Momma's Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique

If you have a little princess and are headed to a Disney Resort, you know -- or soon will know -- of the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.  While I've heard that the experience is pretty incredible, I just cannot fathom spending that much money to have glitter put in my child's hair.  That being said, Frannie is 3, and princess glamour is the kind of thing she dreams of.

This April we went on the ultimate family vacation to Disneyland and we knew there was a reasonable risk in Frannie having a meltdown if she couldn't have a $60 hairstyle.  So we went prepared.  Beforehand, Katie watched youtube videos and looked at step-by-step illustrations on how to do princess hair and we practiced in our living room.  We bought gel (for about a dollar), glitter hairspray at Claire's in the mall (for about $5), and an assortment of bow clips to augment our little princess's hair.  It turns out that Katie is pretty amazing at doing hair.

We also armed ourselves with an assortment of princess dresses, mostly homemade.  Not crafty?  Don't worry.  Two of her dresses were straight off the rack at Costco for about $20 and they are far more comfortable and better made (and machine washable) than anything Disney is going to sell you.

The result: We enjoyed a week at Disneyland with a very happy girl who never once begged for princess hair or dresses because she arrived at the park each day already dolled up.  The one concession was a Queen Elsa crown that a lovely clerk at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique saved behind the counter for us when the new (very small) shipment arrived.  It was worth every penny.

This inside-out french braid wraps around her head in a crown shape.  It's perfect for playing and for napping:

  Minnie Mouse buns:

 Modeling her Costco "Minnie Mouse" dress:

A princess bun with jewels and one of her comfy princess dresses (a t-shirt top sewn onto a Princess Tiana skirt, cost: $3.25):

 Here's our princess wearing another Costco "princess" dress that Grammie surprised her with:

 Wearing the polar fleece Ariel cape that was made by Momma at her request:

 A view of the top half of the new Costco princess dress (now known as her Elsa dress) and her Elsa crown:

 A back view of the braid crown: