Magical Mama Rebecca asked the other day if I had any ideas for a fairy birthday party for her soon-to-be 9 year old daughter. Do I?! We love fairy things around here and will use any occasion to have a bit of fairy fun.
Here’s a few ideas (some illustrated with photos from Victoria’s May Day birthday party yesterday)….
Fairy Wands
These are so simple, so inexpensive and so pretty and fun. We do these all the time. Just grab some different colors of ribbon, some scissors and have the kids gather small sticks. Have them select their ribbons and cut them about 2 feet long (as many as they like, but at least 4 or so) and tie them on one end of the stick. Then walk, dance, run, twirl, etc. with your lovely wand!
We also call these wizard wands, ribbon wands or magic wands, for kiddos who prefer to be wizards or other magical folks.
Face Painting
This is another simple but fabulous activity! You can use Halloween face paint, make your own (a bit of food coloring, cold cream and corn starch does the trick but it can stain your skin for a day or so if you mind!). Another really easy thing to use is cheap eyeliners and lipliners. You can pick them up for less than a dollar in all sorts of colors — blue, green, pink, etc. and then draw designs right onto your lovely fairies.
This gorgeous fairy did her own makeup for our party yesterday and she did such a good job I asked her to model for you all!
Basically, just do swirls and patterns and be artistic. If you want to get more elaborate, here’s a shot of my girls after some generous fairies painted their faces a couple of years ago.
Flower Petals
Ask your local florists and grocery store floral departments for unwanted flowers for a sweet fairy party prop. We used old flowers yesterday for our May Day party (the children always throw flower petals at “Old ManWinter” the way they did in the old days) but petals are fanciful any time of year. Whenever I have dried up flower bouquets I let the kids do “flower magic” and tear the petals off and throw them up in the air outside while making wishes. There is just something delightfully magical about tossing flower petals! We got some wonderful flowers free from one florist and paid $1 per dozen for old roses at another. It’s well worth a few dollars.
You can also use them scattered around to decorate the table or to make a path to the party.
Fairy Food
There are some easy ways to serve up fairy food.
One simple one is to just make jam sandwiches, trim the crusts and cut them into tiny squares or shapes.
You can also spread jam on a piece of white bread, top it with another, trim the crusts and roll it flat with a rolling pin. Then roll it up and use a sharp knife to cut slices to make tiny pinwheel sandwiches.
Fairies like foods that are tiny, of course, so any tiny food works well. Tarts are fun but you can also just set out lots of tiny foods like hulled strawberries with a scoop of cream cheese frosting on top. Mini muffins and mini cupcakes are also fitting, and kids love to decorate their own!
To make lovely pink fairy pop (which is also all natural), mix one can of any red or purple 100% juice concentrate with 3 cans of carbonated water (found in the soda aisle). You can add organic, edible flowers in the cups with the ice cubes if you have access to any that have not been treated with pesticides.
Make Fairy Houses
These are always a hit if you are having an outdoor party. The rule of fairy houses is that you have to assemble them entirely with natural items that you find (such as bark, fallen leaves and rocks). Children can create their fairy houses and then leave them in a secluded spot or take them home with them to put in their own yards. (I have heard that sometimes you can tell that grateful fairies have moved in because they leave a tiny thank you gift outside!)
More Fun Props
These all add more whimsy to the fairy theme:
~ bubbles
~ glitter (perhaps a trail wherever fairies may have left presents)
~ flower garlands
~ fairy wings, of course (here’s another way to make them)
This time of year I like to use potted flowers as take-home treats for party guests. You can let each child decorate a small pot with paint pens or permanent markers and then pick a flower (I just buy 6-pack flats of annuals in lots of colors) to pot up in it. You could also extend the fairy theme by stenciling or painting some fairies directly on some pots for the kids to take home if you want to skip the art time for the kids. Be sure to add glitter. Fairies love glitter! 😉
Other possibilities for party favors are fairy books, fairy wings that they make at the party, bubbles and their wands of course.
My all time favorite fairy book is A Fairy Went A-Marketing (affiliate link) by Rose Fyleman. It is delightful with amazing artwork and a must-have for every home with children in it if you ask me!
I hope some of those ideas will work for you!
I am currently finished with birthdays number one and two with their corresponding parties and we are headed to Iowa tomorrow for birthday number three. Yes, we have 3 children’s birthdays in 4 days and yes, we celebrated them each individually this year! In three different cities, no less. I am utterly sleep deprived and apologize in advance for any misspellings or nonsensical lines I may have written. 🙂
Tomorrow we are meeting some wonderful friends in Iowa to celebrate Alex’s 2nd birthday and lend them Victoria for a week! She’s going back to Nebraska with them, and I’m sure they’ll have some fairy fun down there this week (and every other sort). I’m planning a bit of a fairy party here for my other 3 while she’s gone. I picked up some cute little fairy napkins at the craft store on clearance and figured it was a sign that we had to have a fairy party! I figure we’ll have to have extra fun to make up for the fun Victoria is having, and fairies are a wonderful way to do that.
Happy Sunday!
Thank so much!
Wow! What great ideas. I’m crazy especially about the pots and plants and face-painting, and I’m sure we’ll incorporate some of the other ideas. (You know, my dd is constantly making little fairy houses outside with sticks and moss and things! In fact, once I found a fairy gravestone, It said “Here Lies Tinkerbell” and had a little cross. I found out that a paper fairy they had been playing with had ripped in an irreparable way.) I’m determined to figure out how to get photos from my camera onto the computer, so I’ll take some pictures and send them afterwards. Thanks for all the ideas and photos, and thanks for calling me “magical mamma”!
Rebecca
Thank so much!
Wow! What great ideas. I’m crazy especially about the pots and plants and face-painting, and I’m sure we’ll incorporate some of the other ideas. (You know, my dd is constantly making little fairy houses outside with sticks and moss and things! In fact, once I found a fairy gravestone, It said “Here Lies Tinkerbell” and had a little cross. I found out that a paper fairy they had been playing with had ripped in an irreparable way.) I’m determined to figure out how to get photos from my camera onto the computer, so I’ll take some pictures and send them afterwards. Thanks for all the ideas and photos, and thanks for calling me “magical mamma”!
Rebecca