Princess Parade

10 Ways to Be A True Princess

2011-11-20T15:26:00.000-08:00

I've made it clear in previous posts that, to me, the idea of being a princess is about being strong, feminine, compassionate and smart. It's about not feeling helpless and about being helpful. It's about realizing your ability to attain your dreams.

Here is a list of ten quick and simple ways to be a true princess.

1. Believe in yourself and in your ability to achieve your dreams. Always believe.

2. Be compassionate towards others, giving help when you can.

3. Be gracious in accepting help when you need it and never look on the need for help as a failure.

4. Never believe the words of people who try to tell you that you aren't strong enough, aren't smart enough or aren't pretty enough, because you are strong, you are smart and you are beautiful.

5. Believe in the beauty of people's souls. Everyone is beautiful inside, and everyone deserves respect.

6. Demand respect for yourself. Never let anyone treat you as less than the wonderful person you are.

7. Be kind to animals. Animals bring out the best in people and deserve the best from us.

8. Learn as much as you can. Read and study. Be knowledgable in the things that are important to you.

9. Take time for yourself. Never forget to spend time doing something you enjoy. It nurtures the soul.

10. Don't forget empathy. The ability to feel what others feel or at least to feel for them in whatever situation they find themselves in is what holds humanity together.

Sites That Empower Girls

2011-10-08T00:12:00.000-07:00

As you know, Princess Parade is all about girl empowerment and believes very strongly in raising our daughters to be strong, confident and capable. With that in mind, I have been perusing the web for websites that have similar beliefs and have come across two that I would like to share with you.

The first one is called 7Wonderlicious. This site states in its about page:

"We believe every child is placed on this earth to accomplish something remarkable, something that only he or she can do.

Our tribe was created with one single purpose , to help reduce all threats to girlhood that crush our girls ' true nature and potential.

We focus on overturning the gender stereotypes that make girls obsess with body image, keep girls from taking leadership roles, that limit girls' interests in sciences and maths and cause them to feel self-aware when playing sports.

The first years of a girl's life are a crucial time when their identity and model of world are being shaped. Our goal is to provide in our 7Wonderlicious girls a group of fantastic role models; confident girls that are healthy, confident, resourceful, persistent and a lot of fun."

They share a lot of links and helpful news articles about girl empowerment and raising powerful, confident daughters. They also have some fun apps for kids.

The other site I found is called SheHeroes. The SheHeroes vision and mission statement states that

"Our Vision
■A world where young people can see themselves in whichever occupation they choose.
■A society where gender doesn’t limit one’s choice and voices of both women and men are heard with equal regard.

Our Mission
■To tell inspiring stories of female role models via free web based video interviews geared towards 3rd through 5th graders.
■To awaken youth to their potential, increasing the numbers of youth from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds who will consider entering the workforce in a variety of careers. Careers which they might not have known or thought about previously.
■To encourage positive choices and reduce risky youth behaviors through video programming which facilitates discussion between the youth and a caring adult."

They share video interviews with women role models to help inspire young girls with the knowledge of the greatness that they can achieve.

I recommend that you go and visit these sites! I'll make sure to let you know of any other sites I find that empower girls.

How To Feel Like A Princess

2011-07-18T13:29:00.001-07:00

Some common ideas about princesses are that they live in the lap of luxury, they can have almost anything they want, they dress elegantly, have perfect make-up and look beautiful at all times. With that in mind, most of us would like the chance to feel like a princess.

You might be shocked to find out that you can make yourself feel like a princess and that it is surprisingly easy to do so! Here are ten easy steps to take to help yourself to feel like a spoiled, pampered and beautiful princess.

1 - Believe in your own beauty. You are a beautiful person and one way to help yourself believe in that fact is to remind yourself frequently that you are beautiful. Act as though you are assured of your own beauty and pretty soon, you will start to feel it and believe in it.

2 - Take some time every week to do something pampering for yourself. Whether this is to take the time for a long and luxurious hot bubble bath at the end of the day or getting a professional massage to help relax yourself, it is important to do something special that is just for you. Indulge in buying your favorite gourmet chocolates or go and get a pedicure. There are many ways to treat yourself.

3 - Take time each day to style your hair and put on your make-up. If you don't have time to do this everyday, give yourself a couple of days a week where you take the time to glam yourself up a bit. You could also go and have your hair and make-up done professionally on occasion.

4 - Wear a pretty dress. If you're taking the time to glamorize your make-up and hair, make sure to also put on a dress or outfit that makes you feel pretty and feminine. It has to be something that you feel pretty wearing.

5 - Take special care with your accessories. Wear jewelery that compliments your outfit and coloring and shoes that flatter your feet and legs. These finishing touches are a great way to top out your glamorous look and can help add to your feeling like a princess.

6 - Do some breathing exercises. Take slow deep breaths and empty your mind of all thought except for concentrating on those slow deep breaths for a few minutes. Hold your breath for several seconds between breathing in and out. This can relax your body and calm your mind, and feeling calmer will help you keep your emotions under control and can lift your mood.

7 - Donate to charity. One thing modern princesses are noted for is their contributions to charity. Your donation doesn't have to be monetary. You could volunteer to spend your time at a soup kitchen or to drive your elderly neighbor to do her weekly shopping. Doing good things for others will help you feel better about yourself.

8 - Set a small amount of money aside from each paycheck to save towards doing something you love. Even if all you can set aside is $5 from each paycheck, it will eventually add up and knowing that the money is there can be a huge stress reliever and you'll be able to look forward to whatever it is that you have planned to do with it.

9 - Be tidy. By keeping your house uncluttered and clean, you will feel better and will even be more likely to entertain guests. Having a dirty or messy house can be stressful and stress can definitely keep you from feeling like a princess.

10 - Spend time with your prince and if you don't have one yet, make sure that you never settle for less than a true prince (i.e. a man who shows you both love and respect). Spending time with your man and letting him be the one to spoil you with affection and to let you know how beautiful you are to him can be a wonderful boost to your ego and is a great way to feel like a princess!

Dads, How Are You Raising Your Princesses?

2011-03-27T08:56:00.000-07:00

"Lift your daughter up to the sky when she is young, and when she is grown, she will soar to the heavens on wings of her own creation." ~Rebecca Fyfe

Here's one for the dads. Your daughter needs you to think of her as your little princess. Not so that you can protect her, but so that you can encourage her. Not so that you can spoil her with gifts, but so that you can spoil her with love and affection and with time spent with you.

More and more girls are growing up with a lack of self-esteem and barely any belief in themselves or in their abilities. But this trend can be changed. Dads, you need to be active and present in your daughters' lives. You need to support them not just financially but emotionally. You need to believe in them. You need to show them through your actions that you respect all women so that you reinforce in their minds the fact that they are worthy of being respected. You need to spend time with your daughters so that they believe that they are worth spending time with. You need to listen to your daughters and let them speak so that they realize that their ideas and thoughts are important.

It's not enough just to work to support them but never spend time with them. It's not enough just to criticize them when they do something wrong or to harp on them about their chores. They need to know that they matter. They need to know that you see them for who they are inside and that you like that person.

Think about this; studies have shown that girls will subconciously seek out men in their lives who either treat them the way their dads treated them or who treat them the way they saw their dads treat their mothers. They learn what they see, just like everyone else in this world. Let them see you treating them and every other woman on this planet with respect and decency and care, and that is what they will expect from the men in all areas of their lives.

Isn't that what you want for your daughter?

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T14:52:00.000-08:00

Every princess deserves to feel special on Valentine's Day. If the princess in question is a child, then Mommy or Daddy should do something special for her to mark the ocassion and let her know how loved she is to them. If the princess is grown, then a friend or a sister should do something special for her to show her she is loved.

One year on Valentine's Day, I had a lot of single friends and my fiance was 7,000 miles away, so I threw a Valentine's Day party. My single friends all came. There was party food and games to play, romantic movies to watch and I even bought cute little stuffed frogs for them all that, when squeezed, would either croak like a frog or say "Give me a kiss" in a rough voice.

I always do something special for my children on Valentine's Day too, from buying them Valentine's Day cards, special sweets or cute little toys to sometimes just making cupcakes for their whole classrooms.

You don't have to limit Valentine's Day to just a romantic day; it can be a day for friends and family too.

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day, full of the love of family and friends.

A Princess Drawing Done By A Five Year Old

2011-02-12T13:41:00.000-08:00

Five year old Isabella loves the idea of being a princess. She loves princess stories, princess dresses and princess art. Today, using a book called How to Draw Princesses and Ballerinas (Usborne Activities), she drew this princess.

For the book in the US:

For the book in the UK:

Feminine & Strong

2011-02-06T01:29:00.000-08:00

My little girl loves everything to do with princesses. If it's sparkly and pink, then she acquires it and adores it. She loves wearing dresses and she loves looking girly. She is five years old.

For my other daughters, five was about the age when they started to lose their love of all things girly, or at least, they pretended to lose their love of dresses and tiaras and other girly things.

I wonder if my little five year old will start to think that she has to show the world a different face. Why is it that the world around her seems to encourage her to be tough rather than tender, stoic rather than emotional, and suspicious rather than trusting?

She is hanging on to her idealism about being a princess. I hope she continues to do so. There is nothing wrong with being tough and strong, but there is also a great deal of strength to be found in things that are traditionally considered feminine. Being able to shed tears and show emotion has the power to help us heal emotionally and the strength to face almost anything. Being able to show compassion and tenderness is one of the ways of making this world a better place for others.

When did the world start equating femininity with weakness? When did the world at large decide that to be anything other than macho and masculine was to be weak and victimized? It's a falsehood that should never have been given legitimacy in society.

Some of the most feminine women I know have backbones of steel.

Throwing A Princess Birthday Party

2010-08-15T08:28:00.000-07:00

One of our daughter's just turned five, and she requested a princess party.

We bought some of the usual sweets and treats for the party bags, but I wanted something especially princess-themed to give to the party-goers. I bought some wooden frames and painted some of them bright pink, some of the dark blue and some of them yellow. I also bought stencils made to fit the frames. The stencil I bought said "Princess" across the top and had stars and crowns on it.

For the yellow frames I tried a peach colored paint for the stenciling on one and a metalic blue for the stenciling on the other one. The blue looked better than the peach color, in my opinion.

For the pink frames, I chose a metallic purple for the stenciling. I liked the way they turned out.

For the blue frames, I didn't stencil the whole word, "Princess." I stopped when it only spelled "Prince," and I used a metallic aqua color for the stenciling. I really liked the way that they turned out.

We took photos of each child as they arrived at the party. (They were wearing costumes.) We then added the photos to the frames as gifts for them to take home with them. We also took some photos of our daughter with her friends as an extra photo for each of them to take home with them to remember the party.

The kids played the usual games such as Pass-the-Parcel and Musical statues.

I also wanted some princess-themed crafts for the kids to do. First, they made "royal chalices." I bought some inexpensive plastic wine glasses and a variety of stickers. Because my daughter had invited both boys and girls to her party, I bought some stickers of cars, trucks and emergency vehicles as well as stickers of flowers, butterflies, Disney princesses, hearts and stars. (I would have bought stickers of dragons and knights, but I couldn't find any.) The kids then got to decorate their "royal chalices" with the stickers.

Next, we had some crowns I had bought at the craft store for the kids to decorate with stickers too.

Then we progressed to the food. I wanted to keep it simple, so I had some sausage rolls and pizza that I stuck in the oven and baked beforehand to serve to the kids, and they all seemed to like them.

Last, we moved on to serving the cake and singing "Happy Birthday."

Robert made a simple two-layer round cake and frosted it. He rolled out ready-to-roll icing and wrapped it around some cake rolls which he then cut in two pieces each for the towers. One of the pieces was 2/3 of the cake rolls and the other was 1/3 of the rolls. We used more vanilla frosting to attach the larger halves of the towers to four sides of the round cake and we put three of the smaller ones on top of the cake. He frosted the tops of the towers and added mini marshmallows around the edges of them. He used food coloring to color the left-over ready-to-roll icing, and then rolled it out and cut out windows and doors, using thinly spread frosting to stick them to the "castle."

The cake was a big hit!

Wonderful Women

2010-08-03T00:27:00.000-07:00

"What others think of us would be of little moment did it not, when known, so deeply tinge what we think of ourselves." ~Paul Valery

The way we are treated or talked about, the way people see us, has an effect on us even when we don't want it to. Don't you think the world would be a completely different place if women were all confident and felt good about themselves?

I propose we all do something this month to help make that a reality. This month, at least one time every day, tell a woman or a girl in your life a compliment. Make sure it is sincere and that it is empowering. Compliment her looks or compliment her sense of humor. Compliment her skill or compliment her intelligence. Compliment her talent or compliment her kindness. There is always something wonderful to be found in every girl or woman.

Your compliments don't have to all be face to face. You can compliment someone you admire on-line too, or let your mom or sister know how great she is while on the phone with her. The point is that you somehow tell someone how great you think they are.

You can start today by telling me in the comments about a woman or girl that you think is terrific and why you think so.

I must admit, I have so many wonderful girls and women in my life that I could do this every day for the whole year!

Prince Charming?

2010-07-31T11:25:00.000-07:00

Being a grown woman with a failed marriage behind me and in a healthy marriage now, with children of my own, I am at a point in my life where I know exactly what traits Prince Charming should have in order to be MY Prince Charming. I'm happy to admit that my husband fulfills my Prince Charming requirements.

But what about my daughters? What have they learned from me about Prince Charming and what they should look for in him? And what have they learned about him from their peers and the media? Have I raised my teenage girls to be the confident and capable women that I hope they will be? Am I raising my younger daughters in a way that will teach them what to look for?

And just as importantly, what have my sons learned from me about what it takes to BE someone's Prince Charming? Will my lessons to them stick despite other outside negative influences?

Here's what I hope they have learned from me, and I hope they have learned it well enough to ignore some of the conflicting lessons that their peers and the modern media might try and teach them.

1 - Prince Charming always treats his princess with respect.
2 - Prince Charming NEVER calls names or physically hurts his princess.
3 - Prince Charming is kind-hearted and empathetic towards others.
4 - Prince Charming values education and intellect in both himself and his princess.
5 - Prince Charming always sees his princess as beautiful, no matter what her weight is or whether or not she is having a bad hair day.
6 - Prince Charming is not afraid to show his emotions.
7 - Prince Charming is willing to do some of the cooking and cleaning in the house and does not expect his princess to do it all on her own, whether she works outside of the home or not.
8 - Prince Charming can be patient with his princess when needed.
9 - Prince Charming is good with children.
10 - Prince Charming is not afraid of a little hard work.
11 - Prince Charming knows how to behave romantically.
12 - Prince Charming understnads that "no" always means "no," and he will never pressure his princess into doing something she doesn't want to do.
13 - Prince Charming is faithful to his princess.
14 - Prince Charming does not ogle or otherwise lust after any women other than his princess.
15 - Prince Charming understands and is proud of the fact that his princess is strong and capable and can do anything she sets her mind to do.
16 - Prince Charming never belittles his princess's dreams and instead will do whatever he can to encourage and aid her in achieving her dreams.
17 - Prince Charming does not raise his voice or shout when he is angry but instead discusses differences calmly and without accusation.

I could add to the list, but basically, it all boils down to #1 - RESPECT. I want my sons to learn to respect the women in their lives and I want my daughters to feel respected and to know that they deserve to be respected.

Sometimes, with all of the outside influences and pressures that I know they face as they grow up, I know it can be an uphill battle, but if everyone teaches their children about respect, then maybe those outside influences will instead be influenced by the rest of us.

What do you hope your children, your little princesses and future Prince Charmings learn from you about how to treat one another?

"You've Lost Your Muchness"

2010-06-09T13:22:00.000-07:00

"You used to be much more..."muchier." You've lost your muchness." ~The Mad Hatter (to Alice), "Alice In Wonderland" movie, 2010

This quote struck a note with me as I watched the new "Alice In Wonderland" movie last weekend. I think back to my own childhood, and I can't help but remember how confident and adventurous I was as a child. I don't know where along the way I lost those parts of myself, but somewhere along this journey of life, some of that confidence and my sense of adventure seeped away.

And as a mother of daughters, I feel a responsibilty to analyze where my "muchness" went and what caused me to lose so much of it. I can't help but want my daughters to keep all of their confidence, all of their sense of adventure, all of their belief in themselves, and not to let anyone or anything in this world take any of it away from them.

I grew up eager to please. I wanted to be liked. My parents taught me to be nice to others. I was expected to behave and be a good girl. I was taught, probably unintentionally, to subjugate my desires and my needs in order to fit in and to please others. I was a talkative, bubbly, confident child who believed in herself and had no doubts that I could change the world. But I was taught from the world around me, from my elders and my peers, that I talked too much, that I had many flaws and that no one person could change the world.

It took me many years to mature enough to finally start gaining back what I lost of myself over the years. I do not want that to happen to my daughters, and I don't want it to happen to anyone else's daughters either. We do our daughters a disservice when we expect them to conform to society, to be nice, to be "good girls" at the cost of being themselves.

My favorite quote from the movie "A Little Princess" is when the character Sarah Crew says,

"I am a princess. All girls are. Even if they dress in rags, even if they aren't pretty, or smart or young. They're still princesses. All of us."

I like this quote because I want every girl in the world to believe it. If a girl can believe she is a princess, then she can believe that she has value.

I want girls to maintain the same confidence and belief in themselves and their abilities throughout their lives that they have when they are two years old. How many two year olds do you know that don't say what they think? Tell a two year old that she is pretty, and she will, more often than not, answer you with, "I know," rather than the conformist "Thank you," or worse, the confidence-sapping "No, I'm not!" that I hear so often when I compliment any female.

Why do we lose our "muchness?" Why is it that we feel we must be something other than who we really are in order to be liked and loved and accepted? And what will it take for us (and our mothers, aunts, nieces, sisters and daughters) to truly BELIEVE in our own awesomeness?

So I have a challenge for you. This week, do something that you have been putting off out of fear. Speak to someone new, even if you are feeling shy. Try out some rock climbing, even if you don't believe you are strong enough. Send out the manuscript you wrote to a publisher, even if you are afraid of rejection. There are millions of things you can do to fulfill this challenge, from small, seemingly insignifcant things (like making a point to smile at the cute mailman who delivers your mail) to much bigger things (like singing on stage on front of a crowd). It's up to you to decide what to do. But do something brave.

And it'd be really great if you came back here and let us know in the comments what it was.

Win A Princess Magnet!

2010-04-16T15:36:00.000-07:00

Princess Parade is on Facebook! Come become a fan of us there!

With the idea that being a princess is about girls being strong and believing in themselves, understanding that there is power in their femininity and that they deserve good things in life, including being treated well...

What 3 rules would you come up with for being a princess?

Answer this question on the Princess Parade's discussion boards on Facebook, and get a chance to win a free princess magnet. One random commenter who answers the question on the discussion boards will be selected using a random number generator.

Fairy Magic Photos Opportunity! (possible freebie!)

2010-03-13T07:01:00.000-08:00

Fairy Magic Photos is giving a few people an opportunity that can't be beat! If you'd like a Fairy Magic Photo of your own, now is your chance as they are looking for 10 models for advertising. Please go to the discussion board at Fairy Magic Photos' Facebook page and let them know if you would like to be considered. Remember moms these pictures could be of your children. Or you could have a fairy photo created of you!

My husband is the artist that creates these photos, and when he decided to offer this chance, I had to share it with my readers, because these pictures are a $75 to $150 value! There are some conditions, but it's still a really great chance for a Fairy Magic photo of your own!

This is perfect for the little princess in your life!

The Little Princess Trust

2010-03-12T06:01:00.000-08:00

I recently lost a lot of weight, and I promised myself that when I got myself down to my goal weight, I would celebrate by getting my hair cut and styled. I haven't had my hair cut in over 8 years, so it is really, really long.

I always intended to send my hair, once it was cut, to somewhere like Locks of Love, a charity that provides wigs for children who have lost their hair due to alopecia and cancer, but that is based in the US and I am in the UK. Fortunately, there is a UK counterpart to them called Little Princess Trust.

I've decided to send my hair to them. And I believe that it is a really worthy cause, so I am also running a short fundraiser to raise enough money for the full amount of creating a wig from the hair. I was told it would cost $455 (£300) to create one wig. Please help with this worthwhile charity! Once we reach the target amount, I will be videoing myself getting my hair chopped off (probably to just below my shoulders, and I'll post that video here.

Every little girl deserves to feel like a princess and to feel pretty. The amount of suffering a lack of a positive self-image causes in girls can have lasting effects. Just a little bit of help from all of us, and we can help prevent some of that suffering from happening and brighten a little girl's day.

You can donate below.

THANK YOU!

EDIT: The ChipIn widget is working in that it is taking donations and sending them to the Trust, but it is not working properly in that it is not showing the donation amounts. To date, $30 has been donated. I will update this edit to add any future donations to the total (until I can figure out how to get the widget to work properly.

Edit: The ChipIn Widget is working now! Hurry and contribute!

Why Little Girls Are Always Daddy’s Little Princesses

2010-02-07T08:07:00.000-08:00

There is something about the innocence of youth that charms even the most hard-hearted soul.

A father has a difficult time when the innocence of youth is coupled with his protective instincts towards his daughter. Men are designed by nature (most of them, anyway) to want to protect females. And dads are programmed to feel protective towards their families. Daughters have the double whammy of being both female and family to their daddies, and when these two traits are combined with the charm of their youthful innocence and absolute dependence on their parents when they are young, daddies have no chance of escaping before they are wrapped securely around their little girls’ fingers.

It is easy to see how this happens as I watch my four year old daughter skillfully bat her eyelashes at her daddy after asking for something and softly intone, “Pleeeeeeeaase, Daddy?” when she is trying to wheedle him into buying her something new or taking her out to the park. I don’t know where she learned to bat her eyelashes, but she has done it since before she was walking.

Not all girls are naturally skilled in batting their eyelashes and pleading while exuding charm and sweetness. Some girls are defiant and challenge their dads at every turn. But even in this, a father’s built-in inability to resist his daughter kicks in; he exudes pride in how strong and independent his daughter is becoming. And because of this pride, he gives in to her requests as surely as if she had batted her eyelashes at him and used her cuteness to get what she wanted.

Most girls, though not all, go through stages. A girl begins by batting her eyelashes and saying truly adorable things, and her innocence and child-like charm begins the process of wrapping her daddy around her little finger. Then, as she matures, she develops into a headstrong, independent young girl, and daddy is already securely wrapped around her little finger, so this is when he begins the stage of being proud of her strong will and independence.

Not everyone fits the mould, but you’ll find that most daughters really can be called “Daddy’s Little Princess.” And daddies, for their part, don’t seem to mind any of it. When they first hold that sweet newborn baby girl in their arms, they’ve already begun the wrapping process.

Why Would You Want To Be A Princess?

2010-01-27T14:48:00.000-08:00

I have it on direct authority (meaning my 4 year old daughter informed me) that being a princess is a really wonderful thing. And apparently, the main reasons it is a wonderful thing is because, as a princess, you get to wear pretty dresses that twirl and you are automatically beautiful.

As my four year old told me this, she motioned with her hands and a bit of a twist of her body to show how a dress would twirl, and then she batted her eyes at me in that way that only pretty little girls know instinctively to do when she spoke about being beautiful.

Unfortunately for my 3 year old son, being a prince is apparently not as wonderful as one would hope. As far as he can tell, it consists mostly of being bossed around by the princess.

Princess Isabella

2010-01-02T07:34:00.000-08:00

My 4 year old Isabella is fascinated with everything having to do with princesses. A little bit before Christmas, we were on our way to see Santa Claus and I asked her what she was going to ask Santa for. She told me, "A pretty dress, so I can be a princess! I want a dress that twirls."

And Santa gave her what she wanted.

(Yes, her hair was still a mess as she had only recently woken up, but it was important to her to put the dress on and show it off as quickly as possible.)

(That's her 3 year old brother Connor in the photo with her. He often is forced to stand in as "Prince Charming" when his sisters Gabby and Bella play "pretend princesses." The background is a mess too, because they had all been opening their Christmas presents and everything was just strewn about the room.)

Coming Soon! Princess Parade's Parade of Princesses!

2009-11-24T06:19:00.000-08:00

What is a Princess Parade without princesses?

If you have a photo of your little princess, please e-mail me the photo with her first name and she will be included in an upcoming post called "Parade of Princesses."

Princesses & Perfection

2009-11-03T05:50:00.000-08:00

This is important. Now listen carefully.

Princess do not have to be perfect.

Too many times, I see girls and women getting frustrated and moody over not being able to get their hair just right or not getting straight A grades at school or any number of other perceived imperfections.

But guess what? It's okay to make mistakes. It's okay to be messy sometimes. It's even okay to sometimes feel a little moody.

Perfection is for the weak. Only truly strong princesses can deal with life in all of its beautiful, imperfect glory.

So relax and enjoy not being perfect. You're still a princess.

Princess Gift Shopping

2009-10-18T03:20:00.000-07:00

As Christmas fast approaches, many of us are trying to find the perfect gift for our little princesses and princes. With that in mind, I am going to feature one princess-related store or product each week until Christmas.

This week, I am featuring a store named, like this blog, Princess Parade! While this is not the only store I have found with this name, it is the store with the widest range of designs to choose from. From knights and princes, to princesses, fairies and mermaids, this store is full of gifts for princes and princesses.

You can find any theme related to girls and girl power and all things girly at Princess Parade, but boys aren't neglected here either with "Prince Charming" designs, knights and dragons to be found as well. Don't see something you like? Then just use the search bar at the top to bring up designs that are more to your liking.

The designs you'll find at Princess Parade can be bought on such things as t-shirts, hoodies, teddy bears, framed tiles, posters, postcards, notecards, magnets, buttons, mugs, hats, Sigg Water bottles, stickers and many other gifts!

Note: Not all of the designs in Princess Parade are family-friendly, so be sure to do your shopping while your children are not looking over your shoulder. Future stores featured will be child-friendly-oonly ones.

Also note: In an effort of being fully honest, I must add that I own this featured store, but not all of the designs in it are mine. It is a place show-casing the princess designs from many other designers' stores.

What Is So Great About Being A Princess?

2009-10-15T13:58:00.000-07:00

Little girls all over the world are fascinated by Disney's ensemble of princesses and dream of being one. Teenage girls find dresses resembling the most elegant of princesses when they go to their proms. Every bride wants to feel like a princess on her special day.

So what is so great about being a princess? Why do so many girls daydream about being one? Why are we enchanted by stories about princesses such as "The Princess Diaries" and "Enchanted."

First off, let me assure you that the princess that most of us dream about being has nothing to do with reality. Little girls (and admittedly, even grown women) see a princess as someone who gets to wear beautiful dresses and dance at the ball. What little girl doesn't like pretty dresses and parties? And Disney inspires girls to see princesses as being able to talk to animals even! (Because you can't find perfection without pretty little birds singing to you and friendly mice to do your bidding.) And let's not forget that the princess gets to marry the prince.

Why do we want to marry the prince? Well, he's not just any prince. We're talking about the mythical Prince Charming who thinks that his princess is beautiful and loveable and will risk life and limb to save her. He slays dragons for his princess. He can sing with a gorgeous voice; he's athletic, handsome, rich and, well, charming.

So, in the dream world of princess life, what's not to love about being a princess?

10 Rules For Being a Princess

2009-10-02T06:18:00.000-07:00

1. Princesses always wear dresses.

2. Princesses always keep their tiara sparkly.

3. Princesses love the color pink and wear it frequently.

4. A princess is always polite and considerate of others’ feelings.

5. Princesses see everything as beautiful and exciting.

6. Princesses always share with those less fortunate.

7. A princess is always learning new things.

8. A princess always tries to do her best at school.

9. A princess is confident, but not a snob.

10. A princess believes in herself and believes that dreams can come true.

Conversations With A Three Year Old Princess

2009-09-06T01:19:00.000-07:00

My 4 year old daughter, when she was 3, had this conversation with me.

Daughter: *sigh* I'm not a princess today.
Me: Why aren't you a princess today?
Daughter: I'm wearing PANTS!
Me: Princesses can wear jeans, you know.
Daughter: No, Mommy. Princesses ALWAYS wear dresses!

So there you go. The number one rule for being a princess is to always wear a dress (although, I suspect a skirt that twirls prettily when you turn would do).