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Bratz Party - Big Red Lips Cake

June 2003

Jodi in Lebanon PA  USA

Special Mention

Bratz Party - my daughter is OBSESSED with Bratz and I haven't been able to find really a whole lot on this theme yet so we decided to see what we could come up with for her next birthday party. 

INVITATIONS:  I try to hand-make as much as I can to save money, and also because I enjoy it.  Print out a Bratz (we have to use Chloe!) from the internet, and fold up our own invitations, on the front with the picture of Chloe it says "Super cool....Girls rule!"  and then inside, "Join us for some Funky Fun...at Arlena's Bratz Birthday Bash!" 

DECORATIONS:  Everything has to be as flashy and, as my daughter says, "fashion" as possible.  I'm going for sparkly, so silver ribbon curtain for them to walk through when they come in the front door.  Pink, lavender, silver, and clear balloons gathered in groups all over the rooms we'll be using.  I always hand-make the tablecloth because I can't see spending $4 on something that just gets messed up!!!  I have an end roll that I got free from the local newspaper company, (it's basically a huge roll of paper that's as wide as a newspaper and blank, ask your local newspaper!) I roll it out a little longer than the table, and print out pictures of Bratz from the internet, trace them onto the paper, and then my kids can help me color them in.  Scattered all over the background, I put little stars (with silver crayons) and little lips.  I always make TWO tablecloths, since one always gets a little messy with craft time, then I can just swap them out when it's time to eat.  Also, underneath everyones plate will be a cardboard star covered in foil, to use as their "placemat".  I got dark purple plastic forks and spoons and drew dots and squiggly lines randomly on them with a silver paint pen, just to give them a little more flair.  You can find Bratz plates and napkins now at birthday express. 

CAKE:  I made 2 rectangle cakes and used the Pillsbury valentines cake mixes (you can buy these in Feb. and freeze the boxes until time) - they're white cake with red and pink dots all through the batter.  Then I cut them and put them together so they look like a big pair of lips - one cake is the top lip, other cake is the bottom.  Frost with red icing - the icing gets "redder" if you use the red wilton color in the paste instead of just food coloring.  I made a 3rd round cake in white cake mix(or whatever you want)and cut it just a little to look like a balloon, like in a cartoon when a person is talking, and I iced it white and put it next to the lips to look like the lips were talking and wrote "Happy Birthday Arlena!" on it.  Now I realize this is a lot of cakes, but we always freeze what we don't eat now so we don't waste it.  Plus if you're making it yourself, it's only like 90 cents per box of cake mix and still comes out WAY less than what you would pay to have someone make a cake.  I also bought a cheap sparkly tiara for the birthday girl to wear instead of a hat, since we're trying to be fashionable here! :) 

GAMES:  First, we are getting out all the dress up clothes we can find, from our house and some of my friends pitch in - the more boas, the better!  Have all the kids dress up as fashionable as they can.  I also have a friend recruited to help do "makeovers" on the girls.  We'll tease up their hair and put make-up on them.  During the make-up part, we want them to feel like they're getting the royal treatment, so as you put on the make-up, explain what you're doing - example, "this color of eyeshadow will really bring out your eyes", etc.  Make them feel glamorous!)Also, let them pick out what color of nail polish they want and do up their nails.  When everyone is as fashionable as they can possibly get, we're going to make a fashion show video.  Adults will leave the room for a little bit so they can practice so they're not self-conscious.  (listen in the next room though so they're not totally "unsupervised!") After they've had a little fun, we'll put on some music and let them strut their stuff while my friend videos and I do the announcements with the toy microphone("Sydney looks stunning in her black shimmery pants, with pink feather boa", etc).  When they're done with the video, we are planning a quick trip to the mall - IN THEIR FASHIONABLE CLOTHES!!!  The mall here is only about 2 minutes from my house.  We're gonna load up the 2 vans and head to the mall for slushies.  We have a pretzel stand right next to the water fountain at the end of our very small mall, and there are little 2-seater tables all around it.  We're gonna take them all into the mall, get them kid sized slushies and let them sit at the little tables in front of the fountain - (like being in Paris, isn't it!).  Afterwards, it's back to the house. 

CRAFT:  Bratz are known for their big lips and big shoes.  The lips were easy enough, a local candy store here sells red wax lips.  For the shoes, I went to the local craft store and got blocks of very thick styrofoam and cut them down to about a little bigger than the size of kids feet around this age.  I cut small upside down triangles out of the sides to mark where the heel would go on a shoe. I also cut a small slit the entire way through the block in the center in 2 places with a very long knife, and put a piece of ribbon through each slot.  Each child gets 2 blocks of styrofoam to paint and glitter-glue up as much as they want.  You will definitely need paint for this, because crayon doesn't work so well on styrofoam!  I found some great glitter poster paint at Walmart that's washable.  Once their block is decorated and given a chance to dry (good time to do cake),tie them onto the girls foot with the ribbon, you can even go up her leg a bit with the ribbon if you make it really long.  There you go - instant clunky Bratz shoes!  Each child got to pose for a picture in their dress up clothes, big Bratz lips and big Bratz shoes!  Since I'm too cheap to spring for polariod film, I take the pictures with my regular camera, and then when they're developed, a copy of the picture goes into each thank you card.  That way the girls can have a good laugh after the party is over, and a reminder of how much fun they had. 

TREAT BAGS:  I got out my sewing machine, and got some glittery cotton material and made little purses for each girl to take their treats home - basically just making a pouch with 2 straps, not hard.  Also, hot glue some maribou around the top if you can find it.  Very cute!  Inside the purses, each girl gets to take home a pair of sunglasses, a bottle of nail polish, lip gloss, slap bracelet, some diamond heart stick-on tatoos, sticker earrings, and a bratz key chain.  All of this will take up quite a bit of time, we usually allow 2 hours for our parties.  This one is sure to be a hit!!! :)

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