PARTIES WITH A BOOK THEME...

A month ago, I helped throw a baby shower for my niece, who is expecting a boy any day now! She and her husband already have two adorable beagles and decorated their nursery with puppies, so we went with the theme, "Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails".  I found an adorable card on Etsy, that I built the "boy theme" around: we decorated with neutral tones and blues and...books!

I love this set of miniature Golden Books!

The unfinished wooden toys were purchased at a craft store.

We decked out the tables with small children's books, plants, stuffed animal puppies, and wooden toys.  On the invitation, we asked everyone to bring a picture book in lieu of a card.  I purchased a cute ex-libris puppy rubber stamp and as they arrived, each guest made a bookplate to adhere in their "book/card" to the baby.

This all got me thinking about the endless possibilities for book-themed baby showers and birthday parties!  You could go with general Nursery Rhymes or specific stories: Peter Rabbit, Curious George, Dr. Seuss, Winnie the Pooh, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan... the choices are endless.

Martha Stewart has some really cute ideas for book- themed baby showers on her WEBSITE.  For more birthday party ideas using stories, click HERE).

Think of all the fun food you could serve at a Storytime Tea (like Miss Spider's Tea Party)...how cute the picture book would look set up next to the dishes you serve!  (Let me know what I left out!)




MENU IDEAS (WITH ACCOMPANYING BOOKS):
Blueberry Scones
Madeleine tea cakes
Chocolate desserts or candy
Strawberries and whipped cream
Chocolate chip cookies
Crustless jam sandwiches
Melon balls (watermelon, honeydew, and cantaloupe) - served in a halved out watermelon
Baby carrots and dip...

Blueberries for Sal 


Madeline


Charlie and the Chocolate Factory


The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear!


If you Give a Mouse a Cookie


Bread and Jam for Frances


The Very Hungry Caterpillar


The Carrot Seed

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LEWIS CARROLL - CELEBRATING THE ALICE BOOKS WITH A MAD TEA PARTY!

"Take some more tea," the March Hare said to  Alice, very earnestly.

"I've had nothing yet," Alice replied in an offended tone, "so I can't take more."

"You mean you can't take LESS," said the Hatter: "it's very easy to take MORE than nothing."

"Nobody asked YOUR opinion," said Alice.

"Who's making personal remarks now?" the Hatter asked triumphantly.

Illustration by M.L. Kirk

"Who are YOU?" said the Caterpillar.This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, "I--I hardly know, sir, just at present-- at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then."                                       

"Well! I've often seen a cat without a grin," thought Alice;"but a grin without a cat! It's the most curious thing I ever saw in my life!"

Disney's Animation.

The White Rabbit shop

The White Rabbit put on his spectacles. "Where shall I begin, please your Majesty?" he asked.
"Begin at the beginning," the King said gravely, "and go on till you come to the end: then stop."

"Let's pretend that you're the Red Queen, Kitty! Do you know, I think if you sat up and folded your arms, you'd look exactly like her. Now do try, there's a dear!" And Alice got the Red Queen off the table, and set it up before the kitten as a model for it to imitate: however, the thing didn't succeed, principally, Alice said, because the kitten wouldn't fold its arms properly. So, to punish it, she held it up to the Looking-glass, that it might see how sulky it was -- "and if you're not good directly," she added, "I'll put you through into Looking-glass House. How would you like that?"

"Alice and Chessie"
The Fairies' Nest

"Your majesty shouldn't purr so loud," Alice said, rubbing her eyes, and addressing the kitten, respectfully, yet with some severity. "You woke me out of oh! such a nice dream! And you've been along with me, Kitty -- all through the Looking-Glass world. Did you know it, dear?"


I hope you enjoyed my Mad Hatter Tea Party!  If you're one of the first 6 people to leave a comment (excluding mine of course) by then end of  today, 1-27-11 - I'll send you a little package of Disney Wonderland Teabags ... just enough for your own tea party.


Click Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to see the broad range of choices for these books from Amazon. (You can arrange them by age.)