Tea parties are great fun to hold, and even more so when based on the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party from Alice in Wonderland. Here are some suggestions for decorations, party supplies, food and activities.
Decorating for a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party
The table must take center stage in your tea party. Cover it with a crazy tablecloth, and stack up lots of china in a higgledy-piggledy fashion. Go for teacups, saucers and teapots in chintz, vintage and mismatched styles, and if you have any broken cups or plates, now is the time to use them!
Put lots of chairs around a large table, and if possible use more than the number of guests attending, allowing everyone to change places randomly. Put a toy mouse in a teapot to represent the dormouse and put out a toy hare or rabbit to represent the March Hare.
Take inspiration from the rest of Alice in Wonderland; decorate with red and white roses, chess pieces, pocket watches, clocks (all set to six o’clock), plastic flamingos and playing cards. Whether inside or out, add color to the décor with paper lanterns and fairy lights, and have lots of signs pointing in different directions, saying "this way", "that way" and so on.
Mad Hatter Teacup Invitations
You can have great fun making shaped invitations for a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. Make or buy a template in the shape of a teacup or teapot, and use as a stencil to make as many invitations as needed. Cut out the shapes and decorate with craft materials.
For the wording, either quote the Mad Hatter or take inspiration from the White Rabbit:
- Why is a raven like a writing desk? Find out at the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party!
- Don’t be late for a very important date! You are cordially invited to our Tea Party, by command of the Mad Hatter
Encourage guests to dress up in Alice in Wonderland outfits or, at the very least, arrive in a suitable Mad Hatter hat!
Make a Mad Hatter Cake
Create a birthday cake to remember by making one in the shape of the Mad Hatter’s hat using ready-to-roll icing over layers of sponge cake, or create a tea party scene on top of a round or square sponge. Alternatively, be creative and create a teapot-shaped cake, or lots of cupcakes with teacups on!
Food for a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party
Bake lots of yummy teatime treats and stick cocktail sticks in everything with signs on reading "eat me!"
Offer cupcakes and cookies decorated with teacups and teapots, or in the shape of playing card symbols. Cut sandwiches into butterfly shapes to create bread-and-butterflies.
For drinks, offer different flavors of tea, and label everything with "drink me!", as well as having two bottles of liquid (such as fruit punch) labeled "Shrink" and "Grow".
Games and Activities for a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party
In keeping with the actual tea party scene from the Alice in Wonderland book, guests should partake in the following:
- The Mad Hatter moves everyone on one space around the table when running out of clean cups. Get everyone to change places, moving around the table every so often
- Why is a raven like a writing desk? Even the Mad Hatter wasn’t sure. Make up some fun riddles for everyone to guess at
- The March Hare and the Mad Hatter engage Alice in some silly stories. Either make up some nonsensical stories to tell, read from a book such as Edward Lear’s Complete Nonsense, or start a story off and move around the table, with each person adding a line. The sillier the better!
For more game ideas, take inspiration from the rest of Alice in Wonderland. Ideas include:
- Playing lawn croquet with flamingos! Tie soft toy flamingos to croquet mallets or find long plastic flamingos that can be used in place of them
- Painting the roses red – organize some white roses and paint them red for the Queen of Hearts
- Buying or borrowing a giant garden chess set to play in the garden
Mad Hatter Party Favors
Send guests away happy with some Alice-themed party favors, such as playing cards, or anything in the shape of a teapot or heart. Toy flamingos, red roses, or any small merchandise from Alice in Wonderland, like badges, stickers and key-rings will also work a treat.
Decorate party bags or favor boxes with a Cheshire Cat grin, a pocket watch, or, of course, a teapot!
Celebrating an Unbirthday
It is also possible to throw a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party at any time of the year, not just for a birthday – after all, Lewis Carroll also came up with the idea of the unbirthday! So there are 364 other days upon which to throw a mad tea party too, from insane garden parties to fancy dress parties. The crazier, the better!