Princess Party

Dorothy wanted to have a princess party with her friends for her birthday.  Last year, we waited until the day before everyone went back to school, and it was a long wait for her party, so this year we did it just three days after Christmas.  I wasn't sure how her friends' schedules would work out, but we had seven little princesses at the party, and that was just about the perfect number.

I had originally planned to order cupcakes from a local bakery and save myself the hassle, but that bakery closes between Christmas and New Years, so I was out of luck.  I told Dorothy that I would just make her some cupcakes instead, but she thought for a moment and said, "But I would really like a castle cake."  Um, what?  I'm not a decorative baker by any means and frosting just a regular layer cake is something I find challenging.  However, I looked at some pictures online for simple castle cakes, and I found a design I thought I might be able to replicate.  I had to borrow a double boiler to melt the chocolate, and it took forever to get it all decorated, but I was very pleased with how it came out.  It looks home-made, but it also looks like a castle, and is fun.

 I took pictures at home before attempting to move it.  My biggest fear was dropping it or having it fall over in the car on the way to the party.

 The turrets are made of stacked ice cream cones, covered in white chocolate.  I couldn't get it smooth, but it was fine.  The windows are arches I cut out of a sugar sheet (which I had no idea existed until I was at the store, looking for what might work for the windows and doors).  I used more chocolate to glue on the round sprinkles, which were left over from a failed gingerbread house.

 The door, and the purple pearl candies.  The purple balls are chocolate candies, and were really pretty with an iridescent shimmer.  They also his the small gaps in the layers of the cakes very well.

 View from the top, showing the sprinkles I put on the top layer.

 The castle made it to the party without incident.  I had extra batter when I baked the cakes, so I made cupcakes with the rest and added more of the purple pearls, sprinkles, and flags.  When it was time to have cake, the girls all wanted the cupcakes, but I cut the castle instead.  I didn't want to have to transport it again.  I did send cupcakes home with them though.

 While waiting for everyone to arrive, the girls colored a giant cardboard castle.

 I love all the details, like the sleeping dragon.

 There was plenty of room for them to all color at once, though they did often end up in little clusters.  At one point, I called them out of the castle, and it was like a clown car as they all came piling out.

 It was a good, all ages, activity, and I think they liked the castle the best out of anything else we did.

 Once everyone was there, we made bracelets.  There was some very serious concentration.

 The older girls had the easiest time of it.

 The younger ones had to work harder, but they managed, sometimes with a little help.

 After the bracelets, Kevin took the princesses on a scavenger hunt.  Here, he is reading the first clue and the rules.  He wrote all the clues himself, and did a really great job with it.

The stampede of princesses up to the front desk to find the next clue.

 They found the tiara prizes at the end of the scavenger hunt!

 Silly princesses.

 After a feast of hotdogs, pirate booty, yogurt, and fruit, it was finally time for cake.

 It took a few tries to get all the candles blown out.

 Once they were nicely sugared up, we played a rousing game of freeze dance.

 I really wish this had been in focus.  She's belting out "Let it Go!"  I had fun stopping the music right when the girls were singing the loudest.

 More singing, and less dancing.

 Lastly, it was present time.

 Her little friends were so cute and excited for her to open what they brought.

 It helps to have older friends who can read the cards for you.

 The other girls went back to dancing and coloring, but these were a couple of pooped princesses.

It was a fun party, but now I need a nap.