Invitations
Dress-up items make for good dress-up party invitation designs, too, including big fancy hats, ostrich feathers, pearls, handbags, high heels, sunglasses, and lipstick.

Decorations
Dress up your party room with lots of full-length mirrors so partygoers can view their transformations. Place around the room plenty of cartons filled with old (but clean) shoes, dresses, boas, hats, gloves, fancy socks and stockings. Don't forget the jewelry and accessories, too: large necklaces, bangle bracelets, clip-on earrings, fancy shoe buckles, pocketbooks, and pretty barrettes add to the glamour. KidsPartyWorld.com has many jewelry party favors, plus other girl birthday party supplies, that would be great for your dress-up party. Make sure the space is well-lit, so your dolled-up guests can see how beautiful they are.

Activities
Let guests create their own fancy hats by providing them with plain paper plates, ribbons to use as ties, and a variety of materials they can glue on: bits of lace, feathers, sparkles, beads, confetti, and faux gems and pearls. Once they're all dressed up and donning their handmade hats, stage a fashion show by pushing furniture aside to make room for a runway upon which guests can strut their stuff!

Snacks
With guests in fancy dress, it's the perfect time for a tea party. Serve flavored iced tea served in teacups, along with cookies, mini muffins, scones, tea biscuits, and fruit salad.

Cake
Make a fancy hat cake by taking a round, double-layer cake and trimming the top layer approximately two inches around to make the lower layer look like a brim. Cover the entire hat with white frosting, place a ribbon of yellow frosting around the brim, then decorate with plenty of pink frosting roses, sprinkles, and candy confetti.

Goody Bags
Although your guests can't go home with their dress-up outfits on, send them away with the next best thing: a goody bag containing a dress-up outfit for their Barbie doll, plus a tasty tea biscuit to enjoy after the party.

Thank-you's
Match your thank-you notes to your invitation, or choose a complementary design. A touch of perfume sprayed lightly upon the invitation adds a nice touch to a dress-up party thank-you. Allow your child to sign her own name to each note, and don't forget to mention what the gift was that you're thanking the person for -- and how much it was appreciated!