Madeline’s Fancy Nancy, Paris, Butterfly Themed 4th Birthday Party
Hello friends and happy Thursday! Today, I’m so excited to be sharing all the details to Madeline’s 4th birthday party. I still can’t believe that my big girl is officially FOUR!
The months leading up to her birthday, I had been asking her which kind of party she would like to have. She put a few ideas out there, so I finally told her that she had to make up her mind. Madeline LOVES mermaids, so I truly thought she was going to ask for a mermaid themed party. I even had everything planned out in my head haha, but all of the sudden, she mentioned a Fancy Nancy party, and y’all, she was dead set on it!!! I didn’t really think I could make it everything I envisioned it would be, since the TV series is fairly new (Madeline of course had Fancy Nancy the show in her head instead of the books, as she saw the show before we checked out the books). So, I began my research. Everything started to come together! What I didn’t know at first was just how perfect this theme was for Madeline. She and Nancy for sure share some common interests haha 🙂
First of all, Madeline has always loved the Fancy Nancy show since Disney Jr. brought it out a year or so ago! So, I knew a Fancy Nancy party is something she would love. If you’re familiar with Fancy Nancy, then you may know that she’s a little girl who loves all things fancy (dressing up, pretending, using fancy words, etc.) and things that involve Paris! And since Madeline loves the Eiffel Tower (and her name is French…aka Madeline, the little French girl in the story book), tying in some Parisian details was perfect. Lastly, Madeline loves butterflies. Her favorite Fancy Nancy episode is the butterfly one, and her favorite Fancy Nancy song is “When You Can Fly Again” (pretty much the sweetest song ever). When I say butterfly, Madeline always corrects me and says, “You mean Papillon, Mama” haha. So, a Fancy Nancy, Paris, Butterfly themed birthday party was absolutely perfect for my girl! Madeline’s favorite colors are also pink and purple, so I tried to mainly alternate these colors throughout her party.
I also want to mention, that I want this post to not only tell the story of her party and the inspiration behind it, but also be informative for y’all. For example, I’m sharing my favorite place to print digital file invitations (she’s the BEST), who I can always trust with the food label cards for the food table, my favorite thing to make for her parties, and more. So, whether you’re throwing a party for a girl, boy, child, adult, bridal shower, baby shower, etc., there is some helpful info for you as well. And at the end of this post, everything I purchased for there party will be linked.
The Invitations:
I always start each party I plan with the invitations. I ended up going with these invitations for Madeline’s party! Sure, they’re Fancy Nancy from the book series, but they were my favorite invites of all. However, I don’t know about y’all, but I always would feel so overwhelmed when finding a digital file invite on Etsy and not knowing where to have them printed. Printing them at home myself never turned out very well. I have had them printed at local printing shops before, and they never looked that great, so I decided to only buy invites that would be printed as well. That is util I found this Etsy shop. Y’all they are amazing!!! And affordable, as well. I can always trust them, and they get them to me super quickly. I have even had her print posters for me. Judy and her team are nothing short of awesome! If you ever have invites that need to be printed, I highly recommend using her. All you have to do is purchase the Etsy listing with the number of invites you need (don’t see it? Just shoot her a message), and you can have them printed on the best quality paper. They have always turned out amazing for me!
Where to begin:
The next thing I do with planning each party is draw out a diagram of the party. I draw out the area where the party will be held, draw the tables, decide on what decorations I want to have and where they will go. Draw out the centerpieces, etc. Then I make a list of all the things I need to purchase, order/reserve (cake, bounce house, face painter, etc.), and craft. Then I see how time sensitive each to-do is, and start with the ones that will take the longest to be completed. Then, I write up the guest list, the menu, and anything else I may need. Having all of this drawn out and on paper this year helped me plan out the party so much more easily. Everything came together so smoothly!
Tables:
For the party, I had the food table, the miscellaneous table (for favors, fun decorations, candy and more), kids tables, adult tables, and a face painting table. At the end of this post are all of the things y’all see on every table. I have direct links for each thing I purchased, and if I crafted it, I’ll mention it below 🙂
What I Crafted:
I was actually surprised, because this year it felt like I didn’t have quite as much to craft, especially compared to her Frozen party last year. Each year, however, I always make a tulle table skirt. This year (with some tying help from my brother) I knocked it out in record time. So, I highly suggest recruiting one person to cut the tulle as you tie it. I followed this tutorial the first year I made one, and now I could pretty much make one with my eyes closed haha. This tulle skirt bordered the food table, and it is always such a statement!! I used the four colors of Nancy haha: pink, lavender, yellow and turquoise blue. I always use a white ribbon to tie the tulle to (about one inch thick), and I ended up being about 28 rolls of tulle total for a 96×30 rectangular folding table. I use a combination of command hooks and clear packing tape to secure it to the table.
The only other thing I really “crafted” are the butterflies on the Eiffel towers and the candy boxes for the candy stand. Not really sure it that counts as crafting haha, but they sure were adorable! I purchased two of these butterfly packs, and they were the perfect amount to glue onto twelve of these gold glittery Eiffel Towers. I also got these butterflies to glue on to the candy containers.
Decorations:
Centerpieces: For the centerpieces, I decided to get creative and use Eiffel towers and feather boas…all things Nancy would approve of 🙂 I used these hot pink and light pink feather boas. And I found these adorable gold glittery Eiffel towers. They were so easy to put together and looked just precious on the tables! I used three per each kids table, one for each adult table, one on the face painting table, two on the food table and one on the miscellaneous table. I also incorporated these diamonds into the mix.
Banners/Garlands: I always love having some tassel garlands incorporated into the decorations. I love the way these turned out this year! I purchased this personalized Fancy Nancy name banner as well. And lastly, I found these adorable butterfly garlands on Amazon.
Backdrop: This backdrop was such an easy process, and I was SO pleased! It turned out so adorable, and was exactly what I was looking for. In the past, I’ve had to find the backdrop in a digital file and have it printed, but this shop does it all for you.
F O U R Letters: Last year, I created something similar to these, but this year I was SO excited to find these precious Fancy Nancy themed letters. Since Madeline’s name is long, I decided to just spell out her age for these, and I love the way they turned out! She can do letters for so many different party themes.
Activities for the Kids:
I always like to have several fun activities for the kids at Madeline’s parties. And since both boys and girls came to the party, I try to make sure there’s something fun for everyone!!
Bounce House: One thing we have year after year (seriously Madeline looks forward to it each year and her parties wouldn’t be the same without it) is a bounce house. The kids always enjoy it so much as well. This year we had the best experience with renting! We rented from KLR Events, and they are just the sweetest family. They are so kind, helpful, and have a wide selection of inflatables to choose from. They are currently in the process of setting up their website, but I’ll link it once it’s complete. And just in case you’re in the area and looking for someone to rent from, feel free to message me, and I’ll get their info over to you 🙂
Face Painting: It’s no secret that Fancy Nancy loves to paint. With this, I thought it would be so fun to have some face painting at her party. The kids LOVED this!! Mrs. Mia was absolutely amazing. She’s in Atlanta, but came here for Madeline’s party. Her paintings were adorable, and the kids were going back over and over again, admiring the art on each others faces.
Mini Canvases + Easels: The third and final activity I had for the kids was an opportunity for them to do some art work of their own. I found these mini canvases + easels, and they were absolutely precious! There was a canvas + easel at each place. I was surprised at how many painted their canvases and took them home with them. I purchased this set of paint pots, as well, and figured to have about one for every for each 2-3 kids. This activity was definitely a hit!
Favors for the Kids:
Butterfly Wings: I saw the cutest idea on Pinterest to tie wings to the back of each chair at the party. This was partly a butterfly themed party, after all 🙂 So, I found this set of pink and lavender butterfly wings, and tied one to the back of each chair. When the little girls left, they each got to take home their wings.
Fairy Wands: I also saw the idea to wrap a fork in a napkin and tie each one with one of these mini fairy wands to set at each child’s place. The kids also loved these! When they left, they got to take their wand home with them as well.
Pirate Hats: Since we had several little boys at the party, I wanted them to have something to take home from the party as well. I remembered there’s a Fancy Nancy episode where Nancy’s little sister, Jojo, plays pirates with her friend. And there’s a part where she refers to their dog, Frenchy, as “Captain Frenchy”. So, I created a graphic where Jojo and Frenchy were displayed as pirates to give a pirate hat to each of the boys to take home. They loved this as well!
Candy Station: I also love setting up a candy station for all the guests. There was enough candy for parents as well 🙂 The kids loved being able to scoop out the candy and fix a box of candy to take home as well.
Cookies: I also had cookies for each of the kids to take home. We had butterfly cookies and a set of Eiffel tower + the number “4” cookies. These cookies were really cute, but I was’t very pleased with my overall experience, and I don’t think I would buy from them again.
Teacups: Each child got to take home a “fancy” teacup as well 🙂 These were also a hit! And so precious, especially considering the fact that they have a lid and straw.
Menu:
I had so much fun creating this menu! If you have watched Fancy Nancy, then you know that all throughout the show, she will say a “fancy word” then turn to the camera and whisper “That’s a fancy word for…”. So for example, she’ll say “papillon” and then turn the camera to say “that’s a fancy word for butterfly”. So, I used this idea with the food labels. We had some of Madeline’s favorites including, meatballs, petit fours, crackers with cheese and of course chocolate covered strawberries. Our dear friend, Mrs. Heidi, is quite possibly the best chocolate covered strawberry maker of all time. She has made them for Madeline’s parties two years in a row now, and she’s spoiled us. She does such a beautiful job with them, and they always taste amazing. We just adore Mrs. Heidi (and her chocolate covered strawberries). Anyways, I’ll list the menu and what we put on each food label below:
1. Craquelins Papillon
(That’s French for butterfly crackers)
2. Chicken Salad or Ham + Cheese Croissants
(Croissant is a fancy word for bread)
3. Petit Fours
(That’s fancy for small cakes)
4. Crudités
(That’s French for Vibrant Veggies)
5. Boulettes de Viande
(That’s French for meatballs)
6. Quiche
(That’s a fancy word for bakes pastries)
7. Fraises Recouvertes de Chocolat
(That’s French for chocolate covered strawberries)
8. Bonbons
(That’s a fancy way to say candy)
9. “Pinkes Up” Punch
The Shops I Can Always Trust:
Accucolor Celebrations: This is the shop I mentioned above and use for all of my printing! Judy and her crew are nothing short of AMAZING! I have used them for four or so printings, and have always been SO pleased! Judy and her crew are so kind, always wanting to make sure their customers are pleased, have a fast turnaround time and print on the finest quality paper. If you ever need someone to print your digital invites, I highly recommend them. It’s so simple to purchase a digital file invitation on Etsy and then turnaround to have it printed on Etsy as well. Total game changer!
The Pretty Party Shop: Okay y’all, I could go on and on and on about how much I love this shop and Kim, the owner! This was the third year that I have used Kim for the food labels for Madeline’s parties. She is nothing short of awesome!!! First off, I just adore her and always love chatting with her about ideas. I go back to her time and time again, and she’s one of those people that, although I’ve never met her, I feel like we could sit down for a cup of coffee and chat haha. She’s so sweet! Not to mention, she’s also super talented!! And she really proved it this year with the food labels. She wasn’t even all that familiar with Fancy Nancy, yet she did an absolutely incredible job! Her creativity just shines through with her work, and she always goes above and beyond to make sure it’s exactly what her customers want. I highly recommend Kim for all your party needs!
Pom Love: So I pretty much have an obsession with tassel garlands. I love to have one made for each party. I also had one made for my sister’s wedding, with her wedding colors. We hung it at the house where we stayed for her bachelorette, and I hung it up again at the condo where we stayed for her wedding. Kirsten, the owner of Pom Love, is amazing!! I have used her time and time again, and she never fails to have me so pleased. She does an amazing job. I can send her pretty much any idea or color scheme and she’ll match the colors up perfectly! I always love working with Kirsten.
Everything I purchased:
Balloons:
Feather Boas (Hot Pink // Light Pink)
Gold Glittery Eiffel Towers (Glued the Mini Pastel Butterflies on with hot glue gun)
Candy Jars (Homegoods Finds, but found these on Prime)
Candy Boxes (attached butterflies myself with hot glue gun)
Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope y’all found this post helpful. And if y’all have any party planning tips you’d like to share, be sure to share them in the comments below 🙂
Delightfully Yours,
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