They partied like it was 2008

Yesterday was the party day. Miss Lizzie declared it "the best birthday party ever", which is saying quite a lot because she's had some great birthday before. We had 9 little girls, including Lizzie, but it was not too out of control.

We started the event with lunch. Actually, the whole thing started with an impromptu dance party. Lizzie had her ipod playing, so the whole crew danced up a storm to Alvin & the Chipmunks, Hannah Montana, & Avril Lavigne, while we were putting the final touches on lunch. The girls arrived in their regular clothes and sat down to a lunch of mini-burger, chips, & veggies (the veggies were boycotted by everyone).

I forgot to take a picture of "Wardrobe". I set up our spare bedroom to look like the costume department on a movie set. I pulled out my old party dresses and borrowed stuff from a friend and set it out along the walls. I got a bunch of boas and tiaras from the dollar store and had a selection laid out on table and on the bed, so they could choose what they wanted to wear. Many girls brought their own dresses, but I wanted to make sure they dressed how they wanted. The girls headed up there after lunch to get ready for the "Red Carpet".

Our bathroom became "Hair & Makeup". I bought a bunch of lipgloss and sparkly dusting powder and set out a bunch of colourful eyeshadows. I bought extra lip brushes and eyeshadow sponges, so we didn't share germs. We also had a bunch of fun hair accessories. We planned to use the curling & straightening irons, but everyone was feeling pretty independent, and I was worried someone would get burned.

Once everyone was ready, each girl had their turn strutting their stuff on the red carpet. Javier was the paparazzi. This little girl is one of my favorite little divas. She's a neighbour and one of Lizzie's closest friends. Dressing up and acting cool is a regular thing for her.

I was the red carpet interviewer and "fans". I stood at one end and shouted out names, and screamed for autographs until my throat hurt. I tried to ask the hard hitting questions, like "What new movie are you in?" and "Are you having fun?" My sister-in-law, did the pre-Red Carpet interviews as the girls were waiting to come downstairs.

I just love this picture. I wanted to show her face, because she's so lovely, but she just looks so cool heading down the carpet. I think she did a little twirl just after this shot.

Of course, here's the star of the show, Miss Lizzie. I found her dress at Winners, and she looked like a princess. I think she felt like one too! We decided that we could probably recycle the dress for recitals and stuff.

After photos, we screened "Ice Princess" in our home theatre. The after party started a bit early with a mocktails bar. We offered Roy Rogers (pepsi & grenadine), Beetlejuice (orange pop & grape juice) & spritzer (strawberry or cherry syrup and club soda). Gummy worms and maraschino cherries were garnishes.

This is Miss Diva's older sister, and another very good friend. Lizzie is their adopted sister & spends many hours at their home.

The cookie decorating station was very popular. We had lots of icing, sprinkles & some very cool icing "writers".

Everyone had turns on Dance Dance Revolution for PS2, and played sports on the WII in another room.

We decided against a fancy cake in favour of our favorite, cherry cheesecake. Lizzie made cupcakes (completely by herself!) for girls who didn't like cheesecake.

I forgot to take a picture of all the goodie bags. They were one of my favourite parts. I had some red & white striped popcorn boxes that I filled with Lipsmackers, small Lindt bunnies, temporary tattoos, candy necklaces and ring-shaped lollipops. I wrapped up the whole thing with cellophane & gold ribbon with a thank you note. I was going for the "bling" factor. They each also took home a framed group photo that I printed on our printer & a feather rose.

Lizzie had time for a brief snuggle with Auntie Ducky.

We sent 8 happy children home with their parents. Everyone wanted to stay longer, of course, and I don't think there was a bored moment the whole afternoon.

Lizzie was a sleepy girl last night, but oh so happy. I think this picture sums it up perfectly!