Mad Hatter Day is coming up on October 6th. What better way to celebrate it than with a tea party.
I don’t mean just any tea party. I mean a Mad Hatter Tea Party.
That’s a tea party where everyone gets a chance to be a little mad. That’s a lot more fun than just a plain tea party.
Not sure how to host a Mad Hatter Tea Party? Never fear, I have suggestions here. Read on to learn more.
Mad Hatter Tea Party
What You Need:
- Table and chairs. Be sure to have more seats than there are people just as it was in “A Mad Tea Party.” Also, try to put your table under a tree if you can. This could be a real tree or a paper one.
- Tablecloth. We must be neat after all.
- Tea set. It wouldn’t be a proper tea party without one.
- Tea. Black or herbal. Whatever suits your fancy.
- Sugar. To sweeten the tea the British way.
- Milk. To add to the tea. That’s how the British do it.
- Bread and butter. That’s what Alice had.
- Mad Hatter watch. Free Mad Hatter Watch printable here.
- Stuffed mouse toy or mouse ears for someone to wear. This is your Dormouse. He sleeps a lot.
- Costumes. Here are some suggestions:
- Mad Hatter. A top hat with a post-it note or piece of paper stuck to it that says “10/6.” Children’s Art has some directions here for making a paper Mad Hatter top hat. Extra decorations are optional.
- Alice. A dress, or skirt and blouse.
- March Hare. Wear rabbit ears. You’ll find instructions for paper rabbit ears here.
- Others. Can wear their own top hats or other kinds of paper hats.
What to Do at Your Mad Hatter Tea Party:
- Read aloud “A Mad Tea Party” from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
- Drink tea. A necessary activity for any tea party.
- Sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat. The Mad Hatter’s favorite song.
- Tell ludicrous stories. Look to the Dormouse for inspiration.
- Use ridiculous logic. Just like the Mad Hatter. “Why, you might just as well say that ‘I see what I eat’ is the same thing as ‘I eat what I see’!”
- Tell riddles that have no answer. Just like the one the Mad Hatter told.
- Beat time. I’ll let you figure that one out.
- Have everyone move one seat down. If you want to prevent an exchange of germs, have everyone bring their own food and beverages with them.
Have fun with this. This party is a chance for your and your children to be a little goofy just like the characters in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I think you’ll find that role-play activities such as this are highly beneficial for right-brain and kinesthetic learners, but, really, all children can get something good out of this.
Check back here later this week for more mad activities for Mad Hatter Day.