Planning a Girl's 9th Birthday Party - Part 2

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Getting Things Together

After solidifying the theme with the birthday girl and thoroughly researching party decoration ideas via Pinterest I was ready to hit the stores with my shopping list! 

Decor

I ran out to my local Goodwill Outlet store to look for decor and fashion show accessories. If you haven't been to one yet, I highly recommend the experience! Just like any retail outlet, this is where all the unwanted items go for one last chance to make a sale at rock bottom prices. Here the items are actually priced by the pound and most items cost less than $1 per pound! For example: approximately four pairs of jeans for $3.50. So you can imagine how cheap lightweight decorations will be! If you live in the Kansas City area here is a list of stores to choose from! If you live outside of the KC Metro area you will have to find you local Goodwill's website and search for stores within their organization.

I was really hoping to find the perfect chandelier to paint and embellish with strings of pearls and gem stone beads. Lowe and behold in the first bin I peered into sat the lighting fixture of my dreams! Nothing too big, a simple two tiered candle stick style fixture with a chain and the base to attach to the ceiling. (It's a good idea to make sure all the parts are in place, in case there is an arm missing or something) All the cords are intact, although, I have no intentions of wiring this into to electricity, it's just for show! It's a polished brass look for now, but we will fix that later. 

I also found a polished brass candle holder fashioned to look like an English street lamp, the kind with the enclosed glass case around the bulb. Perfect for an electric tea light candle on the Tea Party table! I will jazz it up with some pink paint and glitter and what not. There was also a tin bucket with a cutout of a castle in one side and it was already covered in purple glitter, score! And a picture holder with a small dress form and a miniature bridal dress that i will  dye a fun color. I will either use the picture holders to display her birthday cards she receives or to post a sign for "Desserts" "Tea Time" or something like that. Besides that my hubby came across these blue square vinyl stencil looking things. Not sure what they are actually but I plan to use them as everyday decor in her bedroom. I might cover that ugly light fixture with them, hmm...

Now, I also found a large canvas look wall art piece in pink and brown. It was still intact but dirty around the edges. They priced it at $2. SOLD! I plan to paint over it and make my own subway art. That's much better than going out and buying a canvas from the craft store for $20! 

For the rest of my Decor needs such as streamers and balloons I will hit up my local dollar store. I can make my own confetti from the super cheap tissue paper as well as the fluffy tissue balls that you see all over pinterest! They have paper doilies there too that you can make bunting out of and poster paint, glitter, and googly eyes if need be.

Fashion Show Props

I came across two very cute change purses in nearly new condition. One was metallic gold alligator and the other was covered in blue glitter. I found a feather boa in black and red and a gold sequined covered skirt. I topped off my shopping cart with a pink belt and a scarf like headband. Finally, I found all 4 take home goodie totes for the party guests! Two of them had an animal print on them, one was mesh with a row of fish around the top and the last one had a "Post Cards from Paris" print on the front. The girls will get to take home the fashion show props they picked out.

Again, I love the dollar store for things like this! I know my local store carries long satin look gloves in pinks and purples as well as tiaras, princess wands, sunglasses and the like. You never know what else you will find there! 

Activities

I couldn't believe my eyes when I found a Fancy Nancy board game in an outlet bin. "The Perfect Parfait" game is a race against your opponents to collect the correct game pieces that build the perfect parfait! It's recommended for children ages 4+, so it may be a bit below their skill level. I think it would be fun anyway, we will see what they think!  

The dollar store also comes in really handy for cheap craft materials! I will check there first for the flip flops and ribbon I will need for the "Decorate Your Own Flip Flops" craft.

Snacks

Again, it's a good idea to check you dollar store for budget friendly snacks and cake mix. I will be picking up my "9" candle and cupcake papers there and probably the paper plates, cups, crazy straws, drink umbrellas, and plastic cutlery. But, for a great price on bulk amounts of hard candies, like swirly lollipops and rock candy on a stick, check out Oriental Trading Co. I will be filling my desert table with sweet treats from this website! Best of all i can order them in specific colors to match the theme! YAY!

Ambiance

For background noise I compiled a list of popular party songs across every genre from the 80's to the present. I added some of my favorite pop songs from the 90's and 2000's and did some research on what's hot now. I used YouTube to create a play list of 64 songs that I made sure had no explicit language or inappropriate images. There is everything from The Go Go's to the Backstreet Boys to Fergie to Imagine dragons to Taylor Swift and Montell Jordan. That list may continue to increase as I still have 2 months to plan things! Feel free to check it out here. 

SO that's where I am so far! I feel like I have accomplished a LOT! But there is still so much left to do... And that means much more to post! In case you missed it, click here to go back to Part 1. If your ready to see how it turned out see Part 3!

Until Next Time,

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