A Christmas party for your daughter and her friends turns magical when you make their dolls part of the party. Think of a doll tea party with a Christmas theme and you get the idea. The party doesn't have to be long and complicated; in fact, keep it short so that the magic of the party doesn't dissipate before it's over.
The girls and dolls gift exchanges are the main events at this party. When you send the invitation, give instructions to bring one girl gift and one doll gift. Do set a price limit on the gifts since this is likely the first time your friends have purchased a gift for a doll.
Choose any pretty Christmas invitation and customize it to tell your friends to bring their favorite doll to the party. Make it a dress-up party so that everyone can wear their pretty holiday dresses and dress up their dolls. The party should last about one and one-half hours.
Party food should be kid versions of fancy holiday party food. Set a pretty buffet table with finger foods such as star-shaped sandwiches and Christmas cookies. Cut out small sandwiches and cookies to "serve" the dolls. Have a punch bowl, but since the girls are wearing their fancy dresses, skip the red punch and go for a yellow or other non-staining drink.
Start the party with picture taking. Use your digital camera and photo printer to make a keepsake of each girl with her doll in their Christmas finery. Use the Christmas tree as a backdrop or set up a holiday background for the pictures. Purchase some inexpensive Christmas frames for the pictures or use this framed digital photo project from HP.
When everyone has their picture taken, serve refreshments. You can seat the girls around the dining table and let the dolls sit on their laps. It's fun to have a big plate for the girls and a matching dessert-size for the dolls. Of course, the girls get to eat it all but that's just part of the fun.
Next is the gift exchange. Start with the dolls' exchange. Do a "Chinese-style" gift exchange so that dolls can steal the perfect gift for them. Since you might have a variety of dolls from American Girls to Bratz, this tends to get the right gift to the right doll. Then, play another type of gift exchange for the girls, such as numbering each gift and letting each girl draw a number. Or, you can play the right-left gift game. I don't recommend "Dirty Santa" type games for young girls; feelings may get hurt.
End the party by leading the girls and dolls in some Christmas carols while a parent videotapes. This will be a precious memory that the girls will enjoy watching when they get older.