DIY Tea Party Kids Birthday Party

For Ashlyn’s 6th birthday party I threw a fancy DIY tea party for her and her friends. I decided on a tea party because she has really been interested in her Fancy Nancy books, and is often playing tea party with her dolls and friends. This year seemed like the perfect year for a tea party birthday!

Her older sister, Emily, had a “Tea Party in Paris” theme when she was 7, so I had thrown a tea party once before and already had a set of fancy tea cups and saucers ready to go. I previously thrifted the mismatched cups on different occasions, paying between 99 cents and $1.99 for a cup and saucer set. Thrifted tea cups are easy to find and won’t bring tears if a child breaks them. Also, mismatched sets end up looking very sweet for a child’s party!

With the theme set it was time to prep for the party, beginning with super easy homemade cookies and cupcakes using store-bought mixtures. It is a huge time-saver to use store bought, the kids really don’t notice any difference (a treat is a treat), and at just $1-2 for a package, its also very budget friendly!

I quickly frosted the cupcakes with a knife and dipped them in pink sprinkles.

Using a package of cookie mix, I rolled out and cut tulip shapes for the party. One of the activities for the party is to frost and decorate a cookie with sprinkles! Store-bought cookie mix is an easy and fast option, but sometimes the mixture can end up fattening when baking and ruining the shape. Make sure to follow the directions for cutout cookies, and to roll it thin enough to avoid this.

For party favors, each kid received a friendship bracelet, a few pieces of candy, and a small wand. I don’t like to put too much junk in favor bags, just a few fun things the kids will enjoy. At our local party store candy is 10/$1 and trinkets/toys are 3/$1, making little party bags very affordable!

The main activity for the party was decorating a fancy tea party sun hat. You can purchase simple straw hats and assorted bulk flower heads online for convenience, or you can search your local craft stores. 

All of the previous prep work can be completed the night before to eliminate stress the day of the party, including buying the snacks. A quick stop at Trader Joe’s (or your local grocery store) to pick up a few essentials is all you need. For this party I bought sparkling pink lemonade (3 total for 10 kids), various fruits, and some cookies. Total cost: about $20.

The day of the party, it is time set the table! Layer your tablescape using cake pedestals and serving tiers for a super fancy tea party look. Sprinkle the loose flowers and spools of ribbon on the table for added interest. Hang the hats on the backs of the chairs, and set the cups and saucers out with the favor bags.

Once your party is all set, its time for guests to arrive and enjoy the fun! Ashlyn greeted her guests and showed them the butterflies they would be using.

We started with some food and juice (tea). I found this teapot at the thrift store for $4.

Next, each girl was given a tulip cookie to decorate. They frosted their own cookie and added sprinkles.

We love these sprinkles from Dainty Sprinkle Co!

The girls enjoyed their cookies while gossiping away. We refilled their juice and snacks and let them enjoy their chatter.

Next, the girls picked a ribbon color to attach to their hat. I cut and tied their ribbon and had them glue it with tacky glue and a paintbrush. Then they glued a few flowers and a butterfly down around the hat that they selected from the table. I went around with a hot glue gun and secured the flowers as well, but wanted them to participate, so the tacky glue was enough to hold the flower still where they wanted them until I used the glue gun.

The girls have a pretty short attention span at 6, so just a few flowers made it on to each hat. The result was still lovely, and the girls enjoyed wearing their hats for the remainder of the party where they played fun games like limbo, and Ashlyn opened her gifts.

Ashlyn really enjoyed her tea party. She felt super fancy on her super important day!

I hope this inspires your own DIY budget friendly tea party for your child. Parties can be cute, cheap, and fun with a little planning and DIY ingenuity.

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