An American Girl Party for Faith

Ah...it's Friday, and Columbus, Ohio, is covered in a thin (or maybe thick) sheet of ice, so all schools are cancelled and I slept later than normal. I do have a doctor's appointment in a few hours, but I've heard the streets are not bad -- it's just the parking lots and sidewalks that are skating rinks. Luckily I'm going to an office with a covered garage.

My poor lambs down at Ohio State are skating from class to class, however, and if I could get a hold of the president of the university he would get an ear ringing. Gordon Gee you are not on my good list and this isn't the first time. Mama spends the first 18 years working so hard to make sure nothing bad happens and then I send them away to college and no one else gives a big rat's behind. Urg.

Anyway, I thought I'd take a few moments to post some of my more favorite party pics from Faith's American Girl Party last week. It wasn't fancy but it seemed to be fun, with nice girls and decorations, games and yummy treats. Faith made her own invitations and I don't have a photo. I also don't have a photo of all the girls with their dolls because it ended up I was rushing from cleaning up tea so we could have cake and I ran out of time. I am only one woman! {wink}

 The party cake. Not an original creation, but as seen on Pinterest.

Not difficult to do, but very time-consuming. Mine was not nearly as tidy as hers.

Decorations as dictated by the party girl. We always do these balloons (ever since I first saw them in an illustration in the Angelina Ballerina birthday book). Faith wanted the streamers and did them herself.

Dining room table set for 12. I had planned to use real china and cloth napkins but I don't have settings for 12 in china. {sad face}

The kitchen set for games and crafts. I didn't get any pictures of games either. The girls made beaded bracelets for themselves and their dolls, and we played American Girl Bingo and pin the tail on Coconut.

All the decoration were either homemade (the birthday banner and hanging stars) or cheap, cheap (colored round fans).

Tea included pb&j as well as cheese sandwiches, cherry lemonade jello jigglers, fruit salad served in waffle ice cream bowls, and raspberry lemonade punch (frozen pink lemonade, sprite, and scoops of raspberry sherbet in a punch bowl). I prepared peppermint tea which all the girls wanted to try (my guess is so they could enjoy a big girl tea cup). Most of the tea went down the sink.

After gifts were opened, the girls sang Happy Birthday and enjoyed more sugar cake and ice cream.

I didn't get a picture of the goodie bags, but I made fabric bags (like these), and filled them with American Girl stickers, homemade lip balm, and some candy treats. We also had this page and these pages printed and stapled to send home.

Faith just could not decide which cake to have for the party and which to have for her family gathering. The cake for the party was all vanilla cake, but the cake for the family gathering the next evening was chocolate on the bottom and vanilla on top with a big yellow American Girl star. 

The American Girl party was fun and I would recommend it for anyone with a little girl in love with American Girl dolls. I thought this might be Faith's last year to openly admit she loves her dolls. All of the girls who came did not have American Girls dolls, so any doll or stuffed animal was a welcome guest.