Middle Gal's Snow White Party (Finally!!!) ;)

After weeks of postponement, we finally had Middle Gal's friend party today. :)  It actually went amazingly well. I was completely ready an hour before the party's start time for probably the first time EVER!!  Normally, I'm running around finishing all of the last-minute details minutes before the guests arrive!

The house looked really nice...although I went over the most important instructions of the day with my girls before everyone got there:  under NO circumstances was anyone to open my bedroom door.  Nor were we to discuss the fact that we couldn't open Mommy's bedroom door...or why.  (Let's just say that on party days, my bedroom serves as a hall closet for all of the last minute boxes and items I can't fit anywhere else!)  :}  It really was a shame...I'd love to be organized enough to give a complete tour of the house without the fear of that ONE ROOM that you just pray no one will enter! (Hey, just keeping it real here...lest all of you think I'm some perfect supermom-homemaker or something!) ;)

Anyway, the party itself was lovely.  I go for a very low-key birthday party approach, especially for the 6 year old age range.  No games or special activities.  We have free time in the playroom until everyone arrives, we eat cake (or whatever dessert we're serving), we open presents, and then we have more free playtime.  It usually works without a hitch and keeps me a lot less stressed (trying to organize anything involving glue, scissors, and a group of Kindergartners is an instant strain on my sanity!).

My mom and aunt really outdid themselves with the cake/dessert this year.  Middle Gal requested cookies and Hershey's kisses instead of an actual cake.  Here's what they came up with:

And for those of you wanting a closer look:

Adorable...need I say more? 

"Snow White" is a friend of Barbie's little sister, Chelsea (formerly known as Kelly).  I found this one in the Valentine's Day goodies at Target.  I bought her specifically for her hair and eye color, and because she was wearing that perfect red Snow White bow in her hair!  The kitty came with another Chelsea friend doll.  

Her clothing is made out of candy clay (it has a similar look to fondant, but tastes better), and her skirt (underneath the clay) is made of cake.  My mom and aunt wrapped the doll in plastic wrap before decorating her to protect her from the cake and frosting.  They cooked the cake in a small bowl to make it the right shape, and then cut a hole in the center so there would be a place for the doll's legs.

These lovely trees were made out of star-shaped gingerbread cookies of different sizes.  Mom and my aunt frosted them with green frosting, put a skewer in the largest cookie, and stacked them on top of each other, placing each star in a different direction so that the points would look more like tree branches.  At the very top, they used frosting to hold together the small cookies and then added a frosting-covered Hershey's Kiss to make the point.  The bushes surrounding the trees were Kisses decorated with frosting and flower-shaped sprinkles.  Yum! :)

A closer look at the bushes.

They also used the candy clay to make letters on the cake board.

Middle Gal loved her cake and cookies!

She was really excited when she found out the kitty was plastic and she could keep it!  (Kitties are her favorite animal.)

I loved the detail on the sleeves! :)

It was actually fairly inexpensive to decorate and provide goodies for this party, which is always nice when you're on a tight budget. :)

The tablecloth was sent to us from my mom's cousin (the one who sends us so many hand-me-down goodies).  There were several leftovers from her daughter's Snow White party, which was such a blessing!  The tablecloth was still in it's packaging!

This cute Snow White wishing well decoration was also among the party leftovers.  It took me a while to figure out how to get it together without instructions, but I finally got it! ;)

The plates and napkins were from Dollar Tree.

And speaking of Dollar Tree, almost all of the goodies for the goody bags were Dollar Tree specials! ;)  The bags themselves came in a package of around 25.

Each bag had a sheet of stickers (cut from a large $1 sticker pad-Dollar Tree), a princess spinning top (4 for $1-Dollar Tree), a princess mini notepad (4 for $1-Dollar Tree), two Snow White crayons (only one pictured...$1 for a box of princess crayons-Michael's...I bought 4 boxes), and a necklace and ring (all courtesy of my cousin...she's given us tons of play jewelry over the years and I've had it set aside).

Today, when I realized I hadn't gotten Middle Gal a balloon (which is a long-standing tradition at our house), my mom and my aunt found a princess one at Dollar Tree.  It even had Snow White on it! :)

All in all, it was a great party.  Middle Gal had a wonderful time with her friends and got some nice gifts, too.  Even her Kindergarten teacher stopped by to celebrate with us! :)

So, one party down...two to go.  Next weekend is Little Gal's Cinderella party.  I really hope I know what I'm doing, throwing two parties in a row.  At least this next one is just family! ;)