Young girls live their dream with frilly dresses and makeup

Published 2:59 pm Tuesday, July 23, 2013

: Princess Party attendees pose for a photo after dining on chicken sticks, pizza rolls, dip, fresh fruit, cupcakes and pink lemonade. | Clif Knight

Sixteen young girls between the ages of five and eight had the opportunity to live out their dream of being a princess on Friday as guests at the Seventh Annual Hartselle Princess Party, an event sponsored by Hartselle’s Parks & Recreation Department.

Dressed in evening attire, the partygoers entered a reception room in the civic center through a look-alike castle door and were then seated behind dining tables covered with pink table cloths.

Their first order of the two-hour midday event was for the girls to design and make their own tiaras, using colorful pieces of decorative materials that were laid out in advance for their convenience. Assistance was provided by P&R staffers Staci Segler, Heather Hemming and Kathy Helton along with several mothers and chaperones.

Perhaps the best part in the eyes of the girls came next with a cosmetic makeover. One at a time, the girls moved through make up stations where they had their fingernails painted and their faces made up with rouge and lipstick.

The girls were given several minutes to mix and mingle and check out each other’s “new look’ before returning to their tables to hand decorate cupcakes, which were topped with real purple and pink ice cream cones. Small pieces of candy, including M&Ms were provided as decoration material. The temptation to sample the M&Ms proved to be more than some of the girls could withstand, and more of them found their way into hungry mouths than on the surface of the cupcakes.

Tea time was called at noon and a tasty lunch was served. The menu, which was prepared by the P&R staff, consisted of fresh fruit, chicken sticks, pizza rolls, dip, pink lemonade and decorated cupcakes, of course.

Afterwards, games were played and prizes were awarded to the winners. The games included “Pin a Kiss on Prince Charming” and “Musical Throne.”

Danielle Pace said her daughter Emilee, 6, really looked forward to dressing up as a princess and coming to the party after learning about it at the OWO Center.

“That’s all she has talked about since she found out about it,” Mrs. Pace said.

Emilee said getting her fingernails painted was the best part.