Fancy Tea With the Mad Hatter? Four Literary-Inspired Children’s Party Ideas
Looking for a children’s party idea that is a bit out of the ordinary? Be inspired by children’s literature – from the Mad Hatter to Harry Potter!
Planning a children’s party can be quite an ordeal – it’s all down to you as a parent to create a magical, fun day. On the other hand, you could think of it as an opportunity to discover your inner child!
Take inspiration from some of these wonderful children’s stories and it will help you plan a day that you, your child and their friends will love! These are just a few ideas out the hundreds of beautiful children’s stories which could spark your imagination when it comes to games, decorations and potential cake-decorating ideas.
Alice in Wonderland
Probably one of the most famous tea parties in literature, the Mad Hatter’s tea party is a great opportunity to get creative and have a truly ‘mad’ get together. There are so many weird and wonderful characters and settings in this tale that you’ll be spoilt for choice when it comes to cake, party invitations and décor ideas. From the grinning Cheshire cat, to the talking giant caterpillar and the ferocious Queen of Hearts, you can really have fun with this theme.
Try decorating the table with a scattering of playing cards and mismatched crockery (plastic for small children!) You could have a selection Alice in Wonderland cupcakes and try putting fizzy drinks or fruit juice in teapots and then the children can have fun pouring fizzy ‘tea’! The playing cards can be both a colourful decoration and game – as you could play snap. Musical chairs would also work wonderfully at the Mad Hatter’s tea party!
The Hobbit
Children love fantasy worlds and there is none as famous and as loved as Middle Earth. Transform your house into The Shire, or if you have battle-mad boys, you could recreate the medieval city of Gondor.
A lovely idea is to send out invitations on old, scroll-like parchments to invite your guests to Middle Earth. The children could come dressed as hobbits, elves, dwarves and knights – what an adorable sight that would be!
To eat you could make hobbit door biscuits or even hobbit feet cookies- and create a hobbit-style buffet of ginger beer, sandwiches, tarts and scones. You could even stage your own treasure hunt in the house or garden where the children have to follow a series of clues to locate the hidden treasure.
Harry Potter
Harry Potter has become one of the best-loved children’s books of all time, with its tales of magic and mystery. Transform your house into the enchanting Hogwarts great hall and invite your child’s friends to come round in their best cloaks and witches hats, for a magical evening!
You could even send out old-fashion letter invitations with a seal of wax, for an authentic ‘Harry Potter’ feel. Decorate your house with flags from the four Hogwarts houses, draw owls on white balloons and turn Ferrero Rocher chocolates into golden snitches!
Try taking classic party games and give them a magical twist like ‘pin the scar on the Harry’. For the great feast, bring out goblets of butter beer (hot chocolate!) with tasty Harry Potter cupcakes.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
It’s not hard see why this book would be a great theme for a party. It will of course become a colourful chocolate feast! This is your opportunity to create a magical chocolate and candy factory in your own home. Decorate your house with jars of sweets, lollipops and chocolates. You could even create a chocolate fondue to replicate the rivers of chocolate in the factory.
Send out your invites as ‘golden tickets’ inviting your guests to Willy Wonka’s factory and you could even decorate the entrance to your house with giant lollipops!
The only downside to this idea is that you may have a house full of very hyperactive children… But it does mean that you get to indulge in the leftover sugary sweets (if there are any!)
Obviously, there are so many other books which would make wonderful party themes too – the Dr Zeus stories, The Hungry Caterpillar, Narnia and the Wizard of Oz to name but a few! Hopefully this inspires you to get creative with your child’s birthday party this year.
Take a look at our beautiful range of children’s tablecloths and see how they could provide the perfect spread for a fun and imaginative party buffet.
Let us know how you get on!
Denise x