Welcome to the most disorganized party I’ve ever, ever put together. Good news is, it worked. The girls had a great time and they don’t know that I threw it all together in just a few hours.
Bad news is, I knew. I could’ve done so much more with this awesome concept, but I just didn’t have the time.
You may have seen my daughter’s 8th birthday party here last week, and this week, we followed up with her “friend” party. My Lindsey friend owns an awesome Spa in my hometown, which made for a perfect location for a day of beauty for some lucky second grade girls.
I picked up some flip-flops in varying sizes at a craft store, as well as some glittery tulle and fabric strips. We cut the strips for the girls, and let them spend some time tying the fabric to the sandals. This was one of the activities we used to occupy the girls while the others were getting facials. More about that in a minute.
I found these adorable rolls of pre-cut fabric strips at the craft store in two different color families – one in pink and one in blue. Paired with glittery silver, blue and pink tulle strips, these made some adorable flippies!
Some of the girls went all out and loaded their flip flops down with fabric, and some of them kept it simple. Some went with fabric all over, and some went with “side bows,” which as this little girl told me – made them look “classier.”
Oh, eight year olds. They’re adorably sassy.
My super-sweet cousin (and one of my most-favorite people on the planet) volunteered to help me and painted litte girl fingernails for almost two straight hours. Is she a saint, or what? Between the fingernail painting and the flip-flop decorating, the girls stayed busy and entertained the whole time.
Now, you can’t tell from this picture, but the girls loved getting pampered with chocolate facials, including a face and hand massage. I told Maddie that I was going to send this picture to her teacher so she could show her whole class.
She wasn’t amused, clearly. But Lindsey did an amazing job with the girls, and I have to admit that I was SUPER jealous that I wasn’t getting a facial, too!
After a quick break for some girly funfetti cupcakes and presents, we stopped to open presents. My girls request these cupcakes very frequently, and they really couldn’t be easier to put together. I’ve included the recipe below if you’re interested!
The girls were so cute when they were sharing presents with Maddie – most of their cards were homemade and just adorably sweet, and lots of the gifts were handmade and very thoughtful. Maddie loved it! I love to watch these friendships blooming as she gets older.
After gifts, we let the girls sit in the makeup chair and Lindsey worked her magic on them. They were proud to show off their glittery blush, eyes shadow and sparkly lips, and you could tell they felt so special!
I sent the girls home with a little spa gift bag. complete with yummy-smelling lotion, gel eye masks, loofahs and bath salts. Even though I had to explain bath salts and the purpose of the eye mask, I think they were all on board once they figured it out.
So even though I could’ve done much more with this party, I think the girls had fun and it still turned out pretty cute. Special thanks to my dear cousin Maggie, and to Jill (a fellow Momma) who hung out to help me corral the girls. And of course, thanks to Lindsey at Blush Spa for hosting a fabulous party! (And I hope the glitter comes out of your carpet, ha!)
And finally, thanks to the girls for coming and celebrating with Maddie! Can’t wait to share this picture in your high-school year book!
- 3 and ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 and ½ cups 2% or whole milk
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup sprinkles
- 1 and ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- ⅓ cup whipping cream
- dash of salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 lb bag confectioners' sugar (about 7-8 cups)
- sprinkles, as desired
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin tins with cupcake liners.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl; set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix sugar and melted butter until combined, about 1 minute.
- Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until just combined, then add vanilla.
- With the mixer speed on low, add one third of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl, followed by the sour cream.
- Add another third of the dry ingredients, then slowly pour in the milk.
- When all the milk is incorporated, add the remaining dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.
- With a rubber spatula, stir in rainbow sprinkles.
- Fill cupcake liners about two-thirds full.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center cupcake comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then place cupcakes directly on rack to cool completely.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add confectioners'sugar and cream, and beat on low until just combined.
- Add vanilla and salt, and beat on high speed until completely combined and fluffy. Add more cream or confectioners' sugar to desired consistency, if necessary.
- Frost as desired, and top with sprinkles.
- Enjoy!
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