Every fairy must have a wand. Here is how I made our fairy wands for our Tinker Bell party. It is so simple and VERY cheap.

Materials

wooden skewers

wooden stars (from the craft store)

thin ribbon and/or bows

silver (or gold) crafting spray paint

clear acrylic sealant spray

glue

duct tape (optional)

Instructions

1. Glue a wooden star to a skewer. I ended up also duct taping the star on for good measure.
2. After the glue dries, spray paint the wand silver or gold. Paint both sides. Be sure to paint in a well ventilated area. I painted mine outside.
3. Spray the wand with the sealant after the paint is dry. This also needs to be done in a well ventilated area.
4. When the sealant is dry, tie ribbon around the wand and add a bow if you’d like.

Here is how I made the fairy crowns for our Tinker Bell party.

Materials

silver (or gold) headbands

wooden stars

craft wire

silver (or gold) craft spray paint

clear acrylic sealant spray paint

ribbon

scissors

glue

duct tape

Instructions

1. Decide on a design for your stars. Glue the stars together and let them dry.
2. After the stars have dried, spray paint them silver or gold.
3. Once the stars are completely dried, duct tape a length of wire to the back. Wrap the wire around the headband to secure the stars. Cut off any excess wire and duct tape the sharp ends to the back of the stars.
4. Cover the wire with the ribbon. Lay the ribbon just below the stars so it covers the wire. Take each end of the ribbon one at a time. Wrap it around the headband and tuck it under the ribbon in the front. Allow the end of the ribbon to fall toward the back of the headband.

Here is how I made the fairy wings for our Tinker Bell party. It is a little time consuming, but easy to do.

Materials

wire hangers (2/child)

knee highs (2/child) or nylons (1/child) any color

duct tape

several rolls of wide ribbon

pliers

glitter glue

Instructions

1. Choose 2 hangers that are about the same size. Remove any paper from the hangers.
2. Using the pliers, bend the hook down on each of the hangers. Overlap the bent hooks and duct tape the two hangers together. Make sure you cover the sharp edges.
3. Bend the triangular part of the hanger into the shape that you want for the wings. They should be pretty pliable so you won’t need the pliers for this part.
4. Cover each wing with a knee high/nylon (one leg for each wing). The the nylons over the center of the wings to cover the duct tape.
5. Tie a long piece of ribbon around the center of the wings. After the wings are decorated, you’ll wrap the ribbon over the child’s shoulders and around his/her back. Then tie a bow in the back to secure the wings to your child.
6. Let your child decorate the wings using glitter glue.

We had an amazing Tinker Bell party today. My birthday girl had a great time making memories with all of  her buddies. What  a fabulous hostess my kiddo has turned out to be! She made sure to introduce all of her friends to each other and greeted kids as they arrived. I was impressed.

We were able to have the party outside because the weather was gorgeous. (Thank you, Lord!) That gave us more flexibility with the games. This is what I ended up doing.

~The fairy wings were a big hit with the kids, but didn’t take as long to decorate as I thought they would. They are really cute, though.

~We had a Fairy Treasure Hunt. I included a list of  hunt items: Pink Pixie Dust (glittery sugar), a Silver Wand, a Silver Fairy Crown, Fairy Gold, & Bubbles. This activity was a favorite. The kids were even helping each other find things.  They were very excited about their treasures.

~I had planned on reading a story to the kids, but at the last minute I decided to use a puppet. I have to say that they LOVED the puppet, especially my own kids. If you ever have the opportunity to use puppets with preschool aged children, I recommend doing it. They are captivated by it and even talk to the puppet.

~I had the kids put on their wings and crowns and get their wands before we played games. They all needed a lot of help getting their things organized, so I’m glad there were moms there to help. We ended up playing:

• Fairy Freeze Tag – The child is “it” tags the other kids with her fairy wand. In order to become “unfrozen” the child had to clap her hands and say, “I believe” ten times.  The kids took turns being “it”.
• Follow the Leader – I started out being the leader and had the kids take turns being the leader. They loved being in the spotlight!
• Fairy, Fairy, Tink – This is Duck, Duck, Goose. The child who was “it” used her wand to tap the other kids on the head.
• Fairy Freeze Dance – We used the sound track from the Tinker Bell movie for our music.

~We took off our fairy things and washed up in order to have cake! I gave the children cupcakes and glittery, colored sugar for decorating. (I also made a cute Tinker Bell cake.)

It was a fun party that I think my birthday girl will remember! This is what being a mom is all about.

Photo courtesy of The 5th Ape

Glitterfy.com – Glitter Graphics

I am a crafty and creative gal, so I love planning our kids’ birthday parties! It brings me back to being a child. I LOVE pretend and magic and all things that make a kid’s party fun. I bake the cake and try to make it special for my kiddos. Last year C4 said, “That is the prettiest pony cake ever, Mommy!” It melted my heart!

This year C4 is turning 5, and she wants a Tinker Bell party. I have been thinking lots about this theme. I watched many Peter Pan videos, read the lyrics for songs, and even visited the Disney Tinker Bell web site. I’ve researched Tinker Bell party games and decided which ones we are going to play. I watched a few how to videos on making fairy wings for our craft. You might like the wings craft found on Kids Craft Weekly or the one found on About.Com I even made my own invitation today. Whew! I have been a busy mommy today.

The goal is to throw a really fun party with an extremely small budget. I am being quite savvy here. The craft uses recycled materials: wire hangers & old nylons. The games require some edible glitter, music, bubbles and imagination. One of the activities involves the children putting together their own goody bags with items they search for on a fairy scavenger hunt. I decided to have the party from 2-5 in order to avoid feeding a crowd a meal. I will simply serve snacks, cake, and juice.

Now I have to get the guest list down to a reasonable number. C4 has 19 children on the list including her sister and herself. We’re having this shindig in our backyard (and inside if it pours) so I want a reasonable number. It may take some negotiation, but I think I can be persuasive!

I am excited about the party! I will keep you posted on how it goes.