I’m a little bit in shock. Somehow my beautiful teeny tiny baby girl is four next month. Four is officially a little girl and I will admit I’m a little bit scared. Being four means heading off to school and the end of our afternoons snuggling on the sofa or crafting in the kitchen. On a positive note being four also means I get to have fun with the birthday planning!

Over the past couple of years we have had lots of fun birthday party themes. There was a teddy bears picnic, a mermaid party and a colourful circus theme.

Molly is definitely a girly girl. She adores the pink and the pretty. Most importantly she is obsessed with all things Disney Princess. They are her absolute favourite and she loves nothing better than watching a spot of Cinderella, Ariel or Belle. I have to admit I’ve rather enjoyed watching my Disney favourites again although they do loose their appeal after the 100th time!

The Theme

I know the obvious would be Disney princess and probably what Molly would love most but I wanted to try and keep it slightly more child like for one more year. Taffeta and Tiaras can wait. I am also mindful that a lot of her little friends are boys and therefore wouldn’t really appreciate this too much! I couldn’t deviate too far from the Disney theme though so am taking inspiration from another favourite of hers, Tinkerbell, and all the woodland beauty that entails. I’m thinking of mini toadstools, fairy wings and pixie dust. Molly would probably adore this Tinkerbell outfit too if I was going all out on the theme.

I always have grand plans of everything I would love to create for the party but in reality I normally run out of time and never manage it. As such I’m going to try and focus on a few key areas to work the theme in to and hopefully create a little bit of Pixie Hollow in my home.

 

The Decor

I am going to try and keep it simple with the decor. Being November I don’t think creating a mini woodland in the garden is going to work! It also means that guests are likely to be spread around every room and I don’t fancy decorating the whole house. I am therefore planning on creating a woodland inspired table where I can display the cake, snacks and general goodies. I would adore to create a little woodland glen with some pretty fabric hung from trees and piles or cushions but that will have to wait until the summer. Unless I manage to make one in the corner of the lounge!

We recently had some trees chopped down in the garden so I am planning on using some wood slices as platters for food. If I am feeling adventurous I may add a strip of fake moss down the middle as a table runner but it all likelihood it will just be green paper (you have to be realistic after all!).

I have seen some lovely leaf Garlands on etsy which would look really nice strung behind the table. We may do some home made versions with real leaves as Molly will love going out to find them for this. Ferns and florals definitely need to be featured and hopefully I can create some simple little jam jars full to adorn the table.

Finally there will of course be little tinkerbells and her fairy friends scattered about. I was planning on getting Molly these for her birthday so they will double up as table decorations dotted amongst the cakes and flowers.

The Food

As a cake baker you would think I would be creating some wondrous creation! I feel a lot of pressure to get the cake right when in reality the girls would probably prefer a good old chocolate caterpillar like we had as children! I am torn between going full on tinkerbell in pretty pastel shades or to create a more rustic woodland affair. This is definitely much more my style and I can envisage layers of cake piled with buttercream and adorned with fresh flowers, greenery and little animal figurines. Oh, and of course some Tinkerbell dolls! Little toadstool cupcakes will look super cute around the base and scattered over the table.

There are some really love snack ideas including strawberry toadstools, chipmunk banana chips and cucumber flowers. Those are the healthy options but there will definitely be some more sweets added in. I personally want a stack of Doughnuts as well!

The Crafts and Games

It wouldn’t be a party of mine without some element of crafting. I love it and seem to have passed this love on to Molly. I always try to have some fun element at her birthday whether it be cupcake decorating or making mermaid headdresses last year.
To fit with the fairy woodland theme I have a few ideas in mind. First up is some cute Tinkerbell cookie wands. Molly and I can prebake the cookies and then on the day the children can add icing and sprinkles to their hearts content. These sort of edible activities always seem to be a winner in my books!

Creating a little fairy house would be just perfect. I am planning on getting some cheap wooden bird boxes that that children can then paint and glitter to make their own fairy hideaway. I am also a little bit in love with the idea of creating fairy gardens. This is something I did lots as a child and hoping the girls love it as much as I did. We used to add stone paths and mini plants, little egg cups of water as ponds and mossy grass lawns. Just adorable.
It’s always nice to have some games to play as the kids get older. The classics such as musical bumps and pass the parcel are always a winner but I am planning a ‘lost things’ treasure hunt. For those of you that haven’t seen Tinkerbell, lost things are little treasures that wash up in Pixie Hollow from the mainland. I am going to hide little treasures and favourite objects such as toys and necklaces around the house and the children have to find them all to win a prize.

The Party Bags

Having been to a lot of parties I try to steer away from the traditional party bags full of plastic toys and sweets. I like to find something that the children can use again after. For the little girls I want to make these cute fairies in a jar you can see in the gallery below. I am saving jam jars which I will fill with moss and a little tinker bell toy.

I’m not sure the boys will necessarily appreciate a tinker bell doll but I adore the mini terrarium idea so may fill theirs with woodland creatures or provide them with a little bundle of stick crayons.

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What party ideas have you had for your small children. I do love a party theme so please do share all. I just hope I don’t get a touch of the Green Eyed Monster and change my idea!!

Image credits: Dessert Table by Dulcet Creative | Deer Cake | Floral Cake | Shoes | Punch Bowl by Dulcet Creative | Crayons by Dulcet Creative | Fairy Houses |