Rapunzel Party for Under $100

My daughter asked for a "Tangled" party for her sixth birthday. I was up to the challenge, so much so that I vowed to plan the whole thing for less than $100. No reason, really, except why break the bank on a two-hour party for kids who are still learning how to tie their own shoes?

I kept the guest list minimal, just the girls from her kindergarten class. For the invitations, I used scrapbooking paper I already had.


Total cost: $4.40 for 10 stamps


And my sweet friend Kim made these tower cupcakes:



Cupcakes with ice cream cone towers and yellow licorice hair


I was all set to pay Kim for these mini works of art, but she happened to see my sweater pumpkins on her way out the door. She took her pick of the patch, and we called it even.

Instead of balloons, streamers or paper products, I spent $14 on several yards of clearance fabric and unfurled it from the second floor window so it would look like long hair.

It's not a party until someone lets down her hair.

For favors, I wanted something besides the usual treat bags. Since lanterns are a huge part of the movie, I made my own version from the canning jars sitting in my basement. (I'm not a canner. I'll never be a canner. It was time to admit it and move on.) Some orange spraypaint left over from a failed decorating project and some raffia handles turned them into "Tangled" lanterns that could double as Halloween decorations. The party guests decorated the jars with stickers ($2) and filled them with glow sticks ($5). A craft that doubled as a favor. Done and done.

Since we had cupcakes, pizza and juice boxes, there was no need for silverware or cups. I used my Fiest ware plates. Nothing broke. Probably could've even skipped the pizza.

Although I'd planned a few paper crafts and cookie decorating, we never got around to it. The girls were happy sitting on the couch and petting our elderly Persian cat. And riding around the backyard in the hand-me-down Barbie Jeep. And peering through the cat door into the basement. And exploring my daughter's bedroom. It's always more fun to play with someone else's toys, right?

For the last 20 minutes of the party, they gathered in the living room with their glowing lanterns to watch "Tangled" with the lights out until their moms came to pick them up. It was kinda perfect.