Down the Rabbit Hole (Part 1)

Or, how to host your own trip to Wonderland.

My daughter is turning 5 next Sunday, and since we consider this a big birthday, I'm hosting a Princess Tea Party for her and all of her preschool friends, a la' Mad Hatter style. I can't tell you how much fun I've been having just planning this party. I have found some great ideas online and have come up with a few on my own. It can be a truly memorable party, even on a budget.

First of all, the dollar stores, Goodwill and Salvation Army are your friends. The majority of items I have found have been from these three places. All of the items above? Less than $7 and all match perfectly. The fun part is scouting for items that could potentially work... with a little imagination.

Just an ordinary bird cage with a couple of birds for $2 from the Salvation Army....

Add some clipart and orange legs, a little tape (or glue)....

and voila'!

Not bad if I do say so myself. :o)

Wait 'til you see what I do with the rose topiary.

You can find everything you need, from table linens to teacups and teapots. When my daughter is a little older, I'll probably use the nice porcelain set, but for now, the melamine teacups and saucers will work perfectly for her and her friends. I also made the invitations myself, using clipart found online and printed them on heavy cardstock.

For favors, I found a great deal on Ebay for 7 brand new Disney Princess Tea Sets all for $20 (no shipping charges). I plan to put a tea set, korker bow and candies in the favor bags, which resemble teabags. Here's how to make them...

You will need: white paper bags, string, scissors, cardstock, stapler and Sharpie. And if you have them, a tag punch and small hole punch, otherwise you can just cut them out.

Punch out the cardstock, using the tag punch (or cut them out), then punch holes in the top. Cut a piece of string about the height of the bag. Thread the string through the tag hole and tie it. Write "Drink Me" on one side of the tag.

Carefully pop out the sides of the bag from the inside (fill with goodies) and fold over the top a couple of times. Then staple the string to the top of the bag.

When the guests arrive, I'll have a table set up with coloring pages of the Cards and Alice painting the roses red. Since not all of the guests will arrive at once, each one will come in and start "painting their roses red" until everyone arrives. We'll then play Pin the Grin on the Cheshire Cat. For this, I simply took a clipart of the Cheshire Cat and "blew it up" on paper. Then cut out grins.

Inspired by the Disney movie, I thought the girls might like a heart shaped fan like the Queen of Hearts. I made several for the girls to decorate with stickers, jewels and other fun items. Here's how to make those...

You will need: red cardstock, popsicle sticks, craft glue and scissors.

In Word, I created a heart shape and printed several directly onto the cardstock. Cut out the hearts and glue one to the top of the popsicle stick. Squeeze glue around the border of the heart and place the second heart on top.

Simple but fun. Then just purchase items to decorate them with.

I have so many other things to share, so this is just part 1. Tune in next Monday for part 2 and then pictures of how it all turned out!