could add to your own cake.
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PRINCESS CAKE TOPPERS
Or use one of these non-edible cake toppers, available here, (more designs available).
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05 dessert table styling
Below are some suggestions for how to style and decorate your party in keeping with these princess party ideas:
ADVICE FROM A PRO
Matt’s tip
“I always think it’s a good idea to concentrate the majority of your decorations around a buffet / dessert table as this will create a focal point in the room.
Party decorations often have to compete with existing room decor, so they can get a bit lost if spread too thinly. I think you’re far better off creating one really well themed feature wall that everyone’s eye will be drawn to.
You can then use a few general decorations around the rest of the room to tie everything together.”
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PRINCESS DESSERT TABLE
To create a dessert / buffet table like the one below, follow these step by step instructions:
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tISSUE PAPER GARLANDS
Hanging tissue paper garlands vertically is a great way to create a delicate backdrop for a princess themed dessert table (see pictures below from Martha Stewart Weddings for inspiration).
When using tissue garlands for a backdrop they look best when there are lots of them, so have some overlapping or curled up towards the sides. Use several different types of garland to give the arrangement plenty of texture.
In the illustration above I’ve used a mixture of arcade garlands, four leaf garlands, and paper tissue garlands in a mixture of lavender, white and classic pink. All are available here and also here.
To avoid a candy stripe appearance, be sure to use a mixture of three different colors, rather than just two.
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TABLE STYLING
To dress your table, I’d suggest using a lavender table cover with a matching table skirt (below left, available here). Then pick up some lavender tulle by the yard, available here, and lay this over the table skirt to create some texture. Then add some pink feather boa trim, also available here by the yard, around the perimeter of the tabletop.
Obviously you could also reverse these colors if you prefer pink to be your main color.
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PRINCESS BANNER
Then hang a personalized princess pennant banner, available here, across the front of the table (more designs available).
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SERVEWARE
Use a mix of square and rectangular pink and white plates and bowls to display the food on. I recommend this range of disposable Premium Plastic Plates (below), they’re great value and are really handy if you don’t have enough serving platters and trays to match the colors of your princess party ideas.
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PRINCESS STANDEES
These life size Disney Princess stand ups, available here and also here, (other Disney Princess characters available) are a great way to help decorate the dessert table. I’ve used 2 in the illustration above, but you could get away with just using one.
The great thing about these is that you can use them as a photo op too, so the kids can have their picture taken with their favorite princess.
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DESSERT TABLE CENTERPIECE
This princess centerpiece, available here, is really cute and doubles as a treat stand. This would look best raised up to give your display some height, so you could just cover a cardboard box with gift wrap and place it on top.
Alternatively, if your birthday party falls during pumpkin season make a homemade centerpiece by carving this beautiful Disney style Pumpkin Carriage (below, from Hallmark Magazine).
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PERSONALIZED PRINCESS BANNERS
Complete the scene by hanging a personalized princess themed banner above the dessert table, such as the ones below. There are lots of different designs available, including ones where you can personalize it with your own photo. Check out all the options here and also here.
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STREAMER BACKDROP
If you’re on a tight budget you can create a variation of the dessert table above by substituting the tissue paper garlands for crepe paper streamers, available here. Just twist and hang a mixture of lavender, white and pink streamers in tight vertical lines from floor to ceiling.
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PRINCESS DESSERT TABLE 2
Below is an example of how this might look.
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DISNEY PRINCESS AIRWALKER BALLOONS
As an alternative to the princess cut outs, you could use these huge princess airwalker balloons, available here.
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TISSUE POMS AND PAPER LANTERNS
Another option for a dessert table backdrop to go with these princess party ideas is to hang a cluster of pink and white pom pom decorations or paper lanterns.
Check out budget-friendly lanterns here, or regular lanterns here, or more decorative lanterns here.
Alternatively, for a more feminine look use tissue pom-poms. Check out budget-friendly pom poms here, or decorative pom poms here, or a wider range of colors here.
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DECORATING FABRIC
The lanterns / pom poms above work best if you have a plain wall behind. If not, just hang some cheap backdrop drapes or decorating fabric, such as a gossamer or netting, on the wall first. Check out all the options here.
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PRINCESS DESSERT TABLE 3
Another idea is to use scene setters to create a backdrop for your dessert table, as shown below.
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PRINCESS SCENE SETTERS
This dessert table is made from combining a couple of different scene setters.
The great thing about it is that the pieces are so big (the background images are 30ft long and the prince and princess approx 5ft tall) that you’ll be able to cover huge sections of a room with it (not just behind the dessert table) so you may not need many other decorations to go with these princess party ideas.
The background is made up of the following pieces: meadow background scene setter, sky background scene setter, and fluffy cloud props, combined with animal and nature props (which, unfortunately, have now been discontinued).
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ADD-ON’S
Then you can add these add ons, available here, from left to right: princess and Carriage prop, castle prop, and prince and his trusty steed props. If you’re using these scene setters, bear in mind that all the decorations sit flat against the wall. Therefore, I’d recommend using something three dimensional as the centerpiece so that all the decorations don’t sit on the same plane.
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ALTERNATIVE PRINCESS BACKDROPS
This princess carriage standee, available here, is 4’6″ tall so could be raised up at the back of the dessert table to create an impressive backdrop, perhaps with a curtain of crepe paper streamers behind.
Similarly, this freestanding princess photobooth background, available here, is 7’6″ tall and 3’10” wide so could easily be used as a backdrop—plus it can be personalized.
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PRINCESS PHOTO BACKDROP
There are also some impressive princess themed photographic backdrops, available here and also here, such as this Cinderella one. You can probably just pin these backdrops in place, but it might also be worth investing in a cheap photography backdrop support frame, available here.
The great thing about these support frames is that you can use them again and again to create different backgrounds for dessert tables by hanging fabric,tissue pom poms, or streamers (as shown below using a backdrop support frame).
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PRINCESS CASTLE BACKGROUND PAPER
If you want to create your own fairy tale castle backdrop, there are a number of different stone effect background papers which come on a roll like wallpaper and are great for covering large areas. Check them out here.
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CASTLE ADD-ON’S
You can then apply these castle door and window props, available here, and use this 4′ castle tower cut out, available here, to add detail.
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CASTLE BACKDROPS
These castle backgrounds, available here and also here, are a great way to theme larger areas.
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PRINCESS WALL DECALS
Another way to create a dessert table backdrop is to attach wall decals to the wall behind the dessert table. Some of these can be personalized with the birthday girl’s name and many are reusable so can be reapplied to a bedroom wall after the party. Check out the full range here.
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PRINCESS CANOPY
Finally, another way to dress your dessert table would be to hang a princess canopy like this above it. Alternatively, hang it over the dinner table where the kid’s will be eating to enclose the table and create a floaty tented effect. Check them out here.
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06 food styling & presentation
Below are some food styling and presentation tips to go with these princess party ideas.
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PRINCESS FOOD TENT CARDS
Use these Princess food tent cards, available here, (which can be personalized with your own text) to identify different dishes on a buffet / dessert table.
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TREAT BOXES
Use these miniature glass slippers, available here, as serving dishes and fill with candy on your dessert table. Similarly, you can also use these princess carriage treat boxes, available here.
Alternatively, if you’re going for a fairy tale castle theme, you could also use these castle themed treat boxes to serve pink popcorn in, or these princess castle themed ones, both available here.
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07 TABLE styling
Below are some suggestions for how to style and decorate the dining table in keeping with these princess party ideas:
ADVICE FROM A PRO
Matt’s tip
“If it’s a kid’s party, don’t feel as if you have to shy away from using movie / cartoon character-branded tableware.
I see a lot of kid’s parties that are so immaculately styled they look more like adult parties. It’s obvious the parents have designed it for themselves, rather than their child.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a professional party planner it’s to design the party for your audience, not yourself.
The reality is kids want their favorite characters to have a strong presence at their party; they don’t see this as too commercial, for them it’s just fun.
Obviously, it’s important to get the balance right, so don’t go overboard. Character plates and cups work well if combined with a solid color table cover and napkins”.
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PINK SEQUINED TABLE RUNNER
If you want to go for traditional princess party ideas, dress the table using a palate of pink and white—with a third accent color such as gold, silver, or lavender. For example, you could use a white table cover with a glittery pink sequin table runner (as shown below) and a mix of pink and gold tableware. Check out all the options here and also here.
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SILVER / GOLD SEQUINED RUNNERS
Alternatively, you might use a pale pink table cover with a gold or silver glittery runner, available here.
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ALTERNATIVE COLOR COMBINATIONS
Other color combinations that work well are pink, white, and lavender. Remember to always use three colors to avoid a candystripe effect.
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GLITTER BORDER PLACEMATS
If you’re using the sparkly gold or silver as your accent color, you might also want to consider using these gold / silver glitter border paper placemats, available here, as a charger plate with a solid color plate (white, gold, pink etc) on top.
There are also gold / silver sparkly plastic cutlery sets, available here.
Just remember, when using glittery / sparkly elements, use them sparingly – they should be an accent. Otherwise it all starts to look a bit tacky.
You can get away with a sparkly boarder placemat and cutlery with a sparkly table runner if the runner sits on top of a solid color tablecover. That way, the placemats sit on the solid color and tie together with the runner. However, if your glittery table runner covers the entire tabletop (as in the pink photo above), then only use solid color tableware—otherwise it will be too much sparkle.
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DISNEY PRINCESS TABLEWARE
If your child loves Disney princesses, don’t shy away from using branded tableware. Remember, you want the party to be fun for them. It’s not a table-styling competition. Just use it sparingly. Check out all the options here.
