Clean Cup, Move Down! Throw a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party at Home

Whether it’s your un-birthday or just after school, it’s always a good time for tea. Celebrate Mad Hatter Day any day and gather round your lovies, machines, snakes and dolls. All are welcome at an ad-hoc tea party fit for a king (or a tractor). Read on for some easy inspiration.

You will need:

A table, or you can make it a picnic tea party on the floor.

A tablecloth.

Tea cups, preferably assorted and mismatched.

A tea pot.

Snacks. We like fresh fruit and few treats for after school, but you can honestly serve anything.

Attendees. (Let your child select the attendees.)

A hat.

Step One: Gather your items. Remember, the key here is to use what you have. If your child has a tea set, great, but coffee cups work just as well. No tea? Use water. Somehow, it tastes more spectacular out of a tea cup.

Step Two: Have your child help decorate the table. Since your trying to invoke the Mad Hatter’s tea party, a little colorful chaos is okay.

Step Three: Bring the attendees in. Remember, this needn’t be limited to dolls and stuffed animals. Our Editor’s son brought along a front-end loader, a K’Nex creature, snakes and monster trucks as well as stuffed animals.

Step Four: Bring on the tea and cookies! If there’s room at the table you might even be able to join them. You can read the Mad Tea Party scene from the book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, at this link, out loud while they enjoy their tea.

Step Five: Don your hat and enjoy!

Does your child love tea parties? Tell us about a memorable one in the comments below! 

—Amber Guetebier