For the invitations, I made them on the computer and used a princess themed wording (see invite). For people that aren't good on the computer, please call me and let me take two minutes to assist you…it saves so much time and money in the long run (not having to write invites and not having to buy invitations).  I had left over velum (translucent) paper that I put around the invite and traced the crown with glitter. I used velum envelopes as well. They looked much more impressive than they were because my only cost was the glitter and the envelopes (I have paper/ink everyday). I like having a brunch because it is DIFFERENT and allows people to come as it is convenient for them which makes it easier for everyone.  For decorations, I used some tulle that I got on sale at AC Moore for bows on the corners of the tablecloths and used tea light candles.  I made my own cake so costs for that were minimal. I used the same castle shaped pan that I used the year before.  All the food was set up when people arrived so they could help themselves to food and drink. I had tables set up to eat at in our Florida room.  I read a lot of ideas on www.birthdaypartyideas.com and then adapted them to what I had at home.  Rolling out the red carpet…I bought several yards of red felt with my 40% off coupon at JoAnn fabrics and had a "red carpet" for everyone to walk on at the front door. I washed it in the machine afterwards and it's now ready for many years of parties ahead. To keep kids entertained, I had a cardboard castle in the family room with markers and crayons for them to color.  We still have this in our play area in the basement but it is looking worn as a few cousins have fell on it while playing. It was $10 at Target. To keep with the princess theme, I bought plastic wine goblets from the $1 store and painted "princess"or "prince"on each of them. They were for the kids beverages and they were a party favor too. I used white glue to glue the stem and base together and fabric paint to decorate the outside. I still have fabric paint so it was a pretty cheap alternative to paper cups with a printed them on them. For the Grandmas, their glass said Queen Mum but I didn't do them for the other adults. Again, maintaining the princess theme, every child got a tiara or crown on the red carpet. I bought them all from Orientaltrading.com and they were very reasonable. The girls and adult women also got some beads to wear. I had tons so I think they each took 4 or so. I bought a few too many of these but we still play with them today so they certainly haven't gone to waste. They're roughly $7 for 48 necklaces from the same web site and they come in a huge variety of colors. I arranged for someone to take a single photo of each child which I printed and included with thank you notes so that they could use them with their craft frame in the goody bag.  We ate, played outside, had cake and Emi just opened a couple gifts as she didn't want to stop playing and I saw no reason to force her to do so. The goody bags consisted of: a craft to do at home (mostly magnetic picture frames), coloring sheets that I printed out, rolled like a scroll and tied with silver stars (leftover Christmas decoration), princess fruit snacks (Nemo for boys), bubbles and a full box of 24 crayons. I had pre-purchased the crayons during the back to school sale so they were 10-25 cents each box.  The other items came from the web site including the plain bags (white for boys, purple for girls). All in all, including all the leftover beads, tiaras, and  craft kits, I spent between $3-4 per child.  For thank you notes I used a version of the invitation but changed the words. I only sent full thank yous to people who couldn't come. I used postcard thank yous for gifts (saving 14cents postage each). Again, I did these on the computer. Once you make the templates in your computer, it's easy to repeat year after year.  invitation wording:Here Ye, Here Ye! All Ye Princesses, Princes, Kings and Queens of the Land! You are most cordially invited to attend the second birthday celebration of Princess Emi at the Shannon Castle on 1109 Kelly Drive in the Kingdom of Newark. This celebration will commence on Sunday, November 28 beginning at 10am-2pm.  Come early or come late, just don't miss this tasty royal brunch.     Please RSVP to the King or Queen at xxx.xxx.xxxx on or before       Wednesday, November 24. (important words in color)(princess and frog prince clipart printed on the inside left side)  thank you wording:  From one princess to  another, thank you for the wonderful gift. Your thoughtfulness is truly appreciated. Most of all, thank you for thinking of me on my special day.  I'm sorry you couldn't join us at our castle. We had a royal good time! Perhaps we'll meet again soon at the next royal calendar engagement. (photos printed on the inside left side)