My daughter requested an Alice in Wonderland party for her 8th birthday and I subsequently found out that the “Alice” theme was the most googled party theme, but also the most tricky in terms of local suppliers and ideas.

That, coupled with my love for teaching and sharing was the reason I decided to formulate a complete party planner for you.

Enjoy and happy party planning! Photo gallery below.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND PARTY PLANNER 2011

Suppliers

In Good Company www.ingoodcompany.co.za
Printable Alice set with invites, toppers, bunting, cupcake wrappers and favour boxes, book marks etc. R50
Pin the Grin on the Cheshire Cat (this needs to be done at the printers as its an A1 poster size)
Croquet set R240
Pink and White striped table runners (hire)
Ceramic white rabbits for décor (hire)
Giant teapots (hire)
Eater bunnies with fluffy tails (part of the Easter range)
Pink and white heart paper straws R50
Giant playing cards R60
Floral Paper cups, plates, cakes stands and sandwich stands R40-R140
Floral cupcake wrappers and liners from R40
Pink and white pale pink round lollies and bright pink heart lollies R10 each
White butterfly name cards R55
Chalkboard tea pot stickers R55
Vintage Alice in wonderland envelopes
Chalk board signs R25
Dumpling Dynasty stamp set R155
Floral bunting R80
Popcorn boxes R15 each
Three tiered Cheshire cat on hat cake cherise@sweetexpressions.co.za R750
Alice in Wonderland dress: made by Val Pierce in Eagle Canyon 0827804578
One Metre Queen of Hearts Piñata www.kidslikeuspinatas.com R220 empty, R50 for sweets and R15 for the matching blindfold and stick
Playing cards and empty toadstool Piñata Wespack R199
Gold Key R16 Linda’s Bake and Pack in Melville ( I used a topper to cover up the “21”)
Roses: Flowers your Way, Hilly 083 407 6874.
Cupcake décor: Teapots and teacups from Baking Bitz in Carreira shopping centre (on Republic road)
Tim Burton movie strip ticket invites: http://www.etsy.com/listing/67517967/alice-in-wonderland-birthday-tea-party R60
Smoke Machine R220 : www.sound-hire.co.za (Craighall park)
Sweets and gifts Sunrise Sweets Roodepoot tel 675-2205

Craft and décor ideas

For the map or directions add “Begin at the beginning and go until you get to the end: Then stop”
Stamp OPEN ME on the envelopes using the Dumpling Dynasty stamp set from In Good Co
For the invite dress code I added “Wear your wonderland best: a hat, some ears or just a bit of mad”. This takes the pressure off an outfit, so kids can wear over-sized glasses, a hat or a silly Alice band.
Stack tea cups and saucers and place a cup or vase of roses or a teapot on top. I filled the teacups with chuckles
Using the In Good Company printable cupcake toppers, use a 2 inch round punch (from Wespack R129) and attach the circles with a glue gun or glue dots to a third of a pink and white striped paper straw (In Good Company)
Place pink roses in teapots and display white roses alongside a paintbrush with a sign “Paint the roses red”
Have children decorate their own un- silly upside cupcakes ( I provided baked cupcakes, pots of icing, fondant to roll out with assorted cookie cutters, glitter gels and assorted cupcake décor as well as a box to take the cupcake home in. Attach the “thank you” card from the Wonderland printable
Have a game of croquet on arrival
Have children make their own hats. Purchase silver, black or pink sparkly hats from the Value shop for R16 and use pipe cleaners, felt shapes, pieces of material and cheap fake flowers to decorate (R50 craft pack Wespack)
Use the playing cards in the flowers and on the table as décor
Place a teabag or a playing card in the invite
Set up a chess board if you have one
Have children shout “OFF WITH HER HEAD” when bashing the queen of hearts Piñata (jeepers our crowd were screaming and shrieking)
Hide Swirly suckers and heart necklaces (R16.90 for 10) and sticker packs (R5) at Sunrise sweets.
Have the smoke machine inside to add a wonderland effect to your table
I used 2 topiary tree rounds (Lifestyle) placed on top of vases and added a straw with a playing card adhered to it
Bunting with my daughter’s name was made from the Wonderland printable

Note: adults can add hookah pipes (hubbly bubbly’s) and serve dishes with mushrooms.

Food & Drink

Serve Woolworth’s strawberry squash (R23.95 makes 3L) mixed with water or soda in Consol glass bottles (Wespack) with “drink me” topper and straw I used the white and pink heart paper straws from In Good Co).
I copied and pasted the “drink me” template from the Wonderland printable onto word so that I could print 9 on one page. Use double sided scrap tape to adhere to bottle.
Serve strawberry milk in smaller Consol bottles-I used the pink and white striped paper straws from In Good Co. I used some of the Wonderland toppers and some personal toppers with my daughter’s name.
Make flower, heart and butterfly shaped ham and tomato jam sandwiches using cookie cutters.
Make heart shaped biscuits with strawberry jam using Tina Besters recipe from BAKE, or buy the heart and star shaped Soet cookies from Woolies.
Sunrise sweets has a selection of pink and white sweets which are inexpensive, such as long marshmallow twisters (R8.50 for 6) Musk sweets (R11.50 for a bag of 200), Pink and white peanuts (R35 for a 1 kg bag), soft mints (R21 for a bag), pastel jolly lolly suckers (R8.90 for 20), strawberry cream suckers (R39 for 30).They also have boxes of crisps, cold drinks, chocolates and more!
I filled various jars and vases with the sweets and added pretty ribbon and heart tags (In good Co). Sweets also look nicer lined up neatly on a platter (like the sherbert suckers)
Find cupcake, caterpillar and plain shaped pastel meringues from both Pick n Pay and the local home industry
Make little glasses of strawberry jelly and decorate with whipped cream and teaspoons.
Use popcorn (I used the new cocoa from Woolworths on promotion for R10 a bag) in popcorn boxes from In Good Co (R15).
Serve Candy floss in bowls, or on sticks or even hire a machine
Place Chuckles in a glass jars or in teapots and speckled eggs in jam jars (Wespack or Flowerspot)
Place white chewy mints in little pink and white spotted pails (Flowerspot)
Woolworths had rose flavoured heart shaped jellies (R16.95) available for Mother’s day which I used on a flat white platter.

Should you need a venue and party décor: TWEEDLES Party Venue in Honeydew is able to assist with an Alice in Wonderland theme and piñatas. Visit www.tweedles.co.za or you can call Tracy on 082 612 2272 to discuss