Princesses, parties, and pink decorations. This is the work of Paige Oldham, who, every weekend, dresses up as a princess to go surprise little girls with their favorite Disney character at their birthday party.

Oldham, a Junior, started working at Princess Parties & More during the Summer when she was given a job opportunity.

“My sister had the job for a while and she loved it,” Oldham said, “my boss just presented me with the opportunity and I needed a job.”

Oldham’s boss, Larissa Clark, started the company in 2002 after performing for Steven Spielberg’s Daughters birthday.

“While acting in Los Angeles, California during college, I auditioned to play Cinderella for Steven Spielberg’s daughter’s birthday party,” Clark said, “I got the part, enjoyed entertaining the children and knew I wanted to continue to make magical memories for other children, so I started out offering princess visits just for fun. Eventually turning my craft into a princess party entertainment company.”

Running a princess party business also brings with it unique challenges, according to Clark.

 Scheduling the entertainers is definitely the hardest part,” Clark said, “Some clients think that if their date & party time request are available on the party calendar that a princess is available.  I must wait until I have a performer who is available to be able to officially book a party.”

Oldham’s sister, Meg Oldham, started working as a princess in 2015.

“Working as a princess was the coolest job I could ever imagine,” Meg said, “there was nothing about it that I didn’t love.”

Oldham does shows, mostly for little girls, dressed as a Disney princess. Shows usually consist of Oldham introducing herself as a princess and doing various activities with the birthday girl.

“A typical show is an hour long, so I walk in, and I talk with the girls, introduce myself as a princess,” Oldham said, “then we do princess lessons, and then after that, I crown the birthday girl the ‘princess of the day’. Next, I have a parachute, and we play parachute games with stuffed animals and we throw them in the middle.”

Oldham enjoys being able to work with the kids and bring the little girls joy on their birthdays.

“My favorite part is seeing how happy the little girls get, especially at the surprise parties when you walk in and these cute little four-year-olds really believe that you’re a princess and you’re there and they just get all happy and excited and it’s adorable,” Oldham said.

Despite being her favorite job, princess work isn’t always fun and games according to Oldham.  

“Sometimes some of the girls at the parties will be bratty or annoying, or just difficult for me to work with,” Oldham said, “those parties are just really stressful for me to try to control the party.”

Despite having to deal with minor inconveniences, Meg couldn’t think of anything bad to say about being a party princess.

“I honestly can’t think of anything I didn’t like about my job. I even loved the 45 min- 1-hour drives I would have to take to get to some parties,” Meg said.

One of the many activities Oldham does with the girls is called “princess training” in which Oldham teaches the girls how to be a real princess.

“You teach them a couple things like if they were to go to a ball, like how to curtsy, and you teach them how to clap,” Oldham said, “how to giggle like a princess, you can teach them how to wave like a princess.”

Oldham is able to play a wide range of Disney characters, but there is one, in particular, that is very popular.

“My most popular one is Ariel, I’m Ariel almost every weekend,” Oldham said.

Meg enjoyed interacting with the kids and being able to make their birthdays special.

“My favorite part was connecting with adorable little girls and making their birthdays special and memorable,” Meg said, “There are no words that can describe the magic that being a princess creates for everyone involved.”