The Story of Cinderella

            Maybe the most famous fairytale princess is Cinderella.  She has been recreated in countless books, theater, ballet, and films.  The animated Cinderella has made the story popular today but I also loved the film adaptation Ever After leading with a smarter and stronger heroine.  We are all aware of the modern story of Cinderella, but where does the story come from?


            The Chinese version of the story features a hardworking and beautiful maiden.  Her fairy god mother takes the form of a wise old fish in this tale and dresses her in beautiful robes for the ball complete with silk slippers.  One slipper gets left behind while she is fleeing the palace due to her midnight magical curfew.  In Russia the story goes that the slipper was fur but the rest of the story is the same.  The name Cinderella comes from the Grimm edition of the story.  It is told that the young maiden is made to sleep by the fireplace in the kitchen.  Her clothing and hair become sprinkled with ash and cinders so her sisters begin to call her Cinderella.  

             The blue dress also originates from the Grimm tale where her fairy god mother takes the shape of a tree which grows a beautiful blue silk gown.  Blue is a very magical color in many traditions.  The Disney animation traded the traditional blue for white but often reverts back to a blue in later designs.

            Our Cinderella wears the traditional blue dress.  The dress is handmade.  We went with an elegant design from approximately the mid 1700's.  The blue has the look of Shantung and the center panel is a silver and blue satin brocade   The satin white details have a slight brocade as well.  The gown requires a full petticoat.  It takes a while for her fairy god mother to get her into this gown but it is perfect for a ball!

Fairy Princess Tea Party

www.RealPrincessesOmaha.com

The princesses had a wonderful time at Tinker Bell's birthday party. 

              We use dark chocolate brown table linens to give the feel of the dark forest floor of a fairy wood and to set off the light colored China tea cups.  Each place was set with a paper lily, a large white paper doily  plate, spoon, and China tea cup.  

              Down the center of the tables were glass cylinder with pebbles, green moss, and an LED candle on top.  Paper lanterns and some figurines of various woodland creatures were also scattered down the tables.  Each chair had a pair of watercolor painted paper wings pinned to them.



              Rather than providing goody bags we had our guests create a take home craft.  Each guest created a pint sized fairy garden.  We used pint jars with pea gravel and charcoal followed by a cup of moisture control dirt.  We used a little shovel to dig a hole in the dirt and then we placed a little clump of live moss roots down.  We then added a cute plastic frog!  We topped it off by decorating the lid with scrapbook paper and jewels.  As their little garden grows I hope our guests fondly remember their afternoon with the princesses!

Fairy Tea Party June 1st

        I’m so excited about Tinker Bell’s birthday party June 1st 2013!  Beauty and Cinderella have planned so many fun activities.  We wanted the Fairy Princess Tea Party to have a garden theme to remind Tink of her home in the magical woods.  The girls have come up with a very special take home craft idea. 

    <-- Here is a hint!

Still looking for tickets?  Email Bonnie at info@realprincessesomaha.com for all the info.

A Magical Time at PTO Carnival

              The princesses had a lovely time at the PTO carnival.  One of my favorite moments was when a little girl was visiting with Cinderella and she was so excited to tell her, "I dress up like you all the time."  Another little girl saw Beauty and she reached out to her.  Princess Beauty knelt down to give her a hug and then the little girl whispered in her ear, "I've been waiting to meet you my whole life!"  I have to say that Beauty's eyes became a little foggy.  It was so wonderful to meet all the little prince and princesses of Conestoga Elementary School.  Thanks again for inviting us!


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Real Princesses Omaha Children's Party Entertainment at the Conestoga PTO Carnival

Storybook Princess Theme Birthday Party Ideas

       For younger children small parties are best.  Keep the guest list to eight of her closest friends.  It's difficult not to invite the entire class because we don't want to hurt any feelings or let anyone feel left out but trying to accommodate an entire class of girls at a party can be overwhelming and stressful.  Make sure she brings a treat to all her classmates at school the day of her birthday but keep the weekend party to a manageable size.

This party took place in the meeting room of a retirement village.  There was plenty of space and a full kitchen.

     
         If you are nervous about, guest parking, moving furniture, or hiding your grandmother's fragile vase in an upstairs closet you may consider renting a room.  Rented rooms often come with a table and may have a sink and refrigerator.  You can usually come in ahead of time to do a little decorating.  You would be surprised how many local businesses have back rooms to rent.  In papillion, Tripoint coffee on the main street has a lovely meeting room that can accommodate 30 people and is freshly remodeled and rents by the hour at a very reasonable rate.  Sometimes banks and other businesses have meeting rooms they will rent.  Perhaps your workplace rents out an entertaining space to employees.  Another option is a hospitality room at a hotel.  These are small party rooms with kitchens and can be rented  by the hour.


      Decorating is a snap when you choose a theme for your party.  We are using a story book theme.  Buntings are really  popular right now but instead of bothering with sewing you can use pieces of scrapbook paper cut into triangles.  I found this design on Adventuroo and you can get the instructions here.

A great craft activity for the children would be to to  create a tiny story book using pieces of scrapbook paper.  I found a great little book shaped like a matchbook on Cut Out & Keep.  You can see how it is done here.

It's nice to keep food bite sized.  Try to choose recipes that can be done ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator.  We set all the food out at the start but you can also bring out snack items one at a time throughout the party.  If you are worried about stains stay away from red drinks and dark chocolate cakes.  If the girls are dressed up then their mothers will appreciate it.

When you are preparing food, prepare something special for the parents on the sidelines.  It's nice when parents come in and  stay during the party.  Children tend to be less stressed and more behaved when their mom or dad is right in the other room.  Treat parents who stay to chips and dip or sandwiches.  If you keep them happy, maybe they will help you tidy up afterward.

Princess Party Omaha

The perfect touch to a story book themed birthday party is to invite a real life story book character.  Check to see if you can hire a storybook princess in your area.  Real Princesses Omaha serves the Omaha metro area and specializes in birthday parties.  They will bring two princesses to your party to play games and craft with the children.  There is also a royal assistant who will be your helper and will set up and clean up all the activities.

www.realprincessesomaha.com

               Don't forget to keep it simple.  It's important that you are not too busy to enjoy this special day!

nursery rhyme characters have been frosted onto the cupcakes!