Alice In Wonderland Birthday Tea

We had such a great time at Devyn’s 7th birthday party. My mom flew out a few days before and we had a great time creating the decorations and food. She wrote those signs that we tacked to the tree in the front yard.

It was a really simple agenda for the party. When the girls arrived, we gave each one a sweet little half apron my mom found at Target in the dollar section. The girls played outside until everyone arrived, and then we seated them at the table for tea.

I used pre-printed placemats I already had, and I made a runner out of paper doilies (just glued them together).

I hung some tissue flowers we already had from the ceiling as well as some play tea set teacups for a “mad hatter” vibe. I also decorated with some really great pre-made props from Amazon.

We folded the napkins in a rosebud shape, which was very easy.  I used my grandmother’s silver that I inherited recently, and mismatched the plates and cups from my collection. I also tied a tag on each of the cups that said “drink me.”

I served two kinds of caffeine-free tea, Sugar Cookie and raspberry, from Celestial seasonings. We let the girls add sugar cubes and milk while we brought over the food.

The menu included mini chocolate chip scones, mini quiches (from the frozen foods aisle), and three kinds of tea sandwiches: chicken salad on pumpernickel, cucumbers and cream cheese on wheat, and almond butter with jam on white bread.

I made lots of extra for the grown-ups — we’re at an age where I’m never sure if the parents will stay or go, so I wanted to be sure I had plenty!

After the girls ate, they went outside to play croquet!  We borrowed a croquet set from a friend. They mostly just whacked the ball around the yard, but they had a good time.

My family and I dressed up as characters! I was the White Queen, my husband was the White Rabbit, my mom was the Queen of Hearts, and my sister from another mister was the Mad Hatter.  I made D’s pinafore and she wore a great blue dress from Primary.com. (We’ve bought two more in other colors. They have pockets!)

After croquet, the girls came back in for cake.

We had store-bought desserts: macarons from Costco (I KNOW!), little chocolate tea cakes from Whole Foods, and — find of the weekend — a very nice gluten-free almond cake from… wait for it… IKEA! for my mom. And a bowl of mushroom cookies. Because mushrooms and Alice.

(I also hid a little dormouse in the sugar bowl on the dessert table. Can you spot him?)

I arranged some cakes in the shape of a 7 and put candles in for her to blow out.

The piece de la resistance was an idea we saw on Pinterest that D latched onto. My mom and I spent the week turning a dishwasher box into a Victorian living room with a tiny door for our Alices to “grow” into. D was so into it she handed each girl a mushroom cookie to eat before they “grew.”

We made the box with printed poster board for the floor and wainscoting and fabric for the wallpaper. I got different sizes of wood for the architectural details, the door, and the table.  My mom made the curtain, and the clock was a sticker. We hung tiny picture frames from the wall with pins.  And we rounded it out with some doll furniture — and even made a tag that says “drink me” for a tiny bottle next to a tiny key (from the jewelry department at the craft store) on the table.

They played a little more and then we passed out treat bags.  I found mismatched china teacups and saucers at a thrift store for the treat bags and put a macaron and a teabag in each. I also put one of the tiny keys (like from the photo box) on a string in each for them to play with or wear as a necklace. And the bags were decorated with playing cards and their names.

I added the riddle to my antique typewriter and dug the glitter raven out of the Halloween directions just because I could!

I think it was a really successful party and we had a great time!