The Princess Blog

Too much screen time can lead to eye strain and cause headaches, so I've been researching some fun  princess board game options to save my eyes. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that many of the games I played as a child are still around. If you're throwing a princess party and need some fun activities to do with your friends, here are a few of my favorites. Unfortunately, not all of these games are available right now, so I'll start this list with the ones that are. Pretty Pretty Princess This game was a staple of my childhood. I was amazed to see that they still make it as I perused the game aisles of a book store. It looks a little different from the mint green box I remember as a kid, but it's still very much the same game. Each player must collect every piece of jewelry available in her preferred color and top it off with the bedazzled crown to win. Not only is the  classic game  still available with some minor updates to the crown, but there is also a Disney Pr...

Lost in Averell  by Tara Grayce  is a portal fantasy  where no one dies or takes over anyone else's body for a change. The book was recommended to me, and I figured out why when I realized that Tara Grayce was one of the authors who participated in the Villain's Ever After series . Lost in Averell is the first book in a new series called Princess by Night about a girl who travels between the real world and a fantasy land where she's a princess. I've read similar series in the past such as Avalon: Web of Magic  and The Tail of Emily Windsnap , and this one has the same level of magic and charm. I love these books because they encourage us to imagine that the magical worlds we love to fantasize about may be just within our reach. Half the time, Amy is an ordinary girl from Michigan. The other half, she's a princess of a fairy tale kingdom called Averell. Amy's story differs from many other portal fantasies about regular teenagers traveling to enchanted worlds be...

"The Queen's Lapdog" Once upon a time, there was a wolf who longed to be as beautiful as her keeper, Queen Cecily. The wolf, whose name was Moonbeam, was fiercely loyal to her master. She was willing to do anything that was asked of her, even if it meant fending off the queen's enemies from time to time. Cecily was no ordinary queen. She possessed an enchanted mirror that she used to enslave her enemies, but only if she believed they posed a threat to the kingdom. Moonbeam had always been curious about the mirror's powers, especially the one that granted its users the ability to transform into those who were trapped within it, an ability that Cecily rarely used. One day, Cecily came to greet Moonbeam with a thrilling announcement. She had found a new king for the land! Her royal guard, Sir Peter, had been courting her for some time and finally asked for her hand in marriage. Cecily was beyond thrilled. She pet Moonbeam's muzzle and brushed her fingers through ...

When I learned that 20/20 was having a reunion of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella  from 1997 to celebrate World Princess Week , I was expecting a journalist like Barbara Walters  to show up in a big room with the cast and lead a discussion about their memories of shooting together and what they've been up to since then. What I got instead was a mash-up of individual interviews from various people involved with the film from the past and present day talking for an hour about what a great movie it was. Don't get me wrong; it was  great, but that isn't what comes to mind when I hear "reunion." Not only was there never more than one person on camera at a time, but there was also no host to introduce and close out the special. If someone tuned in without knowing anything about it, they would have no idea what they were watching. The biggest highlight for me wasn't even part of the special. It was a clip of Brandy giving a live performance of  "Start...

A very merry World Princess Week to you all! The festivities of the week kicked off a little early with a YouTube video that took the internet by storm and surprisingly had nothing to do with Disney. As I've shared in the past , I've always had mixed feelings about Sailor Moon , but it's difficult to deny the impact that it had on for '90s kids. It was one of the first anime series that became popular in America and many people's first introduction to the Magical Girl genre . If things hadn't played out the way they did, our memories of this show could have been something completely different. Back in the early '90s, ToonMaker Studios  teamed up with Renaissance-Atlantic Entertainment  to create an animated/live-action hybrid of a brand new Americanized version of Sailor Moon. A music video of this cheeseball show  was recorded at a convention sometime later, and for a very long time, that was the only evidence we had that this version of Sailor Moon ever e...

When Time Princess released Hela's Compass , I expressed my desire for them to do a more complete science fiction story. That wish was granted with the newest visual novel release, Code: Whalefall. This story takes place in a cyberpunk-like world with lots of fun robots and cyborgs and the usual sci-fi theme of speculating what the future of humanity might be. There is a bit of controversy involving arguments between religion and technology, but I don't think it gets expanded upon enough to offend any zealots. The story also has an insane amount of sci-fi-themed clothing that draws inspiration from so many different sources that it's difficult to pinpoint them all. As a result, trying to unlock all the clothing in this story requires an insane amount of resources that will cut through your supply of gold and clothing materials like a chainsaw. The story begins with our protagonist, Maya, waking up on a strange planet and trying to figure out why she's there and how to ...

"The Secret of the Forest" Hidden deep within the darkest depths of the woods was a magic portal that led to a land of great riches beyond a person's wildest imagination. These glittering jewels and gold nuggets were the lifeblood that allowed the faeries who resided there to live forever. In order to ensure that no one discovered this hidden paradise, the faeries were guarded by Princess Abeline, whose family was long gone due to the odd passage of time within the hidden land. The fae were all she had left, and she was determined to protect them with her life. Rumors had spread of the secret treasure, but no one knew the exact location of the portal. No one was more determined to find it than a treasure hunter named Jules, who sought a life of comfort in the wake of his kingdom's recession. He bravely traversed the darkest part of the woods, feeling his way through the trees after his trusty lantern burned out. When he saw a flicker of light, he was certain the porta...

The prince is giving a ball... again! When Disney announced their Ultimate Princess Celebration last year , I was under the impression that it would be a year-long event culminating in World Princess Week , when they aired the mediocre Disney Princess Remix special on Disney Channel . Instead, it looks like the event will be ongoing until they can find a new way to keep their Disney Princess brand relevant . That means World Princess Week is back for another round! It will take place next week from August 21st through August 27th. Instead of a teenybopper remix of princess classics, however, Disney is doing something a little different this year. Their primary television network, ABC , will air a 25th anniversary reunion special of the 1997 production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella  on their news show,  20/20 , followed by a presentation of the film, airing live for the first time since it debuted on The Wonderful World of Disney. This is a particularly appropriate ...

I recently got a copy of one of my favorite card games, Once Upon a Time from Atlas games . The game has a series of fairy tale-themed story prompts that allow players to take turns telling a story in an attempt to drive it toward their ending card. It can be a fun party game, and it's also an excellent tool for writers who want to tell a story but have trouble coming up with ideas. I'm hoping to use this game to revive my Story Saturday  prompts and develop more short stories about princesses. I stopped sharing weekly stories a while ago due to a lack of inspiration. Let's see how many more I can create using my new story deck. "The Prince's Betrothed" Once upon a time, there was a giant named Pete who was in love with the fair Princess Madeline, despite the fact she was hardly bigger than his thumb. Another problem was that Princess Madeline was already betrothed to Prince Drake, who she admired for his bravery and charm. Pete's devotion to the princess ...

Experiences targeted toward Millennials are very different from the social gatherings of earlier generations that didn't have social media. Millennials' tastes are usually rooted in nostalgia, resulting in events created for adults that can look quite similar to ones made for children . That's where we get things like The Alice Cocktail Experience , an Alice in Wonderland -themed character dining escape room  without the dining or escaping parts. I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting myself into after reading numerous reviews  and decided to try it out to celebrate my unbirthday/ blogiversary  even though I knew it was overpriced. It also gave me an excuse to wear my old Alice costume from the 2010 live-action Tim Burton remake . This experience is happening in venues all around the world, so if you live close to a big city, there might be one near you. In fact, you may be reading this post just to see if it's worth it. If you decide to go in the hopes of a de...

Can you believe I've been writing articles about princesses for five years? I still remember posting a list of  100 princesses for my 100th post , and now I have over 600 posts and counting! That's a lot of princesses! For most blogiversaries, I've shared free or deeply discounted Kindle copies of my books , but unfortunately, I haven't written anything new this year. Instead, I've been busy getting settled in my new castle , so I filmed this mini-music video in some of my favorite rooms as a video tour. I hope you enjoy it! Feel free to pause it to get a closer look at some of my new furnishings and old memorabilia. Let me know how many princess easter eggs you can spot in the background! As for what's next, I'm very excited to announce that I've applied to be a big sister through the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America  in the hopes of sharing my experiences with a special little girl, attending more princess events, and getting a better grasp on ...

Time Princess has really done it this time. What have they done? They've created a pirate story that I actually enjoyed. In fact, but it just might be one of the best visual novels in the entire game! The Perfect Storm is similar in plot to Hela's Compass  as both are about a young woman who journeys to sea to find a supernatural artifact that is tied to a deceased relative, but The Perfect Storm blew it out of the water literally and figuratively with its worldbuilding, story, characters, and music. Pirates are often presented as the male-oriented alternative to princesses, and while both are  occasionally paired together , the genres are rarely combined. One exception is ab obscure Broadway musical called The Pirate Queen  that tells the story of a real-life female pirate named Grace O'Malley , but I liked this one better. The Perfect Storm is a pure fantasy that is unapologetically female and removes the less desirable aspects of pirating like the drinking, womanizin...