Angelic party fit for your little angels

Hang the fairy lights, drape the walls in white and your party guests will be on cloud nine.

This heavenly party is such a special treat for little girls. Our angelic guests were over the moon at the sight of the pretty food and wowed by the magic of their soft, delicate heavenly hideaway. 

Any little girl loves a good excuse to dress up in her favourite dress and look as pretty as a princess and that is what this girly party is all about - all things white and beautiful. We chose white and pink as the main colours for the party but it can equally be white with soft shades of your birthday girl's favourite colour. Then you can co-ordinate all your food and accessories to match.   

The soft tent of lace trims, fairy lights and big cushions served as a fun place for games and to settle in the early evening to watch a movie. Our girls chose The Princess Bride, but you could show any age-appropriate girlie movie that will keep their attention. Instead of the traditional daytime celebration, we held our party in the early evening to get the full magical effect of the fairy lights.

Decorations
Setting up a pretty tent in which to play, eat and watch a movie was not as hard as you might think. We used sheets from the linen cupboard and bought two mosquito nets that we hung over a ceiling stud. You could do this at home with poles from a local hardware store using string to secure. We bought some embroidered lace and some other types of lace to hang at the entrance of the tent. If you're using your "good" sheets we suggest taping the lace on with masking tape. We used old sheets and simply stapled the lace to them - it was easy to take it off after the event.

We placed the fairy lights in between the bed netting and sheets so that the light was slightly diffused through the netting. We also covered big European pillows and cushions with white pillow cases and fluffy fabric we bought from Spotlight.

We decorated the table with flowers, candelabra and a pink table cloth. The food became the main decoration and the cake was placed at the centre of the table. With the table set against the wall, we could easily attach the bunting with Blu-Tack as a backdrop. Visit here free bunting printable from this party.

Food
With such a soft and delicate party theme we chose soft delicate foods that worked with our colour palette. On the menu were pink and white coconut ice, pink lamingtons, pink grapefruit juice, pink and champagne-coloured macaroons, sausage rolls and delicious ham sandwiches delicately tied up with knotted strips of fresh chives. See our credits for details of where we sourced some of these lovely delicacies.

Games
Pass the message (aka broken telephone or Chinese whispers) is perhaps not a traditional party game, but it was one that could be played easily in the girls' secret hideout. And it proved a surprising hit with the girls who were in fits of giggles. 

To start with, get the girls to think of something that they can use as their "message". They take turns to whisper the message to their neighbour until it's been around the whole circle. If the last girl repeats the original message correctly, she and the originator get a treat.

If you wanted to stay with the heavenly theme you could set up a craft area where the guests make haloes out of wired silver tinsel, or wings by cutting out white cardboard in the shape of wings. Remember to cut out a hole in each wing to thread through elastic so the wings can be worn over the shoulders. Then decorate with glitter, tinsel, or anything else you find at your local novelty or two-dollar store.

Click here for a bunting pattern to download and print off.

Photography: Nadine Canestri Photography
Styling: Angela Pedersen & Lucretia Kemp