A Look at Genevieve's Shopping Party!

7:31 PM

Did you know Claire's hosts parties?! I didn't! Once, during an AWFUL trip to the mall (one in which the kids were wild and I lost my ish), we spotted a sign advertising "We do parties!" Good things come from terrible mall experiences! A party at Claire's seemed like the perfect pre-tween party idea. We inquired and got some details that all sounded fantastic! Details such as:

a) no deposit required
b) no minimum dollar amount required
c) hours can be outside of store hours
d) fun themes and activities to choose from
e) as much or as little planning from Claire's employees as desired
f) a 20% off coupon for the birthday girl and her guests

The Theme

A flower themed birthday cake on a real wood cake stand

I thought, "this could be good!" While I usually prefer hosting her parties at home, a party at Claire's seemed perfect. After all, it's not dark and dingy, nor does it require 12 sweaty kids in a tiny room like many party venues. Of course, Genevieve was smitten with the idea. She is obsessed with Claire's. She immediately chose a theme (flowers!) and made her invitation. My party planning mama heart was proud! She even listed a dress code on her DIY invite "must wear flowers." How cute is that?! (Cake plate was a DIY with this but this one is great! | large flower )

Food & Party Pretties

I loved that I had a little space to decorate but that since Claire's is a small store, I really needed to limit it. As I've been doing lately, I used food as decor and bought adorable balloons at the Dollar Tree to make it feel festive. We hosted the party on a Sunday morning prior to the store opening so we'd have the place to ourselves. Claire's provided the table and chairs (I loved that it was all neutral!) and we did the rest.

floral paperware | vases (vintage but similar) | silk peonies (similar)| honeycomb poms

balloons were from dollar tree but these are amazing.

we served cake, donuts, goldfish, string cheese, honest drinks, and seltzer

Favors

I'm sad I didn't get close-up pictures of the favors! I purchased little makeup kits from Claire's (like these), as well as nail polish, floral barrettes, and lip gloss, and put them in a cellophane bag along with a gift card to shop at the party. I also purchased these, which many of the girls wore during the party. You can barely see the favors in this photo below. They were super cute. You'll have to trust me.

floral headbands | makeup kits and these

Activities

The girls received makeovers from Claire's employees (lips, eyes, and nail polish), shopped with their gift cards, and then had a fashion show using items from the store. They also took pictures in the unicorn "booth." They had a blast!!

Makeovers