Babushka Glamour Party

I've been promising you details from the 12 year old birthday party we held a few weekends ago. I originally said that we were planning a Babushka party but that soon turned into a glamour theme, because really when we sent out the invites we had no idea what would happen at the party or the theme or anything, so we put a babushka doll on it. And with a babuska doll as cute as the ones we put on the invite, none of the guests could possibly say no and all 6 girls rolled up for a big surprise!

One of the invitations - they were handwritten on the front with more typed info on the back,
plus we added some magnetic tape so the girls could easily put the invites on the fridge.

That lace is so stylish, right?

One cute little babushka.

The theme wasn't really babushka-y at all... (sorry to everyone who got really excited, but we found something better). The girls were given handbags at the door filled with Babushka Bucks (our very own currency for the afternoon filled with shopping and pampering!) and we started the games. You heard right, that was shopping and pampering I just said! I mean no 12 year old girl can get enough clothes.

Here's how it went... the first hour or so were spent indulging in the food available (jelly cups, lollies, chips, nuts), wishing the birthday girl a happy birthday (we had cupcakes in cases that were to die for) and playing games such as pass the parcel and musical statues so that the girls could earn themselves more money. All the prizes for the games were just paper Babushka bucks - easy.

Then it was time to get hair, make-up and nails done. We had parents helping by doing make-up, curling, straightening and styling hair and some girls got manicures too.

Lucila had her hair curled

and so did the birthday girl!

So far, so good. The chaos hadn't begun yet. Imagine the scene out of Confessions of a Shopaholic when there is a big sale on and there are girls waiting in huge queues and then the lady opens the door and they all rush in trying to get everything and anything. Thats what happenned when it was time to shop. As for the clothes, for a few weeks beforehand we went to lots of different op shops trying to source nice dresses, tops, accessories, shoes etc at low prices. Then the girls used their Babushka bucks to buy their outfit and would eventually take part in a fashion parade. What more could they want? Nothing! Especially when they found out everything they bought they could take home (shoes being an exception - the birthday girl was happy to keep all them).

Lucila strutting her stuff on the catwalk

Bonnie lookin' good!

The fashion show was the finale of a fun afternoon, and was held when the parents arrived to pick the party guests up. Everyone had a great time parading around but before we knew it... the fun was over (for this year anyhow!)

So tell me, what have you done for a 12 year old birthday party?