Barbie and Elise McVeigh, founder of Mrs. McVeigh’s Manners and Parents magazine‘s etiquette expert, have teamed up to provide manners, tips, and lesons to celebrate the fall release of Barbie’s new DVD, “Barbie Princess Charm School” now in stores!

We held a playdate to celebrate Barbie’s new movie.  Like in the movie, my daughter and her friends leaned the importance of good manners and learned how to be a princess in their own way, each and every day!  Whether it’s at school, at home, at the soccer field, or in the neighborhood, it’s important to be the best version of yourself, just like a princess would!

Donning their tiaras, the 4 girls sat at the dinner table at placemats with princess-style templates on them to practice setting the table.  With forks, knives, spoons, cups, napkins, and plates we practiced left and right with the Kindergarteners and discussed what type of foods we’d use each utensil for.  One girl said, “the napkin should go in my lap,” which is right, after the setting is placed, once seated I told them their lap was a fine spot for it!

I went over the Manners Checklist, we talked about using nice words, how to be a friend, what it meant to be a role model, and the golden rule.  It was then I brought out our snacks of grapes, cookies, crackers, and juice.  We put our manners into practice by serving ourselves then kindly asking our neighbor if they’d like some snacks, always using kind words like please and thank you.  I did hear a “NO!” and reminded how “no thank you” sounds much more polite and friendly.

There were a few lingering, “may I have another cookie please” phrases that I applauded, then we pushed our plates aside for a bit.  With the girls just learning to print, we practiced some self-guided writing of our thank you notes and when it was proper to send them out.  “My mom writes them for me,” commented one girl and that is okay, but once the girls are confident in their printing, they can write them or at least sign them themselves.  One girl thanked me for hosting the party and I was thrilled!

The girls could not wait to open the Barbie Princess Charm School dolls and practice what they just learned.  I heard so much politeness, lots of giggles, and plenty of manners, I was impressed.  The girls all received a certificate completing Mrs. Jen’s Charm School lesson for the day!

The girls promised to go home to their siblings and parents and practice their new found knowledge and to live like princess, practice does make perfect!

I was sent a party kit along with a gift card to host this party.  The opinions are 100% ours.