Anticipating that Stella’s birth was going to happen right around Luna’s second birthday, I had decided to host an “unbirthday” party early, before Luna’s actual birthday, so that my then-two year old would still get her special day before her sister arrived. I went into full Alice in Wonderland tea party (is there any better sort of tea party, honestly?) mode and started dreaming up and purchasing decor, party ware, favors etc.
Well, with the pandemic, those very merry unbirthday party plans were paused (check out the super intimate space-themed celebration we opted for, here).
As a result, I essentially had the next 15 months to hoard collect all things Alice and prepare for what would become a joint birthday celebration — Stella in ONEderland & Luna’s Mad THREE Party. Here’s how everything came together, once we finally had the opportunity to celebrate.
The Inspiration
I have always loved tea parties — going to Victorian tea houses, high teas at fancy hotels, etc. — and knew I already owned a lot of things that would be useful, like cake stands. Additionally, our backyard has a whimsical English garden vibe, too, with koi ponds, statues and ivy. Layer on the playful, youthful Alice “unbirthday” theme, and we’ve got ourselves a party.
I took inspiration for the event color palette from the 1951 (oh, did I mention it also happened to be the movie’s 70th anniversary?) Disney animated movie and the corresponding Mad Tea Party ride at Disney World. I tried to weave the colors from the tea party scene and ride throughout the setting. I picked up paints in colors in this palette and got to crafting.
DIY highlights from the party include:
Wooden letters (from Michael’s) spelling out “Eat Me” and “Drink Me” to decorate the food and beverage stations.
Ceramic tea cup planters (from Oriental Trading) that made the Alice Disney theme front and center. When painting the planters, I tried to copy the color pairs (e.g., mint with periwinkle, yellow with coral, teal with purple, etc.) and abstract patterns from the ride, then GirlDad hit them with a clear sealant so they would be functional. The day of the party, despite all the imagineering I had done, I simply hadn’t had time to execute on all of my ideas. So, off to the store went GirlDad to pick up some potted plants to plop into the tea cup planters.
Inspired by this Pinterest post, I also picked up a variety of terra cotta planters with saucers to mimic the look of the Mad Hatter’s top hat. I spray painted them forest green, hot glued red satin ribbon around the base and used a calligraphy marker to write “10/6 in this style” on cardstock before slipping the card into the satin and securing it with more hot glue. (For background on the Mad Hatter’s famous hat, check out this). We ended up using the planters to line the back porch steps, from biggest to smallest, with the largest holding pretty pink flowers my mother-in-law gave me on Mother’s Day.
Using spray paint in pastel shades that coordinated with the tea cup planters and tablecloths, we also recreated the iconic “This Way, That Way…” sign. I drew arrows on cardboard to show the size and shapes I wanted and GirlDad cut them out on plywood. I spray painted the arrows and wrote on them in black sharpie. Then GirlDad attached them to a wooden dowel in a way so that the arrows could be tilted or spun around if we wanted to confuse Alice, I mean, our guests, even more. GirlDad stuck the sign into the ground at our garden gate, showing guests into the party area. Similarly, I picked up this wooden Uncle Sam hat sign from the post-4th of July clearance section at Michael’s and had a vision to also paint green and decorate it with the same ribbon and cardstock as used with the planters. It ended up being a cute decor item to hang in what became an impromptu photo backdrop and gift area.
Additional Decor & Games
I had been planning to paint my mom’s old croquet set using the same colors as the tea cup planters, then attach lawn flamingos to them, but ended up finding this adorable child sized wooden set with rainbow trim from Target. GirlDad drilled holes in mini lawn flamingos I found on Amazon and set them up in a grassy area with a couple large lawn flamingos we already had. (I had every intention of gluing oversized playing cards to the hoops, but simply didn’t get around to executing. Being a working mom with two under two is no easy task!).
Larger playing cards lined our fence to add to the backdrop. Additionally, I slipped faux white and red roses into large topiary trees that flank our front door year-round and set little red metal pails and paint brushes nearby to suggest that the Queen of Hearts’ playing card guard had just finished painting the white roses red.
For partyware, we used a variety of floral paper tea cups and plates, printed doilies on cake stands, and fancy silver plastic cutlery. I also used paper plates and napkins with Disney’s version of Alice (versus the original book illustration) printed on them that I found at Oriental Trading.
Tables were covered in light blue plastic tablecloths with the outer ruffle skirts and the kids’ table was covered in an Alice themed blue tablecloth (all from Oriental Trading). I used black and white check fabric table runners I found on Amazon. Brass, antique looking skeleton keys doubled as table weights and decorations. The tea cup planters also decorated the tables.
Children sat on pale pink chiavari chairs I ordered off of Amazon (with two daughters and a niece, I am bound to regularly need 10 miniature pink ballroom chairs, right? That’s what I told my husband when they arrived in two GIGANTIC packages. Besides, they are an investment if I ever do start a kids party planning business.) Luna was given a seat of honor at the head of the kids table in a rose colored, velvet wingback chair that I found at Home Goods when she was an infant.
Additional seating and decor was found in the whimsical mushroom seats my aunt made for a theatre production (tutorial to come). Additional impactful decorations included the rows of colorful paper lanterns strung overhead. I curated a collection of paper lanterns in colors, patterns and shapes inspired by the Mad Tea Party scene and GirlDad assembled and strung them from the porch to the tree. I absolutely love how they looked and tied together all of the fun colors found throughout the party!
What We Wore
Post-Halloween, I picked up two reversible Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee accessories sets on clearance from ShopDisney. It took some convincing, but good sports agreed to wear them for a few photos. Likewise, other guests agreed to wear adorable Meri Meri paper flower bonnets. (Pro tip: Surround yourself with people who indulge your over-the-top interests ;))
The girls’ outfits included blue Alice dresses with white pinafores from one of my favorite children’s clothing companies, Only Little Once. Luna wore black ballet flats from Target that she still affectionately calls her “Alice shoes” and Stella wore black t-strap Mary Janes from Bird Rock Baby. For hair accessories, I got both girls black bow headbands as well as these darling lace and flower crowns, both from Etsy. Plus, our favorite comfy but fancy lace ankle socks from Baby Gap.
I wore a white and blue floral sundress from Gap with the pièce de résistance being my custom fascinator from “Amber’s Unique Boutique” which Luna’s Godmother gifted me for Christmas. (She also – thankfully! – offered to arrive early to babysit so I could focus on getting ready. Clearly, she is is a true friend that “gets” me ;))
What We Ate
Party favors included pretzel rods that I dipped in pink melting chocolate then drizzled with additional shades of pink and purple chocolate. These treats were inspired by the Cheshire Cat Tail puff pastries sold near the WDW teacups ride. I packaged them in cellophane bags with tea bag tag shaped tags that I printed “Eat Me” on using a stamp I also ordered from Etsy (can you tell I really, really like Etsy??). Additionally, my mom made blue and purple chocolate flower pops and decorated them with sugar eyes as a nod to the singing flowers from the movie.
Dessert included, naturally, an “unbirthday cake” that was decorated in pink buttercream and decorated with blue sugar flowers. I had purchased white and purple fondant to make a striped candle, but again… where does one find the time? So my mom made a similarly cartoonish, oversized candle using a small paper cup and melting chocolates. (Yes, she is very creative!). We also used my Nordic Ware rose cakelet pan to make red and white cakes. Additionally, my mother-in-law made “Eat Me” sugar cookies with a stamp I found on, you guessed it, Etsy, and my aunt brought homemade scones with cream and chocolate strawberry jam (yum!).
My mom, mother in law, sister in law, aunt and I frantically assembled a variety of tea sandwiches right before the party. These included butterfly shaped cheese on white bread and “party rolls” with ham and cheese for the little guests. For the adults, we had traditional cucumber and chive cream cheese on party rolls; butter and watercress; ham salad, chicken salad and egg salad (I used this Downton Abbey inspired recipe); and others. We had a variety of beverages including soda and Arnold Palmers as well and wine, beer and hard iced teas for the adults.
Kids’ goody bags included pink or purple plastic teacup shaped sippy cups that doubled as their cups during the party; the Cheshire Cat tail pretzels; flamingo-printed blow up beach balls; flamingo shaped water guns; and Alice in Wonderland sticker sheets. I packed the goodies in small paper bags I found at Michael’s that had quirky designs like stripes or polka dots in shades of pink, green or blue.
Reminiscing on the party, the craft I am most proud of is the set of ceramic tea cup planters. Since I had been dreaming up this party for so long, they were something I worked while pregnant with Stella, painting a cup or two whenever I had a moment. They also remind me of trips to Disney, including Luna’s first “big girl ride” and how as we walked up to the line as a family of three while discussing what to name Baby Girl #2.