My 4 yr old wants a 'tea party' theme this year. I was thinking a garden setting would be nice. Have any of you been to the Arboretum or other garden type setting? Anyone familiar enough with the location to know where to go for a picnic, etc?

I don't have input on Arboretum, but I've seen a friend throw a tea party that was a big success. She got teacups and saucers from goodwill and ebay and cut long feather boas in half for the girls to wear. They made their own necklaces at a craft table (instead of favors) before tea time, which had lots of little sandwiches and cookies and they drank mostly lemonade and punch from their teacups since most didn't actually like tea.

It was super cute, and I think she spent about $60 in total. It was at her house, though.

Hey thanks for the hints! That's exactly what we were thinking of doing. Problem is most of her circle of friends are out on vacation so we were thinking of having a 'family' tea party at the Arboretum then a 'tea party' birthday party with all the favors the following weekend.

All ideas are welcome!

Where do 4 year olds go on vacation?

Disney?

[This message has been edited by Comeby! (edited 7/7/2010 10:03p).]

Our 5 yo did a dress up / make up thing at a kids hair place last year, Groovy Kids Cuts (owned by the Sister of an Ag if it matters (not mine)). They all got hair and make up done, then dressed up in fancy outfits they had there and did a "fashion show." They had attentive high school girls that the 5 yos were terribly impressed by (us parents were impressed by the good attitudes of the older girls) doing all the makeup, hair and event stuff.

The kids had a great time. It was in the typical price range for those types of kids parties - couple hundred for like 12 girls I think. They have a location up off of 121 somewhat near you Comeby.



[This message has been edited by Absolute (edited 7/9/2010 9:02a).]

The Arboetum is huge. There is plenty of green space within it where you could do this. Plus, they have kid areas as well.

There is a tea shop in downtown Plano that does tea parties for little kids. Also, they do small family tea parties.

The arboretum is very nice, but it is July and it is in Dallas. Expect it to be hot (Will 4 year olds care if it is hot? Maybe not, but most parents will). Years ago, I attended an 10 am wedding at the arboretum. I sweated through my suit before my friends said "I do".

You may want to consider an indoor location or postpone the party until September.

Thanks for all the reponses. We were unsure about the rain and heat so we decided to go with the "Alice in Wonderland" tea party theme at the Gaylord Texan.

I can't believe how ridiculous B-Day parties have become for little kids these days. An "Alice in Wonderland" themed tea party at some place like the Gaylord Texan (or whatever the equivalent would have been) would have been viewed as extravagent nutsville back in the day.

And for full disclosure, I've got a 7 year old and a 3 year old, and I'm partially responsible for this madness because I go along with it.

quote:

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I can't believe how ridiculous B-Day parties have become for little kids these days. An "Alice in Wonderland" themed tea party at some place like the Gaylord Texan (or whatever the equivalent would have been) would have been viewed as extravagent nutsville back in the day.

And for full disclosure, I've got a 7 year old and a 3 year old, and I'm partially responsible for this madness because I go along with it.

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My kids are 23, 20 and 17, so we're way past the birthdays.... it was nothing like this when they were little..... BE PREPARED THOUGH--- wait until they hit high school and have Homecoming dances and Prom..... it's way over the top and insanely expensive!

I'm definitely dreading those events as well. Chuck E Cheese was the effing pinnacle back in my late 70's early 80's childhood, and I never even got one of those. I think pretty much all of my birthdays were at home or if we actually went somewhere, I was only cleared to bring a couple of friends along.

What the hell ever happened to cake, ice cream and pin the tail on the donkey...? That's all I had as a kid and it was simple and great!

[This message has been edited by chick79 (edited 7/14/2010 9:56a).]

Yes, because I'm over the top and ordered in the Alice in Wonderland madness at the Gaylord which included my wife, my son, my parents and a cake.

http://www.gaylordhotels.com/gaylord-texan/specials-packages/specials/summerfest-vacation/index.html?intcmp=tx-cid=summerfest-content

I want to make fun of you for this, but actually I think it is a very cool thing for you to do. She will remember it forever.

They have a tea room at the "American Girl" Doll place near the galleria. fwiw, might help out in the future.

We went there last week specifically for that but it was very expensive and couldn't round up a set of friends in time. That and the other girls didn't have AG dolls.

My most extravegant bday parties were at McDonald's.

F you, Ronald!

A lady at my office makes birthday cakes for kids parties... for $150 and up. She stays busy in Highland Park.

I had $14.99 cakes from Sams and thought roses made of icing were awesome. Times are changing...