Five Tips for a Fabulous & Affordable Dress-up Tea Party

There's nothing I love more than planning a party, and one of the most fun (and also most affordable) parties I've ever planned was Chicky's 3rd birthday dress-up tea party. Here are five tips for planning your own outrageously fun and adorable dress-up tea party, without breaking the bank:

1. Make or order custom invitations.

I am anti-store-bought-write-in invites. I like the invitation to show how special and unique the party is going to be, and to offer a glimpse of the fun to come. I almost always order custom invites or make them myself.

My two favorite sites for good deals on custom invites are http://www.ebay.com/ and http://www.etsy.com/.

Here is an example of a cute invite I found on ebay (similar to the invite I used for Chicky's party): Click to view Suit Me to a Tea found on ebay for $1.25/invite.

Here's a link with cute ideas for homemade tea party invites that look like this:

TIP: Use scraps from old birthday, Easter, and Valentine's Day cards to cut the tea pots!

2. Keep the food simple and pretty.

Instead of cucumber tea sandwiches and scones, I opted for these kid friendly alternatives:

• Heart-shaped peanut butter and jelly, fluffernutter, and jelly sandwiches.
  TIP: Use a heart-shaped cookie cutter, or order a Love Bites sandwich cutter/sealer at http://www.mominventors.com/.
• Sugar cookies (we made dairy-free frosted butterfly cookies)
• Fruit salad (yummy, yummy!)
• In lieu of tea, serve apple juice, grape juice, or punch

3. Use household items to create a beautiful decor.

A fancy table is all that is needed for a tea party. I used a hand-me-down pink floral table cloth. If you don't have one laying around, check e-bay or thrift shops for something in a girly color or lace. A $2 pack of paper doilies can also add to the look. To further decorate the table buy or cut some fresh flowers to place in the center or to scatter in mini vases or other fun containers. Rather than spend $50 on party store paper goods, use stuff from around the house to achieve a fancy feel and save a lot of money. Then, just add the food and a tea set (toy or real) and the look is complete.

4. Add some girly fun with crafts and dress-up activities.

• Put out a bin of dress-up clothes that can be either your own child's princess costumes, fairy wings, tiaras, and feather boas, or your own old high heels, costume jewelry, scarves, etc. In the wording of the invite suggest that the guests wear their favorite dress-up clothes.
• Serve the tea! The "tea party" itself was the biggest hit at Chicky's party. The girls loved sipping tea and passing each other cookies and sandwiches.
• Paint wooden jewelry boxes--I found small wooden boxes with a heart cut-out frame at Michael's for $1. I set up a low table with sponges and various pastel-colored paints.
• Make beaded necklaces and bracelets.

5. Make a tea bag-shaped party favor bag.
Buy white paper bags (lunch bag size) and fold the sides over and the top down and staple. Add a piece of yarn or string, and a tag to hang off the end. Write each child's name on the tag. Pre-assemble the craft kits and place in the bag as their favors.