Plan an After-School Doll Party for a Child

When Miss T was four, Lucy, turned one. So, we had a doll party after preschool one day. This is a good activity for kids who are shut in, due to inclement weather.

A birthday party doesn’t have to be for a doll. It can honor anything the child treasures. When Miss T’s father (my older son) was her age, we had a birthday party for his suitcase (its name was Suitcase) and all his stuffed animal friends joined in.

Miss T isn’t much into playing with dolls, so Lucy hasn’t been showered with the fabulous (and expensive) Bitty Baby accessories a doting grandma might buy. She does have a matching mom-and-me outfit and a few other garments that I sewed for her, but that’s it. So it was nice to throw her a party.

Making Presents: The Day Before the Party

The day before the party, Miss T made necklaces as gifts for Lucy and for her doll friends. We gift wrapped them for the next day’s party surprise. I also bought Lucy a Bitty Baby rattle for her birthday.

To make the necklaces: Provide a young child with a bagful of beads and elastic cord that is thick and stiff enough to go through the holes of the beads without requiring a needle. Tie a bead at one end, leaving a tail, to hold all the beads in place.

After the child has strung the beads, remove the first placeholder bead and tie both ends of the string together. Snip the ends, leaving a half-inch of string on each end. Cover the string ends with glue and tuck each string end into the hole of the neighboring bead on each side of the knot. Allow glue to dry before using.

Instead of necklaces, your child can make a book or rainbow crayons for the birthday doll.

Decorating Cupcakes: Party Day

I defrosted leftover cupcakes and frosting for the doll party. If I know in advance that my batter will yield more cupcakes than I’ll need for the occasion I’m baking for, I’ll bake some of the batter in mini muffin tins. They’re just the right size for a small child’s dessert or lunchbox treat.

We set out two regular-size cupcakes for the two of us, and three minis for our doll guests.

To decorate the cupcakes: Remove cupcakes from their storage container and defrost on a wire rack for about an hour. Thaw frosting overnight in the refrigerator; bring to room temperature, and stir well before using. Have the child frost the cupcakes and use tube icing and sprinkles to decorate.

For additional refreshments, make deviled eggs.

The Extra Touches for the Party

We decorated our party table with paper hats leftover from one of the children’s parties, as well as party noisemakers. Since Lindy and Lucy have smaller heads, I fashioned mini hats by making cardstock cones, hole-punching each side, and threading elastic through to keep the hats in place.

We set the table with Miss T’s (washed) toy dishes and arranged the cupcakes on a small, footed cake plate lined with a paper doily.

Blowing out the candle while singing happy birthday to Lucy was the best part. All dolls and people had a wonderful time.

What Kids Learn from this Activity

• How to plan a project–this activity requires two after-school days, from start to finish.
• Improved hand-eye coordination from stringing beads.
• The joy of doing something for others–even if the “others” are dolls.
• Accepting deferred gratification; no food or fun until the party begins.
• How to use imagination to create dialogue with the dolls in pretend play.