Throw a Braiding Party!
Host a Braid Bar
As the highlight of the party, enlist helpers to braid girls' hair; weave in brightly colored clip-in extensions (available at most beauty stores) for an extra pop! For more party ideas and instructions on how to re-create these hairstyles, click through the slideshow.
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Braided Side Ponytail
- Make a deep side part. Pull the front top section of hair into a side ponytail.
- French braid the bottom half, following the hairline at the nape of the neck, until it meets the side ponytail.
- Secure both halves together with an elastic hairband; wrap a few strands of hair from the ponytail around the elastic to hide it and keep in place with a bobby pin.
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Half-Up Side Braid
Piece off a 3-inch section of hair at the crown of the head and braid it to one side.
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Cross-Cross Braided Bun
- Taking two-inch sections from the front of the hair, braid each side and tie off.
- Leave the braids hanging loose, and put the back half of the hair into a bun at the top of the head.
- Then, lift both braids and cross them on top of the head, in front of the bun, and wrap the ends around the base of the bun. Secure with bobby pins.
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Twisted Pigtails
- Part hair down the center and tie off into pigtails.
- Divide one pigtail into two sections and braid each. Then, twist the two braids around each other and secure the ends together with a hair tie. Repeat for the other side.
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Do the Long-Locks Limbo
Turn up the music as guests take their newly coiffed 'dos for a dip under a braided limbo rope, made from 3-yard lengths of yarn (we used three skeins in total) and ribbons tied at each end.
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Bake a Braided Beauty Cake
The secret behind this cake? Her dress's bottom is made from cake baked in Pyrex measuring cups, her body is an inverted ice-cream cone, and her head is a cake pop!
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Put a Bow on It!
For a silly twist on the classic pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, see if blindfolded partygoers can pin a bow on any one of these unruly braids.
Originally published in the August 2015 issue of Parents magazine.