April 28^th Mad Hatter Tea Party

“But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass

        We will be graced with the presence of The Queen of Hearts, The Mad Hatter and Alice.  We hope to also receive The Cheshire Cat, Playing Cards, The White Rabbit, The White Queen and many others.  There are some costume suggestions below.  Keep reading… 

8:00 to 11:00 PM

$12 per person

$50 Cash Prize for

First Place

Best Hat!

Unique Second and

Third Place

Prizes.

Costumes!  Prizes!  Fun Decorations!

“Curiouser and curiouser.”

FREE Soda, Water and Light but Mad Tea Party Fare! 

 “Read the directions and directly you will be directed in the right direction.”

First Christian Church

2565 East Kaley Ave.

Orlando, FL  32806

“Alice laughed. 'There's no use trying,' she said. 'One can't believe impossible things.'
I daresay you haven't had much practice,' said the Queen. 'When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

GREAT COSTUME IDEAS

Alice in Wonderland costume ideas:

A basic blue (or yellow) dress with short sleeves will do nicely. Wear a white pinafore over it that you tie in the back. An apron can easily be sewn by yourself, or buy a cheap white kitchen apron.

Your dress will stand out nicely if you wear a petticoat underneath it

If you don't have the correct hair color or length by yourself, you can die it or wear a wig

Tie a black, white or blue bow in your hair, or wear a black diademe, with or without a sewn-on bow made of lace

Wear white or black-and-white striped tights or stockings, and striped arm warmers

Wear a pair of black Mary-Jane shoes. You can create them yourself by buying cheap black ballerina shoes and attaching a black ribbon or elastic band across the top

Carry around a flamingo plush, like you're about to play croquet. Or a white rabbit plush.

Alice in Wonderland costumes and accessories

Mad Hatter costume ideas:

Wide, baggy pants and a checked jacket are the best basics for the costume. You can find an old-fashioned jacket, vest and/or tuxedo at a second-hand store for low prices. Go for loud colors and/or non-matching patterns.

Wear an oversized, loud bow-tie and colorful socks.

Get a large top hat, tie a ribbon around it and stick a card in it with the text "In this style: 10/6"

Large clown shoes will look great!

If you're going for Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter look, use white facepaint, pink eyeshadow, and an orange wig. View this detailed tutorial about how to apply the Mad Hatter's make-up. Tie a red piece of cloth around the top hat. Sew bobbins of multicolored threads on a band of fabric and drape it across one shoulder.

Attach a piece of rope to the ear of a teacup and wear it around your neck or on your belt

Mad Hatter costumes and accessories

White Rabbit costume ideas:

If it's not too hot, you could get a full-body rabbit jumpsuit

Alternatively, sew (knee-length) pants from white furry cloth and add a round stuffed tail on the back. You can also create the tail from cotton balls. Wear it with a checkered jacket and/or a vest on top. You can find old-fashioned jackets and vests for low prices in a second-hand store.

Wear a white hose underneath the pants.

A herald costume can easily be made by sewing a large red heart onto a shirt

Cover your shoes with furry white fabric

It is easy to find a headband with rabbit ears and a rabbit nose. You can also buy a top hat with rabbit ears attached to it, and use grease paint for your face

Wear fake plastic front teeth

White gloves or mittens, and pince-nez glasses complete the costume

Carry an umbrella with you, or a trumpet (depending on whether you go for its initial outfit or its herald outfit)

Don't forget the pocket watch! To combine fun with usefullness, get one of these crazy pocket watch bags!

Make a scoll that lists the charges against Alice

White Rabbit costumes and accessories

Cheshire Cat costume ideas:

Get a cat jumpsuit costume and sew alternate layers of cloth on it yourself, to created the striped effect

In normal clothing stores you'll often be able to find a pink/purple striped dress, shirt, or pajama's. If not, you can also go for pink-and-white stripes, or pink-and-black. Combine the shirt with striped stockings or tights in the same colors.

If you don't have striped clothes, wear a basic black or pink outfit and add striped details with leg and arm warmers, or add details using pieces or fur (available at a crafts store) at the ankles, writst, rim of your skirt, etc. You can also paint stripes on your basic clothes using fabric paint, or stick layers of colored (duct)tape on them.

If you wear a striped hooded shirt, you can use the hood to cover your hair and attach the ears to. Or wear a furry wig.

A long, small rectangle of furry cloth can be made into a tail if you sew together the sides (with the furry parts facing eachother), leaving one of the small side open, and then turning the fabric inside out. Use a safety-pin to attach it to your trousers.

It will be easy to find a headband with cat ears and a cat nose with whiskers. Or grease-paint your face.

Cheshire Cat costumes and accessories

Queen of Hearts costume ideas:

Start with a long basic red or black dress. You can also go for a black/red/white renaissance costume dress. Add a stand-up collar.

Sew heart motives to all parts of the dress. Cut them out of felt or other fabric.

Wear a petticoat underneath the dress to make it stand out nicely.

If you have a short dress or skirt, go for tights or stockings with heart motive.

Find high heeled shoes with hearts

Wear a crown or tiara with hearts and carry a scepter. A crown can be bought very cheaply, or constructed from cardboard paper covered with aluminum foil or gold paper

Carry around a stuffed flamingo, like you're about to play croquet. Girls will need a bag, so you may want to go for a flamingo-shaped purse!

Queen of Hearts costumes and accessories

Playing Card costume ideas:

Create a sandwich board: cut two large pieces or cardboard or poster board in the shape of playing cards. Paint them, or cut-and-paste colored paper to make one the front side and the other one the back side. Drill two holes on top. Attach them to eachother with two strips of fabric or pieces of rope, that will be supported by your shoulders

Wear a simple black longsleeve and black tights or hose underneath it, or stockings with card motive

If you want to be a card soldier, get a broomstick and attach a spade-shaped piece of cardboard on top, to create a spear. Die everything black.

If you want to be one of the cards that painted the roses red, carry some paint brushes with you, and some white and/or red roses. You could also 'spill' some red paint on your outfit.

Wear glasses in the shape of hearts, clubs, diamonds or spades, and shoes with card suit decorations

Playing card costumes and accessories

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum costume ideas:

Get two matching oversized overalls or jumpers. Stuff up the shirt you wear underneath it to create a big belly

Sew pants and a shirt in different bright colors (for example yellow for the shirt and red for the trousers). Make sure they have a huge waistline. Sew in a hoop where they come together, so it will look like a large round belly

Wear propellor hats!

Make collars of white fabric and sew (or write) the names 'Tweedle Dum' and 'Tweedle Dee' on them, so people can tell you apart.

Get two colored bow-ties

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum costumes and accessories

See all you “mad” people at the dance.  I mean tea party!!