My oldest daughter turned 13 earlier this year. As I can clearly remember planning her 3rd birthday, I have no idea how we got to teenage years so quickly but alas, here we are!
She is a fantastic kid – excellent student, hard working, kind, a great big sister, and a loyal friend. As such, we wanted to celebrate this milestone birthday in a special way.
We always give our kids the option for a birthday party or a staycation. However for this big birthday, we decided to do both! A super fun party leading into our annual weekend in Strawberry to give our chick a birthday to remember.
We let her choose – a larger party with more kids but maybe less activity, or a more intimate party with some special surprises. She went with the latter. She invited 4 close friends, and I started to plan a day fit for this soon to be 13 year old girl.
A tween-friendly beauty experience
Loving all things fashion, hair, and makeup, I started researching ideas for this age demographic.
It is surprisingly challenging to find self-care type options for young teens! I called around to many different salons, makeup studios, stores etc. and finally connected with a wonderful individual at the Fashion Square Sephora who helped me plan an afternoon of fun for these girls.
We decided on mini-facials and a light makeup application for each girl. With those appointments booked, I filled in the rest of the day.
A mall party at Scottsdale Fashion Square
Starting with nail appointments for her and her bestie, a dinner reservation at Culinary Dropout, and a plan for pick up and drop off, along with securing a second chaperone, Guncle Bobby. Being at Fashion Square was a bonus since we could shop before and after their appointments, and again before dinner.
The details
Day of, Layla had curated a special playlist to enjoy as we picked up each girl and headed to the mall.
Guncle Bobby picked up birthday balloons and had them dropped off at the restaurant ahead of time (did you know you can do that!).
We let the girls wander the mall until their appointments and they had a blast shopping for their upcoming school dance all together.
When it was time for their facials, we headed to Sephora and each girl was partnered with a consultant. In addition to their facial and makeup, the store had prepared little goodie bags of samples for the girls to take home.
The pricing
Each facial/makeup application was $60 and then we tipped 20% on top of that. Because it was a small group, this was definitely less than a large party would have been at an event space.
I cannot say enough good things about our experience. Everyone there made the girls feel so special.
Feeding tweens
This age loves things that makes them feel like adults, so we did coffee and a fun dinner reservation.
We grabbed Starbucks for everyone during their treatments and when everything had wrapped, we headed back out to the mall for more shopping.
Once it was time for our dinner reservation, we walked over to the restaurant (Culinary Dropout). This area is super busy, especially on the weekends, so a reservation was a must!
They had the balloons set up at the table, and again, the birthday girl got lots of special attention. We chose to order a bunch of appetizers and snacks to share (vs. individual meals) and this was for sure the way to go.
Our food came out quickly and everyone got something they wanted.
We ended with a birthday dessert and Tik Tok dances before piling back in the car to head for home. Our birthday girl was so happy and I honestly had a great time getting to spoil her and her friends a little bit. It was the perfect day!
