Alice 150 Anniversary – Alice Tea Party Food

One thing we all know is that food features heavily Wonderland, and that it has magical properties, therefore if you are celebrating Alice’s 150^th anniversary at home or in the classroom then food is a key ingredients.

Of course there is the usual and obvious choices; tea,  jam tarts, mushrooms sweets and cakes with  'Eat Me' iced on top, but here are a few easy party foods that can be made easily with children.

Savouries

Roll-Caterpillar

So easy to do, buy some rolls, fill them with which ever filling you like, place on a plate twisting around like a caterpillar and use grapes and carrot sticks to make the features.

Suit Sandwiches

Cut with cookie cutters or by hand sliced bread into the shape of the playing card suits, then cover in jam for hearts and diamonds, and either darker jam or Marmite or chocolate spread for spades and clubs. Keep open and they look fantastic.

Sweet

Mad Hatter's Hats

What you Need:

Jaffa Cakes

Mini Chocolate Rolls

Melted chocolate

Sweet shoe laces

Cut a top off the Chocolate mini-roll, dip it into the melted chocolate and then stick to the top of the Jaffa Cake.  Wait until cooled then cut and wrap the shoe lace around the base of the Choclate Roll like a hat-band.

Playing Card Shortbread

What you Need:

Your favourite shortbread/biscuit recipe.

Apricot Jam

White roll on fondant icing

Red icing pen

Make your favourite shortbread/biscuit recipe cut into rectangles, bake and cool. Cut the icing into rectangles the same size as the biscuits, and fix to the top with apricot jam. Decorate with the cake pen to look like a playing card.

Mock-Turtle Tea Cakes

What You Need

Tea Cakes (the chocolate kind)

Roll out fondant icing in two colours

Icing Pen

Jam

Sweets

Gingerbread Man Cutter

Roll out your fondant icing. Ice the top of the tea-cakes with one colour (for the shell) and trim the edges. Roll out the other colour icing (for the body) and cut out a gingerbread-man shape with an appropriate sized cutter. place the icing-topped tea cake on the gingerbread man cut out, use jam for glue. Decorate the shell with sweets, and use icing pens to make the features of the mock-turtle's face. DON'T Forget this is MOCK-Turtle, so also give me ears!

For Drink

Serve tea or warm squash out of a tea pot in cups and saucers or use bottles labelled, ‘Drink Me'.

'it’s always tea-time, and we’ve no time to wash the things between whiles.’

The Mad-Hatter 

150 Years of Alice in Wonderland - Alice inspired Craft for the Classroom or a Alice Tea Party

This year marks the 150th Anniversary since the publication of Lewis Caroll's 'Alice in Wonderland.' The story of Alice who ventures further and further in a world of wonderland experiencing curiouser and curiouser animals and adventures.

Despite the book not being an instant hit with critiques, receiving some less than favourable reviews when first published and being renegaded into the genre of ‘Literary Nonsense,’ Alice and the Wonderland residents have risen to become some of most loved stories and characters in children’s books, and has fascinated generations of children (and adults) ever since.

At Space on the Bookshelf we thought very hard about how to celebrate the anniversary, and decided that we would treat you to a series of celebratory posts. But today we’ll kick off with some ideas to help you have your own Mad Hatter’s Tea Party with crafts suitable for home or the classroom.

Alice in Wonderland Craft 1 #Playing Card People 

What you’ll Need

• Old Playing Card
• White card
• Pipe Cleaners (x4)
• Hole Punch
• Scissors
• Coloured Pencils / Pens
• Split Pin (x1)
• Plasticine (optional)

To Make

1. Hole punch five holes in the card (as pictured)
2. Cut out a round head shape with a 2cm long neck. Hole punch neck and use split pin to attach to card.
3. Take pipe cleaners put through remaining holes and twist together to make limbs, (see picture) use plasticine to make hands and feet if you wish you card-people to be able to stand up.

Alice in Wonderland Craft 2 #disappearing Cheshire Cat Card

What you’ll Need

• A4 Black Card
• White Paper
• Woggly Eyes
• Cheshire Cat Paper i.e. Craft Paper / Wrapping Paper/ Wall Paper
• Scissors
• Black Marker Pen/Felt Tip Pen
• Glue

To Make

1. Cut A4 in half to create to A5 pieces. Fold the paper in half to make a landscape card.
2. Cut out cat face out of your chosen Cheshire Cat paper.  For Template e-mail spaceonthebookshelf@yahoo.com
3. Cut out two grins out of white paper and draw vertical lines with black pen for teeth. .  For Template e-mail spaceonthebookshelf@yahoo.com
4. Glue Cheshire cat face on to front of card, then glue on woggly eyes and one of the grins.
5. Open up the card and glue the second grin on the inside in the same place that it is on the front. When you open the card it looks like the Cheshire has disappeared all but her grin!

Alice in Wonderland Craft 2 # Playing Card Bunting

What you’ll Need

• Old Pack of Playing Cards 
• Hole Punch 
• String / twine / ribbon 

To Make

1. Hole punch each playing card twice on the top - see photo. 
2. Tread the ribbon through the card as pictured. 
3. Hand the bunting!

Hope you enjoy the crafts and come back for more Alice in Wonderland features!