With the March 2010 opening of the new Disney version of Alice in Wonderland, a Mad Hatter Tea Party is sure to be a hit with your school age children. Ideally, this party should be held outdoors. But if the weather conditions are not right, this party will work equally well in an indoor setting.
Invitations: Invitations for this theme are easy to make. Use a spent deck of playing cards or make some playing cards from card stock on your computer using auto shapes from Microsoft Word. Put the party details on the back of the playing cards. If you are using real playing cards, this is easier to do if you print out labels with the information and stick them on back of the cards. Use wording from the movie such as - "Don't be late for a very important date!" "We are celebrating (child's name)'s very merry birthday." "By order of the the Red Queen, you are hereby summoned to attend." "You'd be mad to miss it!" Don't forget to add all the pertinent details like date, time, address and RSVP. If you like, ask guests to come prepared to share a silly riddle or two.
Decorations: This party calls for a colorful tablecloth with paper lanterns strung above. Flat twin sheets make wonderful party table cloths for a bigger crowd. Make some white and red tissue paper roses to use as a centerpiece. Add playing cards to the decorating scheme - normal size ones or giant ones made from poster board or both. A smattering of red hearts of assorted sizes will support the party theme as well. If you have any pink lawn flamingos, this is the occasion to flaunt them. Hang a variety of signs in and around the party space with "This Way" - "That Way" - "Up" - "Down" - painted on them like in the Tulgey Woods from the 1951 Disney movie version. Birthday Express has a full line of Tea for You paper products. For music download songs from the Alice movies - either the earlier Disney cartoon version or the Tim Burton's 2010 release.
Activities: Stage a silly riddle show. Video-tape each act. If you have the computer resources, an adult helper can burn a DVD-R with the video for each guest to take home.
Games: A lot of traditional games can be tweaked to accommodate the Alice theme. Hold a Caucus Race. Organize guests in a circle. Play music, have guests walk around in the circle, when the music stops, the last one to sit down is out.
Play pin the grin on the Cheshire Cat. On a poster board draw and color in a Cheshire Cat - have your kids help with this task - no one is expecting a Renoir. Cut out a bunch of grins, apply double stick tape to them. Blindfold guests, one at a time, and let them place the grin on the cat. Child, who places the grin the closest to the right spot, wins.
Play the Queen Says, like Simon Says.
Play Hot Tea Bag, like Hot Potato.
Alice Trivia is also a relevant choice for this theme. Prepare trivia questions in advance. Divide groups into two teams. Team with most correct answers wins.
Organize a golden key hunt, like an Easter Egg Hunt. Hide keys crafted out of cardstock around the party area and have guests find them. Kid finding the most keys wins.
Set up a croquet set and play a simplified version. Organize some card games like Old Maid or Go Fish.
Play paint the roses red. Print out coloring pages using enlarged clip art. Give out red crayons for kids to color. First to finish wins. You may want to assign penalties for sloppy "painting" ahead of time to discourage wild and crazy scribbling. Or change the end game and award the child who is the last to complete this project the prize. Painting the roses red can be an excellent game to quiet the kids down and keep them busy as you put the finishing touches on the food.
Crafts: Get a to-go party pack of tea cups and paints at your local pottery place. Your guests will be able to decorate a tea cup. After the party, you will return finished cups to the pottery store to be fired and can distribute the glazed items in about a week. Oriental Trading Company has a teapot shaped picture frame complete with decorative add-ons. ($8.99 per dozen) Can be ordered online.
Food: A variety of kid friendly foods is in order for this tea party. Serve Mini Ham and Cheese Sandwiches or peanut butter and jelly finger sandwiches with the crusts cut off. Mini Chocolate Chip Scones are a delicious, authentic addition to the menu. Mini bunches of grapes are easy to prepare and will complement the tea sandwiches and scones.
Most kids don't like traditional tea. Serve pink lemonade from a teapot. Or if you prefer a warm beverage, serve warm apple cider. Write "Drink Me" on party cups to tie back to the Alice movies.
Cake: Kids love cupcakes and they are the perfect addition to this tea party. Try Strawberry and Cream Cupcakes. They combine cake mix and soda pop to create a delicious treat. The pink icing can be decorated with red hot cinnamon drops or use tubes of decorating icing or gel to pipe "Eat Me" on each cupcake.
Favors: Kids and parents always appreciate individual or group pictures taken at the party, if you have the capability to print photos at home. Likewise, a DVD-R of the riddle show would be a very welcomed memento of the party. If you painted pottery, the tea cups will make excellent favors. Although they will not be finished for transport on party day. The teapot picture frames can also serve as stand alone favors and with some planning can be used to hold a party picture.
Several other favors support the Alice theme. Consider a deck of mini playing cards, An Alice in Wonderland Sticker Activity book $1.50, a mini water color set, red heart-shaped lollipops or Gummi Caterpillars.
Plan B: Rent a DVD of the 1951 version of the Disney Alice movie or copy of the 2010 version when it is released.
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