Arabian Princess Party

Arabian Princess party Aladdin's lamp costume idea

Invitations worthy of an Arabian Princess

Craft a scroll. Spray paint a wooden dowel gold and glue an ornate fabric. Wrap
the invitation inside and secure with a fancy ribbon. Take inspiration from the
Indian Wedding scrolls, pictured right.

Make it charming. The tiny magic lamp charm, pictured left, would make an ideal
accent for a card layered in amethyst and gold.

Mail some magic. The 3D Lenticular postcard, left, brings Aladdin's magic lamp
into action. Print invitation details on your computer onto full sheet laser labels
and cut to the postcard size.

Arabian princess party invitation wording ideas:

You've been summoned by the Sultan for Jade's eighth birthday!
Please arrange transport by camel, a magic carpet ride or a genie on
Saturday, August 22 at noon
Party Oasis: Sultan's Palace at 123 Main Street
RSVP: Harem leader Tiffany at 867-5309.

More ways to set the scene

Turn your backyard into an oasis. Create an oasis outside with a camping canopy.
Drape sheets in emerald green, peacock blue, garnet red and amethyst shades
of purple. Make a few cardboard camels in a caravan and stick them into the
sandbox. Ideally, dromedary's (camels) should have one hump, and not two as
pictured incorrectly, right.

Create an oasis. Make blue raspberry gelatin for the oasis. Crush vanilla
sandwich cookies in a baggie to make the sand, then prop plastic palm trees
and mini camels surrounding your oasis.

Decorate the family. Perhaps Dad won't mind dressing the part of a Sultan
wearing a turban with plume, vest, and a waist sash. Otherwise, a red fez with
a tassel will do.

Tea in the Sahara with the Sultan's Daughter

Ditch the forks. Eat with your fingers, but only with the right hand! (Anyone
caught using their left hand must perform a dance for the others.) Kids will enjoy
a simple meal of Kebabs, pita bread, cucumbers, grapes and cheeses. Provide a
hummus dip or eggplant dip, but don't expect all the girls to participate in the
sampling. Or skewer tortellini with a light salad dressing. Serve meals on golden
paper plates. Shop thrift shops for housewares with a brass or golden accents.

Nosh on candy kebabs for dessert. You'll rock the Casbah with the kids when you
skewer up colorful marshmallows, gummy candies, licorice Allsorts, cut licorice,
Lifesavers, gum drops and spice drops, fruit roll-ups, and cookies with holes. Roll
some of the marshmallows in non-pareils or edible glitter. The finishing touch is a
bit of curling ribbon at the end. As an activity, kids can make their own if you set
an array of bowls. Set aside cellophane bags with gift tags, so the kids can take
home their own creations. See our Chef's party ideas for candy Kabobs.

Magic Carpet Rides and Activities:

Jewel hunt. Hide small stones you paint or gems you find at the craft store
before the party starts. Guests may notice them and when one does announce
that forty thieves have hidden forty jewels and that a prize will be awarded to
the one who finds the most: chocolate coins.

Cave of Wonders: Gather 15-25 small treasures, party favors, cookies, or candy
and set them in tray in another room. Allow 30 seconds to review the items on
the tray in the cave of wonders and then return to privately to the lounge to
write what they saw. Younger girls can whisper to an adult who records their
findings. The girl who remembers the most objects wins! Gather your Arabian
princesses in a circle and award the winner a special prize or allow her to be first
to select an object from the tray. The girl on her right selects the next prize and
so on. Ensure two tiny treasures for each child and some leftovers.

Musical carpets: Seek leftover carpet squares from the carpet store and play
musical chairs with the carpets. (Save them because they make wonderful seat
cushions for picnics). In a pinch, you can use towels or the pillows you've crafted
for the party. Have one less "carpet" than the number of players. Play music
from the movie Aladdin stops everyone must grab a seat on the carpet.

Sultan says: This game plays like Simon says, but with a twist. Provide a carpet
or towel for each girl at one end of the party area. Place scarves at the center of
the room, and a magic lamp somewhere close. Begin with Sultan says "Rub the
magic lamp." Girls rub. "Sultan says, get on your magic carpet." Girls find a magic
carpet. "Sultan says dance on the magic carpet." Girls dance. "Pick a scarf and
dance some more." Uh oh, Sultan didn't say get off your magic carpet." The last
girl standing on the carpet wins.

Snake charmer's reward. Buy several rubber snakes and hide them in the grass,
shrubs and low hanging branches. During the course of the party announce that
while training, the royal snake charmer has lost a disobedient snake or two in
the palace, and it's up to the kids to find them. Pair the kids, telling them that it's
too dangerous to find the snakes alone as they are untamed. Use scarves to tie
two kids loosely at the wrist. Then provide one kid with a bag to collect the
snakes, the other with a dish washing glove. Both spy the snake, but they bag
the snake together with their free hand only. The team with the most snakes, or
a special snake you mark, wins. Kids learn cooperation and have fun during the
process. Award the winners, but provide the other team a small treat too.

Resources for an Arabian Princess:

Give her Genie dreams. Turn her room into a Genie's bottle with a M oroccan style
bedroom and a gorgeous handcrafted Jeannie Bottle.

Sew cool! Learn how to make harem girl pantaloons or put together a hip scarf.

Get a quick belly dancing lesson from Binah and Nina, so you can teach the kids.

Learn ho w to make foot-thongs (harem jewelry) out of beads.

Arabian Princess party Genie Party balloon

Arabian Princess Party
How to have a birthday party fit for the sultan's daughter

Your little Princess Jasmine won't believe her eyes when you unveil an exotic Arabian
Princess party. And you'll feel like a genie in a bottle when you make her birthday
wishes come true with an oasis of magic carpet rides, golden oil lamps, sultry scarves,
and a chic sultan's lounge for her harem of friends.

Here's how to fill the room with incense and finery from the Middle East:

Adorn the girls with glittery eyes and fluttery veils. The make-over begins with a
genie up-doo: wrap hair in a ponytail then pull a section of hair, twirl it around
to cover the elastic, and fasten with hairpins. Craft an easy veil with a sequin
headband and organza or other sheer fabric. Face painting glitter transforms
eyes with a swoosh. The finishing touch is when you apply a henna tattoo.

Allow them to be the Sultan's Daughters of swing! Arrange belly dancing lessons,
or allow the girls to show off their own moves with finger cymbals, scarves,
gypsy bangles, and a naval jewel if you dare.

Pitch an easy Bedouin tent. Lounge your Arabian princesses under a bed
canopy, pictured left, or wrap sheets around a hula hoop and suspend it from
the ceiling. Make pillow covers to transform cushions you already own. Choose
emerald, peacock, garnet and amethyst colors for the canopy and pillows. Next,
transform a coffee table or an ottoman with a tray into a low table for the feast.

Fill the air with magic. Burn incense with adult supervise (and never burn
incense inside tent). See the brass genie lamp on Amazon that burns incense: