Alice Themed Birthday — Glamdom Fandom

A few years ago, we had a magical Alice in Wonderland themed birthday party for Ella. We went crazy in every direction with our decor and baking. It turned into one of the biggest birthday celebrations that we have had as a family. Recently, we have been taking part of the Fall Into Disney Style Challenge on Instagram. On Day 6 we were to post something about Alice in Wonderland, so this brought back a lot of memories about this unforgettable celebration.

The setting for our version of Mad Tea Party

We hosted the party from our home. Rather than go with a multi-color pallet, I chose a simpler black, red and grey tone. For the big table, we pushed together 3, 8' x 30" tables. We rented some red tablecloths and my talented Mom, made the incredible grey chevron overlays with the tassel fringe. No tea party is complete without strung lanterns. I picked up this variety at a local party store. We rented the black chairs for the day.

The adults had their own table, which was smaller and more intimate. It was close enough to see what the kids were up to, yet far away enough to be able to have a conversation. We went to the flower mart the day before the party and found these incredible candy cane roses. It was the perfect touch to remind everyone to "paint the roses red".

Etsy is my favorite place to shop and discover magic. No matter what your theme is, you can find something for every kind of party. I made this sign using printables that I purchased from Cherry Pink Prints. It seemed like the perfect way to greet our guests. Crafter's tip: Don't place this sign on your lawn the night before the party because the sprinklers might come on and alter the ink on your arrows.

A couple of days before the party, we decided to paint the roses red! We purchased these inexpensive white roses from the 99 Cent Store. And then we had a blast spraying them with red paint. After they dried, the kids adorned our bushes with freshly painted roses. It was a really cool effect. As it happens, we have a ton of white rose bushes in the backyard.

Ella has always loved to drink tea. She is absolutely obsessed will all kinds of teas and that was the inspiration for her party. Here she is, enjoying a bit of a quiet moment with her cousin. It was a hot day so we had lots of ice cubes on hand.

Women in my family have a disease. We tend to over-feed our guests. Putting together a spread like this requires a small village. I prepared the scones in advance. My mom, whipped up 5 different kinds of mini sandwiches. She and Ella also put together the fruit kabobs, right before the party. The cups were filled with lemon mousse and topped with white chocolate curls.

Adding a bit of fruit makes this a healthy meal, right?!?!

In addition to the obscene amount of food, I baked. And as I am admittedly a crazy person, it would be impossible for me to bake only one type of cupcake. I chose to make three. (Cue the Psycho theme song.)

Cherry Chip Playing Card Cupcakes. I made the picks from a printable file purchased on Etsy.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Buttercream, Raspberries & White Chocolate Curls

Cherry Chip, Painting the Roses Red Cupcakes

Somehow, very few of these ended up in the trash. But only because Gabe and I took a bunch of them to work the next day. It is moments like this that inspire my husband to roll his eyes, every time I say I want to host a party. Thanks for putting up with me, my darling.

Party goers.  Ella Disneybounded even before we knew there was such a thing. — Party goers. Ella Disneybounded even before we knew there was such a thing.

We had ordered an actual Pin the Grin on the Cheshire Cat game off of Etsy but it did not show up on time. Thankfully, Gabe is an amazing artist and he was able to whip up this at the last minute. Sometimes the old fashioned party games are the ones the kids love the most.

Truth be told, it was an unusually warm day in April. We never got around to serving the hot tea, much to Ella's eternal dismay.

No such party is complete with a Mad Hatter with a big watch

We are big into party favors at our house. I know, this has become a bit of a hot button issue with some folks. No matter, we always want our guests to leave with something special. The favor bag read, "Take Me". Inside, there were three small gifts for our guests to enjoy. "Read Me": a copy of the classic Lewis Carroll version of "Alice in Wonderland". "Drink Me": a bag of one of Ella's favorite teas and, "Eat Me": a flower shaped sugar cookie.

Take Me!  The favor that guests received as they exited the party. — Take Me! The favor that guests received as they exited the party.

It took a few months of planning and execution to pull this whole thing off. My Mom, Ella and I did everything ourselves. (When am I going to learn to hire people to help/cut back on the amount that we do?!?!?) Yes, it was a lot but we enjoyed it. It was a true bonding experience and my sense was that our guests enjoyed it, as well.