The Almost Impossible "Ballerina & Astronaut" Party - The Planning & Decorations

Only Danielle would decide to have a Ballerina & Astronaut party! I think she wanted a ballerina party, but knowing that the boys she plays with wouldn't like it, she tacked on astronauts.

I love my daughter but I refuse to spend a fortune on a birthday party. Around here parties  start at $200 for 8-10 kids -- and that doesn't include food or cake.

I don't know about you, but I only remember a few of my own birthday parties. I want this party to be fun and special, but it doesn't need to be extravagant. So, how can I create fun and special for for less than $200?

Danielle is in kindergarten this year and the expectation is that we invite the entire class to her party. If they were all to show up with their parents I could have 60 guests! How can I possibly keep the cost reasonable? Besides the obvious hope that most of them will already have plans for the afternoon of the party...

I love Smilebox, Evite or Punchbowl for free evites. I really like being able to track the number of guests. I remember my mother frantically trying to redistribute the contents of goodie bags when a neighbor showed up with all 4 of her kids instead of just the one who had been invited.

I'm not much of a crafter - or much of a cook- but the obvious answer to staying on a budget is DIY. Or to cut the guest list - dramatically.

Thank goodness next year they will be old enough for a drop off party! I  think I'd rather corral 8 unruly kids by myself than have host so many people...

Want a good laugh? Go to Catch My Party. These people are hosting over the top birthday parties for 100 guests. I really wish I knew the budget on these extravaganzas! One woman wrote, "For months I have been making and collecting all of the special details that made this party what it was..." And I thought I was insane. What happened to cupcakes in the backyard?

Decorations

First I had to think pink. That's the basis of ballerina-party decor.  Pink tablecloths, streamers, plates, napkins, balloons... Wrap everything that doesn't move in tulle. Add a little sparkle and you're done.

But, how do I combine all of that PINK with a space theme? I needed to come up with decorations that worked for both themes. Inspired by a recital costume that I paid for but Danielle never wore(that's a post in itself!) I think I'll add some dark purple, lavender and silver accents - like the night sky. The stars will help create a glittery effect.

It's always good to look for inspiration in your own home. As I walked around our house I found things I could use for decorations - a Moravian star light, a crescent moon light from Ikea, a toy space shuttle, a ballerina statue, old ballet slippers, the unused recital costume...

My first DIY project was to paint pictures of ballerinas to decorate the mantle. I'll use a feather boa from Dollar Tree as a garland. I'll finish everything off with silver stars and pink crepe paper streamers.

Next I made a tutu wreath for my cake plate. I bought a 25 yard spool of pink tulle for $2.50 at Hobby Lobby. I didn't want to pay $9 for a wreath form so I figured out how to make a tutu for my cake stand out of a $3 embroidery hoop.

Tip: Always get online coupons for Hobby Lobby & Michael's before you head out. They typically save you 40% off of one full price item. Also check WalMart & Dollar Tree for craft items. They often have the same things for a fraction of the cost.

Since we always end up outside I have to think of ways to decorate the patio area. I'll hang some flower balloons. Thanks All Things Simple for the instructions! I also get some mylar star balloons from Dollar Tree.

Photo from All Things Simple

And, of course, I'll make signs! It's my favorite part of party prep. It takes a while to letter the signs but they add a big splash of color to the party decorations for a dollar a piece. Best of all, this year the kids can actually read them. I copied a font called NASA-lize for these. I printed out the NASA logo and the rocket ship.

 

I folded this sign like a giant table tent

Next we made rockets for decorations! We used recycled materials - mailing tubes, cardboard boxes and paper plates. It took about 10-15 minutes.

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The Table

Instead of individual place settings I'll set out a buffet. I'll wrap empty shoe boxes in paper to elevate some of the dishes on the table.  I found pink tulle for 97 cents a yard at WalMart that I can use for bunting.  

I hung tutus (that will double as party favors) from the windows. I distributed space helmets around the room (these will also be party favors later.) I made a moon cake topper based on the instructions in Urban Comfort. I modified the rosette to look more like a tutu for my party.

I also made tutu cupcake toppers and rocket cupcake toppers. The rockets were easy. The first few tutus were a bit of a pain. If you decide to make them you'll need to sew crepe paper. (Who came up with that brilliant idea?)

I made three of the adorable crepe paper tutus before I had an epiphany. I saw Meri Meri Ballerina cupcake toppers in Marshalls. I realized that they were just the cutout leotards with a tied piece of tulle glued on. I went home and tried to replicate them. In less than 10 minutes I had 11 sweet little tutu toppers!

My renditions are never picture perfect, but my audience isn't particularly critical, either. Luckily for me most kids care about how cupcakes taste - not how they look.

 

The best part is that Danielle helped me put these together.

When you're working on a budget you need to have plenty of time to do things yourself. Buying three dozen little paper cupcake toppers through Etsy would have cost about $35 - crazy for things that will end up in the trash. Making them ourselves cost less than $1, but took almost an hour and a half to cut out and glue together. All we needed were 2 sheets of 8x11 scrapbook paper and a few feet of crepe paper from one of the rolls of streamers, some glue,tulle and toothpicks.

I hate goodie bags, but Danielle considers them de rigueur and it is her party.

I found a great blog,Smitten blog Design, that provided a link to free Space Downloadables for the boys' cups and Princess Downloadables (including tutus and ballet shoes) for the girls'. By finding them on the same site the sizes and color palates are similar. (If I'd been thinking clearly I would have saved a lot of time and used these for cupcake toppers as well.)

I'll keep the contents minimal. A few wrapped pieces of candy and some trinkets. The girls' favor bags will include only plastic bracelets - on sale at Michaels' for 50 cents. The boys get foam rocket launchers (75 cents each through Amazon).

It took a little creativity and a lot of planning, but including everything from coffee stirrers to space helmets I spent $199. I just barely stayed within budget!

Every year Danielle makes a new front for her bean bag toss. I got half this year! My side is astronauts. Her side is dancers.

Coming Up Next The Menu & Activities...

More pictures will be posted after the party!