A bright idea came into Alice's head. "Is that the reason so many tea-things are put out here?" she asked. "Yes, that's it," said the Hatter with a sigh: "It's always tea-time, and we've no time to wash the things between whiles." "Then you keep moving round, I suppose?" said Alice. "Exactly so," said the Hatter.

Feeding Their Imagination
Little girls love hosting tea parties. They set small tables with tiny cups and saucers, slide their stuffed animals into chairs, and offer them their fill of make-believe tea and crumpets. What better way to appeal to your child's sense of fantasy, than to help her host a "real" tea party?

First, you'll want to decide on a theme. There are as many possibilities as your imagination will allow. Here are some suggestions:

Mad Hatter Tea Party
Buy a bunch of big straw hats, ribbon, plastic pearls, and silk flowers. Each guest decorates a hat to wear during the party, and then takes it home as a favor. Hand out prizes for the craziest, prettiest, and most creative hats. To prevent jealousy, consider having enough awards for each child to receive one. A cover idea for your invitations is "Don't Be Late, For a Very Important Date." Following the "Alice in Wonderland" theme, add "Eat Me" tags to small cakes. At intervals during the party, announce to the guests that it's time to run around the table, or ask everyone to move down one seat.

Teddy Bear Tea Party
Since many young girls often host pretend teas with their stuffed pals, a "teddy bear" theme might be just what you're looking for. Address bear-shaped invitations to the kids and their teddy bears, and encourage them to come dressed in party attire. Serve a cake decorated with a bear motif and also set out bowls of gummy bears.

Dress Up Tea Party
Do you have a trunk full of old dresses, scarves, jewelry or pocketbooks? If not, search through thrift shops and flea markets for cheap prom dresses, feather boas, and high heels. Maybe some of the guests' mothers could also contribute items. Part of the fun of this party is letting the girls try on the clothes, make their choices, and then sit down to tea as little "ladies."

Storybook Tea Party
You might get ideas from the pages of your child's favorite books. "My granddaughter attended a tea party using Beatrix Potter tales as a theme," says Marcia Oates of Brighton, Michigan. "They extracted ideas directly from her little story books." Madeline, Winnie the Pooh, and Cinderella provide other opportunities for a special tea party theme.

Tea Party for Boys and Girls
Tea parties aren't for girls only. Beth Scamardo of Ocean Springs, Mississippi hosted a tea party for her daughter's entire kindergarten class. "The boys and girls dressed in clothes that were too big -- real dress-up clothes -- worn over casual playwear," said Beth. "We served punch from a tea service and offered sandwiches and other snacks from silver-plated trays.

During this time I read the children a book about manners. After "tea time" the children were instructed to remove their dress-up clothes and place them in a large box that I provided. We then began the fun and games. We started by playing "freeze" as an icebreaker activity. The kids were told to dance and when the music stopped they "froze" in their positions."

Other games included "stick" the tail on the donkey-using stickers instead of pins; and "Magic Squares," a game where the kids walked around squares of construction paper while music played. When the music stopped, the child who was standing on a particular square would win a prize.

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