Dress Up Station – Birthday Party Activity
This super fun dress-up station makes for a very easy birthday party activity for kids! You can also check out this happy birthday cake topper that goes beautifully with the fancy dress theme! This post contains affiliate links.
Our four-year-old, one-and-only girl among boys is such a little Diva (so much for nurture vs. nature) that we just HAD to throw her a fancy dress-up party for her 4th birthday!
It was SUCH a fun and easy idea that pretty much planned itself – I honestly was not in the mood for going all out there. It was much more shopping (add to cart) than crafting, although we did craft a little.
And the coolest part of it is that it wasn’t consumables – a lot of things we still have to pull out as needed!
One of the biggest hits of the party was the dress-up station. This was essentially a table with different spots that partygoers could dress up in. We focused more on things that are easy to throw on over clothing, and kept things fancy. A still loves playing with all the elements, and some of them even still serve as toys for her.
I’m going to take you through the dress-up station bit by bit. I recommend starting with what you already have (if you do) and then filling in. I’m going to share links to what we used as much as possible, but if you have a dollar store near you, DEFINITELY hit that up too!
The Dress Up Station Signs
Did I mention that I was not in the mood and keeping things easy? Yet still, I decided to illustrate some dress-up station signs for no good reason at all. But the good news is that you can just use mine – no extra decorating needed.
About the Signs
The signs were digitally illustrated by me (that’s when you actually draw it with a stylus, but instead of on paper, you do it in your device. So it’s “hand drawn” but digitally.)
I kept things feeling playful and artsy with hand-drawn chalk/crayon finishes.
The signs are letter-sized in their full-size format; however, you can also treat them as a photo and print them two to a page (half-size). I did that. You simply use your photo printer software (on Windows: select all, right click, more options, and print… It’ll open the photo viewer where you can choose size, layout.)
I laminated them so that they can stay intact for the duration of the party.
Get the signs
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Setting up the Dress Up Station
I set the party up on a table. There are so many other ways that you can do this. You can have a series of card tables with a basket for the larger things. You can have a clothing rack for the larger items. But I did it on a folding table, so I’ll share my ideas for that.
Basic Setup Supplies
Hopefully, you have some of these in-house already, but I’ve linked recommendations for those you don’t. Even if you need to stock some of these, they’re mostly basics you’ll want to have around anyway!
- A folding table (or two)
- A mirror metallic tablecloth to set the vibe
- For ambiance, I used a mini LED lamp – it’s cordless – a must for this setup! This style looks so chic and fashion-forward. You can plan better (I did it on a whim) and tack on decorative trim temporarily.
- The signs (print them here), laminated (optional but recommended)
- Dress up stuff, which I’ll list below!
- Optional: I kind of regretted not pulling out some acrylic organizers to bundle things together and keep them neater!
Putting it Together
Cover your table with the metallic tablecloth. Add the light in the center. This gave it a fancy dressing room vibe.
You’re going to create zones for each thing. Start by laying out your signs, guesstimating which categories need how much space.
Lay out relevant items around the signs neatly, laying them out in rows. I do recommend having acrylic containers to put things together, like the necklaces, bracelets, sunglasses, tiaras, gloves, etc. Acrylic won’t take away from the super glam look – it’ll just add to it.
Invite everyone to come and dress up!
Not shown: I also have a bonus basket with additional tutus and costume props. I added some slightly less fancy, more boy-friendly costume accessories there, too – they didn’t fit with the aesthetic, but I wanted everyone to feel comfortable grabbing a costume!
Some boys attending were good sports and did humor the birthday princess and pile on that bling!
Section-by-Section Breakdown of our dress-up station
Here’s the list of what we had out. Some we had, most we bought. I recommend starting with what you have, hitting up the (used to be) Dollar Store, and even Temu for what you can find for cheap!
Tip: Allow guests to bring home the cheaper items that you don’t need so much of in lieu of party favors. I’ll outline below what I sent home with guests. I’ll also point out that my nieces were in attendance and I passed on some duplicates to them, too :).
Get Dressed Up
We mainly put tutus and fairy wings in this category. We did have a few additional princess dresses and tutus in a basket nearby as well.
Accessorize
The accessories category possibly had the most. We had filled crown headbands (which my daughter has been enjoying since), tiaras, and crowns. We put both cardboard glasses and fun kids’ sunglasses, which she’s also been loving since.
We tossed in a few fun pairs of fancy dress gloves, some masks, and even a few hair extension headbands in fun colors!
Add Some Bling
We totally could have done more with the bling, but what we put out was still a huge hit. For bracelets, I just put out a lot that I had made recently.
You can also get piles of stretch bracelets, plastic bangles (or even cheap metal bangles) that people can then take home – or you can enjoy them after!
We also put out piles of Mardi Gras beads – these participants should definitely go home with! and I got a tray of rings, which we shared some of, but A is still enjoying what was left.
Do Your Nails
And finally, one of the biggest hits of the dress-up station: Do your nails! We put out a kids’ nail polish set with loads of colors and a nail dryer.
This was a party with parents – all the guests were family friends and family. I told the parents about this in advance so that they can be on top of it.
If you’re doing this without parents present and want to have a place to do nails, I recommend having someone in charge of doing it rather than just setting it out. It really made things so much fun, but it does require supervision, and you’ll have enough on your hands.
I hope you enjoyed hearing all the details of our dress-up station at A’s party! If you have any to add – just comment below! Just a reminder, you can get the signs here.
