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Every morning when our kids awake for a new day, they are different. They are one day older and changed from the day before. Every day our children learn and adapt to the adult world that they live in right now. The book Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll, is a profound way of reminding us parents what it must feel like to be a child in an adult world - where so many things just don’t make sense! So many seemingly impossible, fantastical things happen - good and bad - that change them…that once changed us. Carroll validates our children’s childhood experiences growing into an adult world in such a mad, nonsensical way!

This year, for our Coop Group, we have a monthly Coop Kids Book Club for our theme. October was Lewis Carroll’s book. And, our party was So. Much. Fun. It takes only the following six things to make it quite special.

Well, first you need the book. There’s some simple ones, but also some amazingly illustrated ones. Make sure you do not buy an abridged one - the book is already short, you don’t need an abridged version. You can also listen to it for free right now on Audible, as told by Scarlett Johansson (on x 1.25 it only takes a little over two hours to listen to the entire book!).

1) Decorations

I bought a few key items that were absolutely necessary for our party: Wonderland directional signs, “Drink Me” labels (buy two sets so you don’t run out!), and themed paper plates. There are so many cute themed paper plates and matching paper sets - it made it really hard to choose, but I went with the cheapest. Also, I ordered the colored tissue paper and colored paper plates that I needed to make large Pinterest-worthy flowers (see pictures below). Themed artistic stickers sprinkled down the center of the table, piles of Alice books, and as many teacups that you have room for, make a great themed table runner. I used bright pink and white striped wrapping paper to roll down the middle as well. I already had tablecloths, tea cups for serving hot tea to each child, and vintage teapots to hold red roses. I bought some colorful plants to brighten the setting as well - a long-lasting, natural investment. The cakes and treats brought to the party are a pretty addition to put along the center of the table as well - delicious art for the eyes!

2) Costumes

Require costumes. Options can include the following: 1) Dressing as a Wonderland character, 2) Wearing a crazy hat, or 3) Dress in fancy tea attire. At our party, all two dozen kids dressed in one of these ways - and they were so excited to show their friends their chosen attire. Even the moms dressed for the party theme as well!

3) Themed Food

“Eat Me” cakes are an absolute must! If you don’t have the over-achiever in your group like we did (check out our pictures!), then you can make cupcakes and use labels to say those magic words. Homemade Cheshire Cat Madeleines, tea-sized fruit tarts, heart shaped sandwiches and cheeses, and fruit were all enjoyed by our tea party friends. I also served “Drink Me” small water bottles, a pitcher of iced passion fruit iced tea, and two kinds of hot tea - English Breakfast tea and Passion Fruit tea served in fancy in teapots. As host, I provided the drinks and asked that everyone else bring a delicious tea item to share.

4) Craft

There are so many fun things you can do here - but I wanted something simple and easy for the kids to make. So, I bought faux leather cording, key rings, wide mouth wooden beads, keys, and themed charms to make necklaces or key chains. Some keys and charms didn’t fit onto the leather cording, so I also ordered rainbow elastic for those who wanted a colorful option (plus some colorful wide-mouth plastic beads too). Most everyone wanted the faux leather and the wooden beads. The moms loved it too and made some key chains too! Some kids wanted to make both a necklace and a key chain, and a couple kids didn’t care to make any. It was available and fun for many. I also had pulled out numerous pages from a finely illustrated coloring book that I bought at the thrift store for the kids to color. No one colored at the party, but a few of the girls were excited to bring some sheets home with them. (I pulled some sheets out prior to the party, colored them, laminated them, and posted them as decorations as well.)

5) Book Club Questions

We utilized book discussion questions suggested by Sarah MacKenzie in her book, The Read Aloud Family. These questions give your kids a chance to share their opinion, not only their comprehension. Diving deeper into who your kids think is the bravest, the kindest, the most selfish, or the most humorous characters, open up the discussion to their interpretation with no judgement, no right and no wrong. I sent all the questions out prior to the party so kids had a chance to think about their answers ahead of time. For the party, I cut each question out, rolled it up, and put it inside a teapot. Each child drew out a question and got to answer their question themselves first. This was a really fun idea and each child excitedly awaited their own special question…except there were so many kids, that this process took a long time, and a number of kids lost interest. If you have only about a dozen kids for discussion, then this process will work out great for keeping everyone’s interest. We had two dozen. Our list of questions for Alice in Wonderland are available as a free downloadable.

6) Etiquette Lesson

Royal manners matter when you are in the presence of a queen! Especially the Queen of Hearts! Our very own in-house professional dance teacher (The Coop mom Jessica!) lead the demonstration on poise, posture, and curtsies and bows. I followed up by teaching “tea manners” - such as no elbows on the table, passing requests with pleases and thank yous, and waiting to eat until the entire party has sat down to eat. Our outline of the Etiquette Lesson is available as a free downloadable.

Extras

There’s always extras! Anything else you want to do to make it feel like a wonderland is up to you! We had the Disney Alice in Wonderland movie soundtrack playing loudly as guests arrived and during free play times. I also found a great china set on sale at a thrift store and was able to gift each child with a teacup and saucer to take home with them (total cost of $0.75 per child). Also, I ordered a themed deck of cards to make pens (using hot glue) as mementos as well. Watching the movie (Disney or Tim Burton versions) would be a great reward for sure too!

Probably the most special “extra” of our Mad Tea Party was when our special guest singer (one of our Coop Group moms!) and guitar player (her dad!) played “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane. It was hauntingly beautiful. Over thirty of us listened intently, awestruck by the mysterious melody and beautiful voice. Some of us had tears in our eyes, and others got the chills. It truly was the icing on the teacake.

Research shows that shared experiences help bond and deepen friendships. This educational experience of reading a book monthly together and discussing it will hopefully do that. This Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter Tea Party was quite the experience together - in a wonderland where music, teacakes, color, and learning were all enjoyed together, delighting in each other’s friendship…in a wonderland where we all grew to become different than we were the day before - even if it was ever so slightly.

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