Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Throw back Princess Tiana-style


One upon a time this sweet three year old girl would gaze into the evening sky, find the first star, and say, "Dear G-d, make my skin brown like Tiana." If only she had Mama Ode as her actual Mamma, perhaps it would have come true. That not being the case, however, I did my best to give her the Tiana-treatment for her fourth birthday. I am throwing it back to 2011 to relive the details. The party was held at a party center that already offered a "Tiana" package, meaning they would wrap the walls in a scene-setter. Not my favorite, but of course I added a lot of details!

As I have mentioned mentioned before my preschool parties followed a strict formula. Guests were always greeted with a craft to keep them occupied while others arrived. This craft was to decorate aprons and decorate yourself with some Mardi Gras beads! In case you have forgotten Disney's take on the Princess and the Frog, it set in Jazz Age New Orleans and is about a regular girl who "sure can cook!" It is a girl-power movie with a prince, a frog, a little voodoo, and a lot of Disney Magic thrown in thrown in! Since my girl also loved to cook, it seemed a natural fit to make the party all about cooking.


When all the guests arrived, we began the cooking class. Each child had a station with a mason jar and instructions to make a dry beignet mix. The at-home instructions were printed on a cute tag for them to tie on the jar when they were finished. There were also instructions for the kids to make "Po' Boys and Girls" (assorted finger sandwiches) and "Dr. Faciliers' Canes" (fruit kebobs). We served salad and gumbo too, of course!


After cooking we went to the back of the room, which was set for the royal feast. I handcrafted the centerpieces, trying my hand a styro-foam sculpture for the first and last time on those fleur de lis!

True to my old standard party formula, I brought the group back together after lunch for a game. In this case it was a Pinata that big sister and I made for the occasion.

Next up was a good ole' bounce house and dance party followed by this awesome cake and "swamp water":

It was a great way to honor our sweet princess!

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