Barbie Party details

Back in early fall, I threw the Barbie party of my dreams. Friends (all adults) came and everyone—Barbies, Kens too—dressed up as our favorite pink-clad feminist icons`. We laughed, drank, posed for pics, and collectively worked to heal our inner children.

It was a point of pride for me that our home transformed, namely our basement, into a total Dreamhouse (or, Mojo Dojo Casa House, depending on who you ask). I worked hard to insert fun and meaningful details to create a lasting impression and transport us all into a Barbie Girl world (the best kind, in my opinion!).

Here are some of the details from our flawless day.

Refreshments

Let’s start with the food and drinks!

Food

We kept the menu light, with a grazing table draped in assorted whites and pinks. To do so, I purchased a basic meat and cheese platter from Sendiks, then combined it with a veggie platter. I added pink and purple food coloring to the dipping sauces for a little extra flair. In terms of server-ware, we had a mix of disposable plates, but I these small pink heart ones were my favorite.

In my opinion, the desserts were the biggest hits, for good reason—local bakers made them! We ordered cakesicles from Milwaukee superstar Whisk Chick, and sugar cookies from the talented Mrs. Williams’ Kitchen. Both orders were custom, and I gave the bakers total design freedom. They knocked it out of the park! These treats were my favorite details of the entire party, and they were delicious too.

Additionally, I found a few smaller themed items to display, like pink starbursts, packaged Hostess strawberry cheesecakes, and frosted animal cookies. These were displayed alongside thrifted plates, vases, table runners, and candles.

Drinks

I had a lot of fun with the Barbie party drinks. In addition to the standard party options (water, beer, seltzers, etc.), we created a couple signature Barbie drinks.

Here’s the menu I created, printed out, and displayed, using a thrifted gold frame:

For the Pink Punch option, I ordered clear drink pouches and added Barbie stickers to add the sparkle and pizazz I was chasing.

We served the Malibu Barbie drink in glittery plastic champagne glasses on art deco trays (thrifted), which added a touch of glamour to the very boozy drinks. Plus, we had ice molded into tiny hearts.

Also: shout out to my husband, Chad, who made all the drinks!

Our bar had a few quirky touches, like a bowl of tiny disco balls, paper straws in a pink pencil case (thrifted), and a print with an empowering pledge quote from Parks and Rec. As an extra bonus, our beer fridge (for the It’s Just Beer option, of course) donned a poorly-spaced handwritten sign, saying “Ken’s manly beer.”

Favors

Who doesn’t love a good party favor?! Here’s what I picked out, displayed both on a favor board at the entrance to the party, as well as strewn throughout the house.

• Pink heart sunglasses
• Silk scrunchies
• An ode to Ken: hand-assembled horse pendant necklaces (lol!)
• Nail stickers
• Barbie-themed temporary tattoos

DIY

I made several decorations, armed with a vision, Pinterest, various craft supplies, and many sessions of trial and error. Here are a few things I made!

• Arch backdrops for a photo booth
• Life-sized foam barbie box
• Mojo Dojo Casa House posterboard wall sign
• Barbie posterboard wall sign
• Fringe crepe paper backdrop
• Favor board

Wall art

I wanted to make sure our walls were covered with Barbie-oriented art. You know, it was a vibe.

In our basement, I hung up three posters that I designed myself. I had them printed through Walmart, and hung them with thrifted frames.

One corner of the basement was decorated with small frames dedicated to written art. In one, I printed the monologue spoken by America Ferrera’s character in the Barbie Movie. In the other, I printed my own narrative piece, “Girlhood.“

Last, I covered some existing hanging frames with a blueprint design of Barbie’s workshop dimensions. I found the design online, then printed it on different colors of construction paper.

Other touches of Barbie

Here are the other things I used to decorate and/or add a few small sparkly touches to the event.

• A toy convertible Barbie centerpiece, filled with flowers
• A playlist of empowering pop songs playing downstairs
• The Barbie Movie playing upstairs, on repeat
• Pink-hued towels in the kitchen and bathroom
• Thrifted fabrics, which I used to cover our white sectional in the basement
• A pink blow-up chair (this was one of my favorite things, straight from my childhood! I drove an hour away to snag it), neon pink heart sign, and small pink rug – all from fivebelow, which were used throughout the basement
• “B” balloon letter, for the photo backdrop
• Glittery disco ball streamers, which added a perfect touch in front of standard pink and purple streamer backgrounds
• A fun invitation, of course
• The classic “let’s go party” banner
• Pink balloons

This Barbie’s a party planner!

A lot of labor and love went into the creation of our Barbie party! I think it was felt by every guest through the tangible details—the refreshments, wall art, decor, props, favors, and everything in between.

And you know what? Worth it. Anything for my Barbies! (And, Kens.)