Princesses for a Day

Thirty years ago I remember my mother waking me up in the middle of the night to watch television with her. She told me in a conspiratorial whisper, "It's not everyday a lady becomes a princess" and led me by one sleepy arm into the living room. That night I watched as Lady Diana Spencer became Princess Di - and everything about that wedding was magical to me. I still remember the gown, the colors, the music - oh, it was a fairytale come true. But it's not the wedding so much as having one special night with my mom that I remember most fondly. Having both a toddler & baby sister at the time, there wasn't time just for the two of us anymore. But that night she made time for me, and I WAS that new princess - for a few special hours.

My own daughter is eleven now, and I'm counting the days until her Mama becomes an embarrassing creature to hang out with. But with the announcement of the wedding between Prince William & Kate I knew I HAD to do something special with her.

In honor of the royal wedding AND as a special celebration just for the two of us, I have been working on creating a tiny but special "Princess for a Day" party. We will be waking at 3am to begin watching the festivities, and our card-table is already set for the occasion.

I used my daughter's fancy china, and created the tiny runner from fabric-scraps. The chairs were decorated simply with ribbon, tulle & silk-roses, and the centerpiece started with my wish for a "Cinderella's Coach" centerpiece. The frame was thrifted for less than $3, and decorated with more tulle & silk roses for a coordinated look.

This was my big splurge... because what would a princess-party be without tiaras? I got both for just under $20.

And for our little treats, the table is set - but the goodies won't be set out until tonight. My camera doesn't like nighttime photos, so just in case none of my photos come out here's a daytime shot of the table.

We will have tea, and just a few of our favorite finger-foods, along with two special cupcakes. The centerpiece for this table was so easy to create... and I love how it turned out!

Near our front door, is a chair we call "The Throne." It's where we put on & take off our shoes, but it also doubles as the perfect spot to set up a foot-bath.

For our evening, I have the foot bath ready to go, and a small basket of goodies ready for quiet mother-and-daughter pedicures. The bath-salts were homemade in our favorite lavender-vanilla fragrance, and the foot-cream is my own cocoa-butter recipe. We also have a new bottle of water-based nontoxic nail polish to make our toes extra fancy before sliding into new footies.

I only hope that tonight is every bit as "magical" to my daughter, as my own memories are some day.