Invitations:
~ handmade, faux crocodile leather bound "princess and the frog" storybooks with hand drawn illustrations, green, gold and purple ribbon ties, and fleur de lis paper lining the inside cover
Decor:
~ door entry "rue du xxx" directing guests to enter through the gate
~ just through the gate was Dr. Facilier's fortune telling table where the gifts were put (his sign said "a tip of the hat from Dr. Facilier")
~ then guests walked past the bayou area of the party where spanish moss hung from trees (along with a twisty tree snake!) and white lights criss-crossed and draped to create a firefly lit environment, and along the ground were handmade lily pads with chairs for parents to sit and enjoy the shade
~ the french quarter consisted of a mural of St. Louis cathedral with an old gravestone and flowers and a potted palm flanking the sides, and across the lawn was "xxx's place" which was supposed to be reminiscent of Tiana's Place complete with hand cut New Orleans style wrought iron, hanging ferns, potted palm trees, a handmade wooden sign, a gold brocade backdrop with fringe, a purple glittery chandelier and a tall gold fountain grass centerpiece in an eiffel vase.
~ I wrapped the family presents in gold damask wrapping paper with purple tulle and a peacock feather
Favors:
~ when guests arrived they all received a foam crown with their name written in gold puffy paint
~ as their parting favor, I had mini mardi gras beads, purple, gold and green bubble gum coins and a metallic mardi gras mask tied in green tulle pouches with a little hopping frog toy tied with mardi gras color ribbon
Music:
~ Louisiana brass band jazz
Food:
~ ham po' boys
~ flies on a log (celery, peanut butter and raisins)
~ voodoo doughnuts
~ man catching beignets
~ green frog and gold and purple fleur de lis cookies
~ bananas foster served in martini glasses (made with rum extract for flavoring)
~ non-alcoholic mint juleps with maraschino cherries
~ a chocolate birthday cake version of a "king cake" which my daughter ripped into the night before the party
~ all the foods were served next to a label in an art nouveau font highlighted with gold glitter paint in the lotus blossom design
Activities:
~ lily pad leap relay race
~ jumping like frogs on the trampoline
~ my son taught the kids the "jitterbug" (it was really just wiggling and running around)
~ lunch, treats and gift opening
Wardrobe:
~ I made my daughter a purple satin drop waisted dress with a full circle flounce. It had a gold sequin band around the drop waist, long gold beads, sparkly gold shoes (Target clearance), big gold and purple chandelier earrings she just got to wear during the party which are now mine, and lastly a headband lined with gold sequins and peacock feathers coming off the side
~ I felt I needed to be in character for this party as well, so I wore chandelier earrings, a long metal and pearl necklace, a thigh length flouncy cream top from H&M, a cream skirt, bracelets held together with a gold brooch with a pearl center and I scored my Steve Madden heels from our local consignment store. They were peep toes, made from a green fabric with what looks like a green satin lily pad with some art deco jewels right on top- I was thrilled to find them for $7!
