Eleanor is almost six, but is already quite clever as clever. Today we celebrated her coming birthday with a Cinderella party.
When the girls arrived, I put head scarves on their heads, gave them dusters, and ordered them to clean the house, or else they wouldn’t get anything but bread and water for supper. They totally got into it. The living room is now totally dust-free. Brian even found it to be a good excuse to wash the windows.
But soon, the Prince (Jeffrey) arrived to deliver this royal invitation:
Wow, right? The Wicked Stepmother (me) said that they wouldn’t be able to go since they didn’t have anything to wear, and the girls ran off to Eleanor’s bedroom crying “boo hoo hoo.” (And giggling the whole time.)
The Fairy Grandmothers were there to help the girls change into “dresses” made of crepe paper and ribbons. Eleanor’s dress-up box provided extra glamour. They were a little hesitant about going to the “ball,” though. “Do we have to dance with a prince?” one girl asked. “Not kisses!” squealed another.
This is where my mom was totally the star of the ball. She got the girls to hold hands and do some improvised English-country-style dancing. Very cute stuff.
Then the clock struck twelve! (Coincidentally, it was noon exactly, so I didn’t have to change the clock on the mantel.) Each girl took off one shoe and left it behind before running back to Eleanor’s room to change back into “rags.” When the girls came back, they discovered that Brian and the boys had hidden their shoes all over the room. As each shoe was found, Jeffrey put it back on its owner’s foot, and William gave her a paper crown.
What better way to celebrate the end of a Cinderella story than with a Royal Feast? I made a chocolate fudge cake with strawberry frosting. I’ve never tried strawberry meringue frosting before, so it was kind of an experiment. Eleanor loved it. I think the chocolate cake overpowered the strawberry flavor, so maybe next time I’ll pair it with vanilla cake . . . OKAY, ENOUGH CAKE COMMENTARY!
The big hit after cake was this lovely teepee that my mom made for Eleanor. It’s so amazing!
The girls crowded right in. We could hardly get them to come out when the party was over. Fortunately, I had a fresh batch of Tiger Tails (these caramel-marshmallow lollipops that I make every year for Ella’s birthday) to lure them out.
Jeffrey and William are just as thrilled with the teepee as Eleanor is. Eleanor was happy to give her Kaya doll a tour (the horse was her birthday gift from Brian and I), and Jeffrey immediately tucked Kaya into a bedroll. Adorable.
Casa Camisas 
Oh my goodness. You are the QUEEN of birthdays. How fun. I may just have to copy this one for one of my girls birthdays. So cute. Wish we could have been there, Sarah would have loved it.
What a fabulous party. You can just see in their faces that they’re eating it all up (and the cake too). And the teepee – WOW! Did your mom use a pattern? I totally want to make one. It’s just too cool.
PS – never leave out cake commentary. NEVER.
I LOVE it that you made them all clean! Very cute party. You’ve got some lucky kids!
What an awesome party! And you got them to actually clean– what a great bonus.
Family Fun right? I did this party for Naomi, oh so long ago. But without prince Jeffery and the dancing grandma our pales in comparisson. We did however, get some good cryin in the corner from the 4-year-old birthday girl. She really just wanted to open her presents.