Happy Birthday Bethany!

My gorgeous little girl had her 4th birthday on Thursday.  I'm still in shock as to where the last 4 years have gone!  I decided to throw her a party - she's never had one before but as she has got lots of friends at playgroup, it seemed like a nice idea (little did I know it would feel like I was planning the royal wedding!)  Anyway, a fairytale theme was the obvious choice, because Bethany loves dressing up but lots of her friends are boys so we didnt want them to be left out.  This gave lots of opportunity for me and my very talented family and friends to contribute some craftiness. 

I made Bethany's princess dress from a women's red velvet dress and some fabric remnants.  I machine embroidered the crest on the front, which I think made it extra special.  She wore  the red tiara I had for my wedding. I also put together a costume for my mother-in-law.

My mum decorated the cakes, made the table decorations and made her own flower fairy costume!  

 

My sister prepared all the food and my friend Sally made a "Pin the star on the castle" game.

 

The adults dressed up too.  I was a queen, my husband was Captain Hook, my brother wore his armour (he is in a medieval re-enactment group) and my sister was an angel.

Along with the traditional party games -  Pass the Parcel, Musical Bumps etc, we had a craft table too where the children could decorate a tiara or a shield.  I put together a scrapbook of how I planned the party and asked my family to write messages in it as a keepsake.  I will add the photos to it when I get them printed. I think everyone had a good time but I won't be planning another party in a hurry!