Bounced Out of the Craft Store

Dear AC Moore,

Thank you for all the years of good service and quality merchandise. It seems I am always looking for just the right item but unable to find exactly what I want. Your stores have allowed me to make what ever it was I was looking for, therefore allowing me to have exactly what I was looking for.

Tonight all of that changed. I will now purchase the items I need on line with another supplier or at Ben Franklin if I need it right away. Why this sudden change?

I know it was almost time for the store to close but I knew exactly what I wanted and where it was (invitation ink stamp). My little girl and I scurried between two employees who were standing fixed in their spots blocking the isle a good deal and reached the stamps (2nd isle in on the left). Quickly I grabbed the stamp I need and a very sweet voice came over the intercom saying “It is now 8:58 and our store will be closing in two minutes. Please bring your purchases to the register.” I was not the only customer in the store. I saw a couple go in just ahead of us. As I bent down to reached for the over sized black ink pad I heard a store clerk say in a very stern voice “Put. That. Back. We. Are. Closed. You‘re gonna have-ta leave.” She was standing at the end of the isle with her arms folded and a very cross look on her face.

She didn’t give me a chance to say anything about the fact that we were ready, the two minutes left announcement or that I would be using a credit card so no one would have to recount their pre-counted registers. I slowly placed the stamp back in it’s place and kept my eyes fixed on the employee as if she were a wild animal and any sudden moves would result in a fatality. I kept Snow White strategically behind me, incase the creature decided to attack.

As Snow White and I walked past the registers to the exist there were 6 or more employees all standing close together with their arms folded, angry-someone-pissed-in-my-cherios-this-morning, haven’t eaten anything all day because of it AND I’m-gonna-eat-you-and-your-little-girl-too looks on their faces It was a mixer of the God Father’s body guards and the Wicket Witch from the Wizard of Oz.

I knew the store was closing and I was going to be quick and not inconvenience anyone. Apparently, they do not want my business and I am personally not welcome.

I admit I went in to the store just before it closed but to be told by an employee “Put. That. Back. We. Are. Closed. You‘re gonna have-ta leave.” That was completely uncalled for. On top of that to have the Giodo squad form a line? Did they really think that little Snow White all dressed in pink was such a danger? What was so important that it couldn’t wait until the store closed?

Not only will I not do my own personal shopping there but I will no longer purchase supplies for our Brownie and Girl Scout Troops at your store. I will also tell my parents who will tell all the organizations they participate in who will no doubt advise them to stop using your stores. My sister and brothers will also do the same. I plan on telling everyone I work with about my experience at your store. The last time a store pissed me off in such a manner (actually it was worse) they were out of business the very next month (smaller East coast chain). I am by no means saying I have “pull” but word of mouth carries more weight than any other form of advertisement. Should those who read this post stop buying from their local AC Moore? Only if your service is as poor as what was experienced by me on this night.

In retrospect…..

I had planned to use Fans as invitations for Snow White’s Birthday party. This way she could discretely pass out invitations at school where she sees most of her friends. The fans I ordered (because no one way out here in the country has paper fans) arrived with printing on both sides. Thus I would not have been able to use the meanie AC Moore invitation ink stamp.

Was this God’s way of saying to me “You have spent ENOUGH on this party! Stop it already!”

Given that I did a break down of last year’s expenses for Snow White birthday bash I will do the same this year. You wont believe what I went through to get it all together this year. The party looks simple enough from the photos I posted but there are so many more photos I didn’t post.

P.S. I haven’t visited the AC Moore shop since that dreadful night. Still a bit pissed at the pissy attitude.

Japanese Tea Party Birthday

There once was a little princess who was entranced by all things Asian.



She thought of how wonderful it would be to have her friends over for Tea.



She searched high and low for the perfectly beautiful tea for her guest.



A delictible pastry perfection of Black Forest Chocolate with Raspberry filling and Cheesecake icing would make a fine treat for their tasetbuds.



For the feast she chose...





Then the Princess comanded that "Everyone come inside and let us enjoy ourselves."



And enjoy ourselves we did!













As the merriment went on for hours and hours the Queen grew exhausted to the point her vision was going....





Thank you everyone for stopping by.

Time, Is Not On Your Side….Not On My Side…

Time, Is Not On Your Side….Not On My Side…
I have been “busier than a one legged man in a butt kicking contest” lately and neglecting my blog, terribly. There are times when I think I can blog a little but then I realize it is midnight.

Here is what has had me so busy lately.

At the office, My work load has tripled.

Auntie D’s Birthday dinner where the family meets her boyfriend and Aunt C shows how angry crazy she is.

My Name is now a curse word in 7 countries

The search for ManSon’s car.

I had a visitor from Germany! A fellow business woman on her first trip to the US. She is so much like me in business and as a Mom.

ManSon brought home a stray…Person.

Special meeting at Snow White’s school - She might have special needs.

Yeah! I have a new co-worker to help lighten my work load. Well, he will be very helpful after I train him.

A trip to plan for Oldest Daughter & ManSon’s Birthdays

Snow White’s Birthday - Trying to keep it simple may be more work for me than last year and actually cost more! UGH!

Oldest Daughter’s Senior Prom

Oldest Daughter’s Graduation

Super Weekends with Grandma and Grandpa

Insurance Companies may start to look at me sideways

The IRS Thanks me. And Says Hurry Up! We need to give you Money!

Disney Trip coming and I need advise…lots of advise!

Brownies - Loving it!

Death in the Family

Why people wear onions on their ears

Shopping for a new car - Again

No professional can fix my electrical problems (still going on today!) Scratch that it was fixed by me today

I get kicked out of a craft store by their knee cap breaking bouncers

All of this along with my normal day ….

I have not disappeared off the face of the earth. I will return with details on all the above. Hopefully this week. I am sure no one missed me but I truly miss all of you. I have tried to comment in between the time I sleep and bathroom breaks. Don’t worry, I did wash my hands before the few comments I did manage to leave.

Slumber Party ....3rd part and still goes on

On to the Fashion show! Drama came up to me and asked if it would be ok to put make up on the girls. I said it was ok since they could wash their faces before they go to sleep. To my surprise, out of her over night bag she produced a complete line of cosmetics. I am not talking about clear lip gloss and powder. I mean several shades of eye shadow, blush, lipstick, mascara, the works. I was amazed at how well Drama applied the makeup to each and every girl! (except for Snow White who declined the offer) I tell you no lie I was impressed! She was an expert with a makeup brush. I did not know how to apply make up until I was 16 and believe you me Drama at the tender age of 8 did a far better job than I did at 16.

I brought out the boxes of dance costumes and showed the girls Snow White’s dress up closet. They could pick out whatever outfit they wanted! Snow White is a bit smaller than her friends so an outfit may look alright on Snow White but a bit smaller…uh shorter on them. Then there was a request for shoes so we pulled out all of Snow White’s shoes, even the shoes she had not worn yet. To my surprise many of the shoes no longer fit Snow White but they fit TV Star. I told her she could take home all the shoes that fit her. Unfortunately there were two girls who could not fit into Snow White’s shoes so out came Mommy’s flats which barely fit them (Yes, I have small feet size 5). Sorry, I was not going to risk one of them missing gymnastics due to twisting an ankle in my heels. I was instructed to wait in the sunroom for the show to start. Having forgotten to charge the video camera or check the status of the disk for the digital camera I was left with a disposable camera.

Drama came out wearing a beautiful blue dress with some sparkle to it. She announced the show was about to start and lined up the girls in the kitchen. Drama was the MC saying things like “Here is our fabulous kitty. Watch her do the cat walk in style” Come on girls strut like you mean it!” Each girl was given 1 ½ minutes “on stage” to model and strike their poses. They were dressed up as ballerinas, gymnasts, cheerleaders, Disney characters, Tea Party Ladies, Dorothy, school teacher, and others that I cannot remember off hand. Pup was also in the fashion show wearing one of his shirts and often uses as an accessory by several of the girls. One of the girls struck several poses of fierce kitty, nose crinkled up, lips pursed and an “I’m going to get you” look on her face, hands clawing at the air and I was a bit scared. I so did not see that coming from this sweet shy little girl. Did I mention I was scared?

About half way through the “Fashion Show” some of the girls gleefully shouted out which outfit they wanted to wear next. Um Next? I thought this was something we would only run through once. Apparently we were not all on the same page. The rest of the girls heard this and even though standing in line for their first turn some started yelling “I calling _____ outfit!” You know sort of “calling it” like we use to when we were kids “I call shot gun”. or “I call the window seat!”

Halfway through the second stage walk I ran out of film but that did not stop them, they continued for another hour changing and striking poses. Oh well that kept them entertained while I readied the next craft. To my surprise they were not ready for another craft nor did they want to help put the outfits back. The outfits were left out “In case we want to do it again in a few minutes.” That was fine with me.

Since they were not ready to do another craft we decided it was movie time! Snow White wanted to watch TV Star on TV. I spoke with TV Star’s mother earlier in the day. She saw the clips of her daughter when it was on but TV Star had not yet seen herself on the TV show. This was exciting! Everyone rushed to the family room screaming with excitement! It took us awhile to get to the part with TV Star but it was so worth the look on all their faces! All the girls jumped up and down yelling “There she is!! There she is!! That’s you! It’s really you!”

What was the TV Show? It was VH-1’s Little Beauties. Yes, a pageant documentary. Drama and Gymnast made several comments such as “Pageant girls are so fake! How can anyone be real when they have to be so fake with all that make up and stuff. It’s a real shame they make those girls do pageants.” Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I am not about to sway them in to thinking otherwise. TV Star, Cheer Girl and Snow White all heard the comments but it didn’t bother them in the least. If that is what their parents are teaching them then so be it. Never mess with the values and opinions children have learned from their parents, so long as it is not harmful to others.

Drama mentioned the girls teeth looked a bit “different, sort of too perfect.” Snow White ran upstairs and came back smiling to show off her “fake teeth.” Snow White and her friends giggled themselves silly and ended up in giggling pile on the floor. I love that she has such a good sense of humor. While watching the documentary Drama and Gymnast both mentioned a few more times their disdain for pageants.



The girls looked over Snow White’s collection of crowns and asked her questions about what she does at a pageant. With all the questions and such I thought maybe they would like to watch a pageant DVD with Snow White as one of the contestants. She picked out the Glamour Girls DVD which with all the girls lining up across the stage for “Beauty Line up.” Immediately the girls start asking which one is Snow White. I tell them “You point her out when you see her come on to the stage.” I had to laugh as they pointed out just about every blonde that walked on to the stage. Their thinking was pageants are so fake that Snow White’s hair would have been changed from ebony black to sunny blonde! Most of the girls in the group wore glitz dresses and were indeed blonde. Snow White wore a flower girl dress as did just a few others and there were one or two other brunettes in her group. The girls finally picked out Snow White when the camera did a close up of the girls faces. As we watched Snow White do her beauty walk, the girls were glued to the TV and chattered with excitement. I really did not wish to watch the whole DVD so after the beauty walk we went on to the next activity.

Although Drama and Gymnast had a few negative things to say about pageants they were excited to see the documentary and the pageant DVD. They also said they watch Top Model religiously with their Moms and have “definite plans” to try out for Top Model next year. I said nothing but I am sure their parents will let them know Top Model is for adults not 8 year olds. I did watch an episode of Austraila’s Top Model and I was shocked that this is what the girls wanted. Grown women crying, dressing up in skimpy, sexy underwear and bearing most of their body in the rest of the outfits. Again, I do not think it is right for me to interject my opinion when they are following their mothers. After all, it is only a TV show right?

Make-your-own-sundae was a big hit with most of the girls but one. Sweetie would much rather have apples and peanut butter. Remember, I said before her parents have taught her well. She did not request the different desert out of robotic regard to her parents. You could tell she genuinely wanted the apples and peanut butter. I immediately went on to cutting up one of the apples while the rest of the girls attempted to top each other by seeing who could manage the most toppings on their ice cream cups without too much spill over. Sweetie stood right next to me monitoring every move of the knife against the apple. She thanked me profusely for taking the time to make her special snack. She really appreciated this simple task. I assured her it was no trouble at all.

After the girls finished their sundaes we started on the bird houses. The girls painted their bird houses and decorated them with flowers, fake birds and other craft what-nots. The bird houses turned out beautiful! I told the girls they could either keep the bird houses for themselves or give them to their mothers on Mother’s Day. I had many different tubes of paint but only one tube of each color. The girls were showing evidence that they were indeed getting sleepy. There were a few mean comments which I quickly put an end to. One girl actually said to Snow White “Just because it is your birthday does not mean you get to be treated more special than me. I am your guest so you just sit there and wait.” This was in response to Snow White asking to put a dollop of paint on her paper plate. The girl was not using the paint at the time but planned to use it next. All the girls are very sweet, it was the late hour that brought out the few grouchy comments.

When they finished their bird houses a few said they were ready to sleep. I thought that would be a GREAT idea! It was midnight and they had accomplished their goal to stay up all night. I was surprised we did not have enough time to do all of the activities and games. Oh well, we all had a great time and no one was standing around bored. Did I mention it was only a FEW girls who said they were tired? Sweetie was getting a little upset saying over and over again that her parents would be upset if they knew she staid up late. I assured her they know she is at a slumber party and most girls stay up until midnight at slumber parties. Now about half of the girls were making their way to their sleeping bags. The other half wanted to do more crafts so I put out the Barbie sunglass kits and they started on them. What could go wrong ? Half wanted to sleep and the other half were quietly doing another activity in another room. It turns out each and every girl has a different “thing” they do that helps them fall asleep. A few need the light on to sleep and the rest cannot sleep with the light on. Others need a TV, radio or fan on. I was not about to lug a TV into the room so the girls settled for a radio and small isolating fan. I turned off the lights in the room but left the light in the bathroom on and the door cracked enough to spread a little light at one end of the room. The girls who did not want the light on moved their sleeping bags to the other end of the room. Snow White finished her Barbie sunglasses and headed for her sleeping bag. She sleeps with the lights off, a sleep mask on, needs no noise or other special things to fall asleep. At this point she was so tired she would have slept through glairing stadium lights and a big brass band playing right next to her sleeping bag. She and three other girls were out in a matter of minutes.

There were four girls who got their second wind. They were awake and ready to move on to the next activity…making sleep masks and crowns for their dolls and then decorating them. Around 2:30 AM they finished this activity and wanted to play dress up again. I noticed I was getting a bit grouchy so before I said anything, and I mean anything, I said it to myself about 5 or 6 times first. When they ran to Snow White’s room to dress up I told them I would be down stairs watching TV and that is what I did. I watched TV until 4:30 AM. Since I no longer her the pitter patter of their feet running across the hardwood floors I went to check on them, they were fast asleep in Snow White’s room. Finally, relief had come and I could sleep.

I want you to know it is not my intention to make you read so much. I just want to remember all of this some day. Also this was written 5/10/07 and regular unleaded gas was $2.89 that morning and by lunch time it was $2.95 and premium was $3.25.

THE SLUMBER PARTY...Take One

Have you ever had a party where you had to run out to the store for some forgotten item? Well, that was not the case at this party! I had everything under control. Except a few birthday presents I ordered on line. They were in transit via the US Post Office who apparently does not like me. Snow White could not have care less about presents. She was too excited about the party, having so many of her friends over and most importantly - her first time hosting a Slumber Party.

ManSon was a huge help. He washed the dishes, moved the furniture out of the living room, swept floors, moved boxes, cleaned out the sunroom and picked up Snow White at Daycare. While he was picking her up I decorated the house, prepare all the food, sequestered the kitties in the basement and generally set up for the party. When they came home she jumped up and down saying how she loved the decorations and how I set up the umbrella beach chairs in the living room. She really enjoyed setting the dinning room table with me. Opening the American Girl Party set was like opening up a present. A happy squeal accompanied each little thing she pulled out of the box. "Mommy look at this cute little dolly cup!" Look! Sporks for the dolls just like at school! A Game! There is a GAME in the box! This went on for every thing that she picked up. We then set the table with the matching table cloth, placemats, napkins & rings, etc. When she spotted a large Princess box in the kitchen she opened one of the outside windows and "Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! It's the Princess cake I wanted!" The party had not started and she was ecstatic already! ManSon decided he wanted to visit with his friends while Snow White had her party. I completely understand that an 18 year old boy would not want to hang out with a bunch of 8 year old girls.

The Guest Arrive...Introduction to the party-ers

First guest was Gymnast, who arrive half an hour early. The girls dash out to the back yard, running and playing with Pup. This was the first time I met Gymnast Mom and she is full of life and all around wonderful. She walked through the house repeating "I just love your house. It reminds me of our last house. I think I'm going to cry." She told me her son will soon be 7 years old and is a very special little boy, he has CP. I also found out they live just up the road from us. I exclaimed "I know exactly where you live!" On my way to drop Snow White off at school I had seen a school van picking up her son. It would only be a 3 minute walk to their house. Yeah! We are finding friends within walking distance.

Next to arrive was American Girl. I call her this since she was very prepared for an American Girl party. She not only had an American Girl doll but all of her clothes were also American Girl and she packed everything in an American Girl backpack. I like her Mom already. I would have done the very same thing. As I hold the front door open for our new guests, Snow White and Gymnast come in the kitchen door with Pup. To our surprise Pup runs straight out the front door. I shake hands with American Girl’s Mom and run right past her! I run down the street followed by Snow White, Gymnast, American Girl and both of her parents. As we chase the quick footed Pup the girls are screaming, this screaming alarms our neighbors and brings ALL of them outside. Now I am not only running down the street followed by 3 little girls and a set of parents I just met but now joining our marathon are all the neighbors on our street. When we near the end of the street Pup bolts out in front of a car!! In the span of a seconds we have 3 little girls SCREAMING NO!!!!, thoughts going through my head "Please No. Not our Pup. Not in front of the girls! Not on Snow White's Birthday!! The car screeches to a halt and a neighbor at the end of the street quickly scoops up Pup. Thank you God for sparing Pup and the girls. I am out of breath as I walk back to the house holding Pup. On our long walk back I thank the girls, the parents and wave gratefully to each of the neighbors. American Girl's parents and I laugh all the way back. Pup goes in to the basement with the cats until the rest of the guests arrive.

Sweetie arrives next. She is a very sweet and well mannered little girl. Her parents have taught her well in how to speak to others, to always respect her elders, what is important and what to eat. She is dropped off by her Mother. I had also met her briefly at the Curriculum Fair. I had met Sweetie's Dad and Step Mom a few times when Sweetie hosted a few slumber parties. I had no idea her Mother was still around. All three of them seem to be very nice people.

I knew Drama would be a late arrival due to gymnastics class. She arrived around 7:30 pm with her lovely Mom. Our girls were inseparable at the Curriculum Fair. Drama joined the girls in the backyard as soon as she placed her belongings behind her beach chair. Her Mom and I chatted a little bit as she oohed and awed at the decorated table. She told me they also live close by but right now I cannot recall how close. I need to figure that out since I do want to invite Drama over again.

Cheer Girl arrived a little while later with her Mom. Cheer Girl is a fantastic cheerleader, gymnast and national pageant winner. Her Mom is both a pageant and cheer coach. We have known each other for about 2 years. Cheer Girl does print model work and has been in a commercials too. They came from out of state and Mom’s GPS had a little malfunction on the way to our house. She called for some directions and arrived safe and sound. We sat in the sunroom chatting while watching the girls play in the backyard. She mentioned something about baby proofing their house and I thought nothing of it. Then she came right out and said, “You do know that I am having a baby don’t you?” I was surprised and very happy for her. She laughed and said “I’m 7 months pregnant and you didn’t even notice?” How in the world could I not notice especially since we chatted for about half an hour before she told me? Well, she was right in front of me and never stood sideways so she still looked tall and thin to me. When she turned to the side her pregnancy became apparent to her sort-of-blind-friend. We talked about the cost between when our older daughters were little and the price of baby equipment today. Playpens were $30-$50 then but now are $99 or more. The same for highchairs, walkers (stunned to actually find a few), etc. I felt awful having her drive all the way to our house! My goodness she is 7 months pregnant! If it had been me I would have had to stop for bathroom breaks every 5 minutes. The party just would not have been the same with out daughter but I would have so understood if she said they could not make it. Driving to another state for a slumber party while 7 months pregnant? Yeah, in my book that wouldn’t have happened. It is really great to have such a wonderful friend but I wouldn’t have asked her to do all of that driving had I known.

TV Star Girl went through heck traveling to our house. She was also from out of state. Her grandfather was in remission from Cancer but had a really bad setback Friday. Her mother’s car broke down and a whole list of hurdles which Snow White was absolutely thrilled were over come. She arrived around 8:00 pm. I call her TV Star since she has been on TV, Commercials, print ads and even on the box of name brand toys. She is also a national pageant winner. We have known her and her Mom for about 3-4 years. Her Mom and I have the best time when we get together with our girls. We laugh 98% of the time we are together, not an exaggeration. I burst into laughter when I see a bag of airline peanuts, she knows why! he, he, he. She and her whole family are super! There is only one other person in this world who is as nice as they are, my Boston Auntie. When I count my blessing I count myself extra lucky to have them as friends. She and I get along almost as well as my sister and I!!

I hope the local Moms and I become good friends. I really see how much Snow White values the friends she invited. I see good friendship qualities in each of these mothers and really understand why Snow White picked these girls as her best of friends. The two out of state girls and their Moms will always be part of our extended family. We truly care about them and their families.

On another note gas is now $2.89 for regular unleaded and $3.01 for premium. While watching the News at Noon they explained the increase is due to the shut down of refineries. They did not mention if they were temporary or perminent.

The Efforts and Costs of At Home Birthday Parties

Guests
Mary
Judy
Susie
Betty
Jannet- cannot make it (dance comp weekend)
Doris - haven't heard back
Jane
Peggy


Party Accessories
Place Mats
Med Plates for girls
Sm Plates for girls
Plates for dolls
Napkins for girls
Doll size Napkins
Napkin rings (also hair accessories) for girls
Napkin rings (also hair accessories) for dolls
Cups for girls
Cups for dolls
Utensils for girls
Utensils for dolls
Favor Bags w/ tissue paper and name tags
Hanging decorations
Crepe paper rolls
Confetti
Tablecloth
Sleeping Bag Craft for dolls

Party Gifts
American Girl Short Stories
Sticker sheets
Beach chairs w/attached umbrella, back pocket & carrying strap
Puzzle Crazy books
Plus they will take home Bird houses, Sleeping Bag for doll and crowns

Activities
Girls put their names on Crowns
Make dolly crowns & sleep masks
Put Initials on Backs of Chairs (bad idea to have a child's Name on something they wear or use in public)
Birthday cake & make your own sundae
Make Dolly sleeping bags
Glamour Writing (make your own pen - glue flowers, rhinestones & whatnots on pens)
Paint Bird Houses (for Mother's Day gift or for their own)
Paint nails
American Girl Hair Dos (from the AG book)
Play Dress up from Dance & dress up closet
(open presents)
American Girl Theater Games
Birthday Girl Quiz
Scavenger Hunt
Midnight Madness Game
Movies
Each girl read their American Girl Short Story book

Game Prizes
Strawberry Shortcake Princess Bath Time set
Barbie Lunch box with candy
Claire's Club Nail Polish and Lip gloss set (clear with sparkles)
Claire's Club Lip gloss set of 7 sparkles
Crayola Kitty & Puppy sidewalk chalk
Bubble Up Strawberry scented bubbles (shaped like ice cream bars)
Princess Magic Wand
Claire's Mirrors and Scents lip gloss set
Lip Smakers Lip gloss and chap stick set
Creative Kids Mold and Paint Plaque set
Super Girl Doll with bath bubbles
Girls Inflatable chair

Things I still need to do...
Make a "curtain" out of streamers
Buy new set of Tide wipes for spills on girls and dolls
Buy pretend cakes for the dolls (buy dollhouse cakes from AC Moore)
Clear out EVERYTHING from the living room - one girl is allergic to cats so everything from furniture to drapes must be moved to the basement.
Put up new curtains in Snow White's room
Paint the white parts of Snow White's desk so I can move it back to her room
Clear out sunroom and move all snow stuff to the room under the sun room
Pink table cloth for snack table
Friday afternoon :
Cut up veggies and fruit for all nighter snacks
Pick up Cake
Purchase chips, pretzels, juice, cupcakes and sundae supplies
Order Pizzas! for 6:30 pm delivery We cannot have hungry girls on our hands when they arrive at dinner time
Buy foam sheets for dolly crowns & sleep masks
Put Initials on Backs of Chairs (buy fabric pens in Gold & Silver at JoAnns or AC Moore)
Find painter smocks
Pick up movies
Decorate Dinning Room and Living Room


American Girl Party package $105 + shipping
Beach Chairs $80
American Girl Short Stories $18
Cake $45
Other Party food (pizzas, snacks, etc) $45
Dolly crowns $4
Girls crowns $10
Fabric Pens (4) $16
Pink Table cloth $10
Total for just the above is $363 which does not include gift or other items.

Chuck E Cheese, Teddy Bear Tea Party or other organized birthday parties where I don't have to put on the Party at our house, really makes more sense. All I have to do is send out invitations and arrive with the Birthday girl. We only go to Chuck E Cheese for a birthday party but my goodness they set up, entertain and clean up. We also did a Teddy Bear Tea Party where I only had to find Tea pots (apparently no longer available in stores) at an antique shop, supply Tea Party hats and arrive with the birthday girl. I forgot, we did make fruit pyramids for center pieces and I purchased a beautiful cake. Still, it was a lot less work for me and it far less expensive.

Gone are the days of take your child to a birthday entertainment establishment. They do not exist in this little country town we now live in. On top of that, Snow White prefers sleep over parties. She wants to have one for every holiday, not just her birthday.

****UPDATED 28 JUNE 07 *****

Other Child, Princess, Boys Birthday Party Ideas

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