So your daughter has requested a Barbie and the Diamond Castle birthday party. The good news is that this film is filled with elements that inspire ideas for party crafts, games, food and favors. The bad news? Well, only that the abundance of choices may leave you wondering which ideas to use when planning this magical, musical birthday party theme.
1. Party Supplies
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Though you may wish to use actual Barbie and the Diamond Castle invitations, paper plates and party supplies, you might find them to be out of stock in many places. That’s no reason to give up on this party theme, however, as you can always just go with the color scheme of two main characters, which is pink, blue and purple. Use notecard invitations, balloons, paper streamers and paper table goods in a combination of these colors.
2. Attire
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Perhaps the birthday girl wants to dress as her favorite character. Why not invite her guests to come dressed up as well? You could ask party guests to come wearing their most beautiful dress up clothes. Of course, if you have activities planned that may be hindered by this kind of attire, an alternate suggestion is to ask them to come dressed in clothing that matches the color scheme.
3. Decorations
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In addition to the basic blue, pink and purple party supplies, there are several elements of the movie that can be used for decorating your Barbie and the Diamond Castle party space. Decorating ideas based on items that appear repeatedly through the film include:
- Musical Instruments (guitars and flutes, in particular)
Scatter inflatable instruments around the party space, or cut the shapes of instruments and music notes out of cardstock or foam board and hang them on walls, from archways and from the ceiling. Music is a central theme of the movie, so you could also use the musical cutout shapes as a party activity, when you have guests paint, color and decorate them. - Flowers
Flowers also play a big role in Barbie and the Diamond Castle. When they aren’t singing and playing music, the two main characters make their living by growing and selling flowers. Decorate with a variety of flowers, whether real, artificial or made from paper. - White Baskets and Puppies
When Alexa and Liana find two cute puppies in the valley of flowers, they adopt them and carry them in their white flower baskets. A mini plush puppy, in a small white basket at each place setting is an option for decorations that can double as the party favors. - Castle Centerpiece
A plaster castle (usually found in the wedding aisle of craft stores), painted and decorated with glitter and diamond-shaped jewels, or a toy castle, such as the Barbie and the Diamond Castle Palace makes a fitting centerpiece.
4. Food
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So maybe you don’t want to tell your hungry guests, “We have bread and jam or jam and bread,” but this line from the movie does inspire a party menu item. Jam, either on its own, or with cream cheese or peanut butter, can be used to make diamond, heart and flower shaped sandwiches. Additional food ideas to combine with your child’s favorite party fare include:
- Diamond, heart and flower shaped cookies, marshmallow cereal treats and brownies.
- Castle Cake (use a castle cake pan, or make your own with stacked cakes and overturned ice cream cones).
5. Magic Mirrors
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The magic mirror, with Melody trapped inside, sends Alexa and Liana on a journey to unlock the diamond castle and free their friend. Options for bringing the magic mirror to your birthday party include:
- Decorate hand mirrors as a party activity. You could purchase plastic hand mirrors (check the dollar store), and decorate them with paint glitter, stickers and princess jewels, or make your own with sheets of mirror board (found in craft stores) and cardstock or foam board. Also available from many craft suppliers are pre-packaged mirror-making and mirror-decorating kits. The magic mirror craft can also be used as the party’s take home gift.
- Of course, it's not necessary (and not always practical) to make one mirror for each guest. There was only one magic mirror in the movie, so you could make just one to use as a prop at your party. Paste a picture of Melody, the character trapped inside, to the face of your magic mirror. Decorate it and place it at the entrance for everyone to see, or use it to play games, such as pass the mirror (played like hot potato).
- Create a party game based on the singing the girls do with the character in the mirror. Sit your party guests in a circle and have them pass the mirror from player to player. When each guest holds the mirror, she has to sing a word from a song (choose a popular song they will all know the words to, such as Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star). The lyrics must be sung in order, and anyone who misses a word is out. If they all get the lyrics right, you can move on to a harder song, or award them all a prize.
- Place the magic mirror into a sack filled with junk, just like the one carried by the old woman in the movie. Fill a sack with items such as cooking utensils, spoons and small pot lids (no sharp objects or edges). Mix the mirror into the pile and have players reach in and try to find the mirror without looking into the sack.
6. Games, Crafts & Activities
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Played like freeze tag, with a diamond castle twist; the person who is “it” is Lydia. When Lydia tags a player, the player is under her spell and must freeze in place. Assign two or three other players to be the “muses,” who can set frozen players free by tagging them. However, a muse who is caught by Lydia while setting a player free must then become “it”. A player who is tagged by Lydia three times is turned to stone (out of the game).
Divide guests into two teams and line them up several feet away from two piles of flowers. Give each team a basket and have the first players in line run and place a flower in the basket. The first player then hand the basket off to the next player in line, who races to add another flower. The first team to have all of their flowers in the basket wins.
hide two small plush puppies somewhere around the party area. Give each puppy a nametag. Divide guests into “Team Sparkles” and “Team Lily,” and see who is first to find their puppy.
Hide several items around the party space and send players on a quest to find everything on the list. Suggestions for items to hide include heart pendants, the magic mirror, plush puppies, a bouquet of flowers, diamond “jewels” and miniature castles.
Play this game if you chose a castle cake as the birthday cake. Place the cake under a large box or hide it in another room. To “unlock” the castle cake, party guests must sing a song, just like the characters in the movie. When the song is complete, unveil the cake.
7. Favors
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At the end of the movie, the girls are crowned princesses as a reward for saving the kingdom. A princess crown reward for each girl at the end of the party makes a great party favor. If party guests decorated crowns as a party craft, collect them and hold a “crowning ceremony” at the end of the event.
In addition to the crowns, any crafts, such as heart pendants and magic mirrors make perfect party favors.
Other favor ideas:
In addition to the crowns, any crafts, such as heart pendants and magic mirrors make perfect party favors.
Other favor ideas:
- Mini castles
- Plush puppies (mini, beanie-style)
- A bouquet of flowers
- Lollipop flowers
- Diamond and heart shaped cookies
- Flower cupcakes
- Barbie and the Diamond Castle coloring pages
- A Barbie doll
- Barbie and the Diamond Castle story book, dvd or cd
