Modern Homemakers

How to Create an Alice in Wonderland-Themed Party for Your Teen

by Paulyne Fermin
May 20, 2024

Planning your kid’s party is a labor of love, and with these tips, you can DIY this with ease, while creating unforgettable memories with the family!

Planning a party is always exciting! As a mom, it’s one of the things I enjoy doing immensely. In the past, however, I’ve had the help of event coordinators or stylists to help me execute my design vision and the million and one ideas churning in my head.

Over the years, I’ve done different theme parties like DC Superheroes, Transformers, and Iron Man in big venues for my son. And for my daughter, I did Candyland, Under the Sea, and a posh Parisian fashion runway for her 7^th.

A month ago, my 12-year-old asked me if she could have a small 13th birthday party. With me taking on the role of sole party planner and a little over a month to prepare, here’s how I managed to get the job done. I hope that you will find the tips here useful when you plan your own teen party.

How to plan your children’s party, Alice in Wonderland style!

1. Choose a theme

Having a theme gives you focus in terms of the overall look you want to achieve. I’ve always wanted to do an Alice In Wonderland theme party and since my daughter dabbles in cosplaying, this motif was perfect for a costume party.

DIY Costume – Instead of buying an expensive Alice costume, I sourced my daughter’s outfit from different online shops. The overall look was both dainty and edgy — just like what she wanted. — *DIY Costume — Instead of buying an expensive Alice costume, I sourced my daughter’s outfit from different online shops. The overall look was both dainty and edgy, just like what she wanted.*

2. Have a budget and stick to it

This is key to planning any party. Allot a budget for all the major expenses like the cake (Unless you are willing to bake your own, birthday cakes, especially themed ones, cost a lot), décor, food, host, photographer, videographer, and venue.

Sweet Treats — I ordered a show cake (or dummy) for candle blowing that’s made of pure fondant with no edible parts, which I plan to use as a décor on Halloween when we repeat the theme. — *Sweet Treats — I ordered a show cake (or dummy) for candle blowing that’s made of pure fondant with no edible parts, which I plan to use as a décor on Halloween when we repeat the theme*.

Over at the Mad Hatter’s table, we displayed the sumptuous strawberry cake from Malia Home Bakery alongside the delicious doughnut tower from PICKUP COFFEE. The tower set-up allows for easy eating — no need to slice or plate. Just have wax sleeves ready and people can get a piece at their leisure.

3. Book your venue early and send a Save The Date invite

Locking a date, time, and place is crucial. To save, I booked a lounge at a private subdivision for just PHP 5K. The place was just the right size for 60 guests. Since it had a long table at the far end, I thought it was perfect for a Mad Hatter’s tea setup.

One day after I reserved the venue, I sent out a digital save-the-date invitation. This helped me narrow down the number of guests.

*Book facilities in your village and enjoy a resident’s discount. The Lounge in Alabang Enclave opens to a big pool which served as a dreamy background for the photo shoot.*

4. Research and bargain!

Everything is available online. I negotiated with three stylists before I booked the one whom I was confident could execute the design I had in mind. My stylist was receptive to my suggestions and surprised me with a set-up that was beyond what this super OC mom expected. Christine Cordero of Kids Party Hub also happened to give me the best price out of the bunch.

*By the Whimsical Mad Hatter’s Table — This stylish set-up garnered oohs and ahhs from everybody.*

It is also advisable to look at their past works and reviews. This will save you from worrying in the long run. Staging the venue is very important. Plenty of photos will be taken on the day so make sure that the place is stylishly transformed.

It took me a while to book photographers. Yes, I booked two suppliers. One was a roving photo man who printed pictures of guests as souvenirs, while the other one was responsible for everything else. Best decision ever! Not only did we have double the number of pictures, but each had a different style of capturing candids and staged poses so every moment was preserved beautifully.

And yes, I did haggle for better prices from both. Videographers will offer you all kinds of choices: 5-minute MTV style, 30-minute full edits, aerial shots, and more. I chose the first two — one to post on Instagram as a reel, while the other was for my personal viewing and keepsake.

5. Have guests and family participate

Aside from having the usual growing-up AVP, games, and speeches, why not invite your guests to be part of the program? I decided on a surprise 13-lollipop dance (my daughter is allergic to flowers) where the celebrant’s cousins, brother, grandfather, and dad all took turns handing her a big lolly before a slow waltz. The birthday girl’s dad also sang to her.

Speaking of games, my capable host Eliza and I came up with ingenious ones that fit our theme: Tweedledee & Tweedledum challenge (two participants with their backs against each other will try to come up with the same exact answer to a question); Pin the Teacup (blindfolded guests will stick a teacup closest to the outline on a board); Mad Sing It (Name That Tune); and Find the Golden Key (keys are hidden in different places and whoever finds the one that is similar to the one the host is holding will be declared the winner).

*Fun Fête — Both the kids and adults enjoyed participating in the party games.*

6. Showcase your child’s talent (only if he or she wants to)

While a forced performance is a no-no, if your teen is willing to take the stage then, by all means, let her take the spotlight! My guitarist daughter formed a band called “Mad About Alice” just three weeks prior and they made their debut performance that night.

It was such a successful first performance, too!

*Mad About Alice played Kiss Me and You Belong With Me to the delight of the cheering audience.*

7. Details, details, details, and then some

From the family’s costumes (We dressed up as Absolem, the Mad Hatter, White Rabbit, and Alice, of course) which I painstakingly put together to the giant playing cards that I stuck into vases with white and red flowers that served as table centerpieces, I channeled all my efforts in making Wonderland a reality for my daughter’s 13^th.

I designed her invitation and worded it like the Queen of Hearts would. The thank you tags as well as picture layouts had the same frame as the invites.

To end the night, awards were handed out to people who came in their Wonderland best.

*We’re All Mad Here — Mad memories are best shared with the whole family.*

Planning a party can be fun and challenging, but the end result is worth it!

All the hours spent making lists, searching for items online, finishing DIY projects, and waking up at 4 AM that very day to write my speech — everything was worth it as I saw Rocio happily enjoying her special day.

People ask me why I put so much effort into hosting parties for the children. To them, I say, there is no rewind button in parenting. Instead of just telling the kids how much I love them, I show them my work — done out of love. Instead of giving the kids material things, I give them happy memories of their childhood.

Judging from the look on my daughter’s face and the long hug she gave me at the end of the night, I am sure that our Alice in Wonderland soiree was saved under “Best Celebrations Ever” in both our happy memories bank.