I Get To Be A Princess
A couple of months ago, I reminisced about being eight years old and wanting to be Miss America. (When Nineteen Was Far Away.)
I wanted to wear a gown and a tiara, and I thought that just maybe 2013 might be my year.
And I was right!
Last week my grand-niece (or is it great-niece? I never know which is correct) had a birthday party.
She turned five.
And she had a very special birthday party.
A princess party.
I never had the opportunity to attend a theme party when I was a kid. As a matter of fact, they didn’t even have theme parties when I was a kid.
So I was excited.
Now my great-nephew (grand-nephew?) had a theme birthday party last month for his third birthday. It was a basketball party. I did not dress up.
But a princess party?
I was determined to make the most of this event.
I got online and found a gown on EBay for $14.97. When I opened the box, there was a plastic rose taped to the tissue paper. This was one classy dress.
And it fit. Perfectly.
Then I found a website that sold tiaras for parties. They had 82 different tiaras to choose from. I picked one for $3.12.
Wanting to ensure that everyone felt special, I ordered a dozen tiaras. Make that thirteen, since I ordered a fancier one for the birthday girl. I wanted to look like a princess, but I figured the five-year-old birthday girl should still get the best tiara.
(Besides, it didn’t match my gown.)
And on Saturday, I got to be a princess.
It was exactly like Cinderella. And I mean EXACTLY – since I had to clean the house in the morning before I went to the party.
I dressed in my gown. I put my hair up and affixed the tiara. I wore my good pearls and high heels. I took extra pains with my makeup, and I even put on my false eyelashes – which is no easy feat.
I drove myself to the party, although I considered having my husband drive me there in the convertible. It would have been nice to sit up on the back and wave to the people.
**
Princess Nancy
- Posted in: Aging ♦ Beauty ♦ Fashion ♦ Humor ♦ Memories ♦ Style
- Tagged: Aging, Cinderella, Humor, middle-aged, Parties, Princess Parties, Theme Parties, Tiara
notquiteold 
What a nice idea! I’m wondering who had more fun: you or your great-niece/grand-niece?? (I never know which is correct either! )And, come September, I’m going to have a great-great/grand-grand niece!!
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Oh, definitely more fun for me. And my grand(great)niece had a surprise for me too. She had a few magic wands left over from her daycare party and she gave them out at this party. When she was discussing with her mother who she should give them to, she declared, “Auntie Nancy. She would WANT one.”
And I did.
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You are one charming princess! 😀
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I am looking for an occasion to wear the gown and tiara again. Do you think the bride would mind if I wore it to the next wedding I attend?
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Charming as you are, you might grab all the attention at the wedding 😀
I’d say, ask the bride! 😛
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Life is too short to not wear a tiara!
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I thought about stopping for groceries on the way home.
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And what a beautiful princess you are! Nothing like dreams come true and I love the part about having to clean the house first, just like Cinderella. 🙂
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But the mice didn’t help.
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You look gorgeous – and what a bargain on that fabulous dress!
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I know… I figured for $14.97 it would be kind of tired, but it was lovely.
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The one time I got to be a princess, Halloween 1962, I fell in a mud puddle. You look much less muddy than I did.
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When I got married, I didn’t eat a thing all day, for fear of dropping something on my gown. But I ate pizza and birthday cake in my princess gown.
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Beautiful dress! You know, when I was growing up princesses were not cool. But I was still fascinated by them. I took pleasure in printing the word in my notebooks or typing it on the typewriter on the rare occasions I was allowed to use the typewriter.
But you had to hunt for them in the seventies. There was Caroline Kennedy, who I discovered at age five and who for years I thought was near my own age (hah!) There was Eilonwy in the Prydain books and Cleopatra and her daughter Cleopatra Selene. There were old books in the libraries with photos of Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret Rose and their children in somewhat newer books. I thought princesses wore kilts and tweed coats and oxfords. I wanted to wear kilts and tweed coats and oxfords and be a princess. I wanted to meet astronauts and receive dolls from heads of state and shake hands and have people older than me curtsy to me. Although I preferred the personalities of Eilonwy and the Cleopatras better I was drawn to the Caroline/Elizabeth/Margaret/Lady Sarah/Lady Helen images precisely because high quality, captivating photographs of these girls existed, One had to work a little at coming up with images for the fictional and historical princesses.
No other girls my age cared about princesses and you couldn’t find anything princess-themed in the toy departments or costumes – they didn’t even have party stores like they do now. Let the princesses of today enjoy their royalty. Just let them be Batman as well. I am glad your great-niece had a great party. I saw photos but I wasn’t allowed to like them. But I liked them very much.
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Batman is perfectly cool too. I just happen to be a princess. My idea of a princess when I was little was Miss America. I think that’s why I was drawn to the gown I bought. It has a crinoline. Princesses definitely have crinolines.
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Lovely picture and love the multiple tiaras with the best for the birthday girl. Gorgeous. Fortunately, I lived in New Orleans growing up so I got to be Cleopatra for Halloween and a space princess for Mardi Gras one year … not the same year for both. Neither dress was a lovely as yours … LOL. (and I really wanted to be Peter Pan, some how the gender issue missed me completely. Possibly because Mary Martin played the part on TV … LOL)
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Even my mother (Aged 89) wore her tiara. She even wore it home.
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You are a perfect princess! What a wonderful idea and how great of you to dress up and fulfil both your great-niece and your fantasy all at once.
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I don’t see why grown-ups can’t have theme parties, too. Why not do your own princess party for your next birthday? (And definitely get your husband to drive you around in the convertible while wearing your outfit!) What fun!
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I bet they love their Auntie Nancy! You are the best!
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I am going to put that in my Outlook calendar. I might have an idea
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I always go with “Grand” over “Great”. That’s because I was already a great Aunt to my niece before she had my Grand Niece. So now I am a Grand Aunt. Sound pretty nice to me.
You are a lovely Princess. I think you should wear that tiara full time.
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I think I should wear the tiara to work. I am sure I would be up for a PROMOTION!
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I love it!
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You look fab! Move over CInderella, Snow White and Belle – there’s a new Disney Princess in town!
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Wow! One gorgeous (taller) princess.
Yeah, the little girls all dress up in princess costumes, glass slippers and wear a lovely tiaras. We had nothing to play with in the OLD days except our mother’s high heels (but only on the sly) and apron strings.
Glad you got to be a princess, Nancy. You do princess WELL. That shade of blue is great on you.
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I bet you were the hit of the party, too!
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I hope they oh-ed and ah-ed when you floated in the room in your resplendent gown. And every girl needs to wear a tiara once in her life. I’m still waiting, but not for long, thanks to your lovely post. Thanks for sharing.
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