Dolly’s Tea Party

Recommended age group: 4–6

SETTING THE SCENE

This is a wonderful theme for your guests, who get to don their mums’ finery and have their favourite baby doll accompany them to this special event!

INVITATIONS

  1. Attach the doily to the cardboard disc with the glue.
  2. Place Prestik® on the bottom of the cup and press firmly to attach it to the saucer. Place another dab of Prestik® on the underside of the saucer and place on the doily, pressing firmly to secure. Attach a plastic spoon in the same manner if using.
  3. Write the invitation details (see Suggested Wording) on the orange notepaper and fold up into a teabag shape (see page 165). Staple one end of the gold cord in place.
  4. Write the guest’s name on the nametag and decorate with glitter glue. Staple the free end of the teabag string to the nametag.
  5. Place the teabag in the teacup and hand deliver!

SUGGESTED WORDING

Let’s do tea to celebrate (child’s name)’s birthday!

Meet at: the (child’s surname) Tea Garden at (address)

Reservation from: (time party starts) to (time party ends)

RSVP: The head waitress at (phone number) by (date)

Dress: In your mum’s finest!

Please bring your favourite baby doll

TREAT BAGS
  1. Enlarge the teacup template to fit on the front of the bag and trace it onto the yellow board paper using the felt-tip marker. Cut out and complete by adding the inner lines. Cut a small slit in the inner area of the cup.
  2. Write the guest’s name on the orange board paper nametag, punch a hole in one corner and attach it to one end of the gold cord.
  3. Insert the free end of the string through the slit in the teacup so that the nametag appears to hang over the edge of the cup. Secure with a piece of tape to the wrong side of the teacup.
  4. Glue the cup to the front of the gift bag and attach a flower or bead motif, if using.
  5. Tie yellow and orange curling ribbon around the handle to enhance.

GAMES AND ACTIVITIES

Apart from the following games, allow free time for playing with the dolls.

Arrange the Flowers

  1. Divide the children into two or more teams. Have the children stand in a line, one behind the other, and give the child in front a felt-tip marker.
  2. On starter’s orders, the child in front must run to the poster, draw a daisy at the end of one of the stems, then run back to the team and hand the pen to the next child in line. The game continues in the same manner until there is a winning team. The winners receive a prize, the rest receive tokens.
  3. * One stem per team member.

Pass the Teapot

This game may be played at the table.

  1. Place the numbered paper squares in the teapot and have the children sit in a circle. Start the music and let the children pass the teapot from one to the other. When the music stops, the child who is holding the teapot chooses a number from the pot. She then picks a prize with the corresponding number from the basket. When a child has won a prize, she is eliminated from the game.
  2. The music restarts and the game continues until all the children have received a prize.

Rock the Baby

  1. Instruct the children to move about, rocking their babies to sleep in time to the music. When the music stops, they must stand still. The last child to stop moving is out. The game continues in this manner until there is a winner, who receives a prize. The rest receive tokens.

Pour the Tea

  1. Appoint one child in each team to act as the pourer, and have the rest stand in a line behind the empty bucket at a predetermined distance from the pourer. The first child in line must hold an empty teacup and saucer.
  2. On starter’s orders, the pourer fills the teapot with water from the full bucket, while the first child runs toward her, balancing the teacup on the saucer.
  3. The water must be poured into the teacup and the child must return to her team, trying not to spill. When she reaches her team, she must pour the water into the empty bucket before handing the cup and saucer to the next child in line, who then repeats the procedure.
  4. The game continues until each child has had a turn and the water in each team’s bucket is assessed to determine which contains the most water. The winning team receives a prize, the rest receive tokens.

PARTY FOOD

Cappuccino Cupcakes

  1. Bake the cupcakes in the wafer cookie cups as per the recipe. Cool completely.
  2. Coat a Marie biscuit with brown icing, and then place a cupcake in the centre.
  3. Cut the round sweet in half and attach one half to the side of the cookie cup with icing, to make the cup’s ear.
  4. Ice the cupcake with swirls of white icing, piling as high as possible to create a cappuccino-like topping. Dust with cocoa powder.
  5. Place the gold and pink balls as illustrated to create a flower.

Dolly’s Formula

  1. Coat a Marie biscuit with orange icing.
  2. Cover the Tinkie® with white icing and place upright on the biscuit.
  3. Pipe a row of stars around the base to secure and place a silver ball on each star.
  4. Attach the marshmallow sweet to the top of the ‘bottle’ and add the dome-shaped sweet to the centre of the marshmallow, securing with a small amount of icing.

Daisy Biscuits

  1. Prepare the biscuit dough as per the recipe.
  2. Use the cookie cutter to cut out the biscuits and bake as per the instructions. (If using the template, trace the shape onto cardboard and use to cut out the biscuits.)
  3. Leave the biscuits to cool completely before covering with yellow icing.
  4. Place the chocolate round in the centre of the flower.

My Favourite Dolly

  1. Coat the wafer biscuit with orange icing.
  2. Cut the marshmallow sweet in half from the tip to the base and place one half cut side down on the biscuit.
  3. Attach the chocolate disc for the head.
  4. Cut the candy sticks into 20 mm lengths and place in position for the arms and legs, pushing gently into the icing to secure.
  5. Decorate the doll’s skirt with icing stars. Add an icing star at the neck and enhance with a silver ball.
  6. Attach icing stars for shoes and place a silver ball on each.
  7. Pipe the hair with yellow icing and add the facial features as illustrated, securing the eyes (blue balls) with a small dab of icing and using a writing nozzle to pipe on the mouth with red icing.

BABY DOLL BIRTHDAY CAKE
  1. Bake the cakes as directed and leave to cool completely.
  2. Cut out and assemble the cakes as per the cutting guides in the template. (Offcuts may be frozen and used at a later stage for a trifle.)
  3. Position the round cake for the head.
  4. Coat the sides and the top of the dress section with yellow icing, then use the star nozzle to decorate the entire dress with stars. Add orange edging as illustrated, as well as a collar.
  5. Fashion flowers from the Smarties® and add gold balls to enhance the edging of the collar.
  6. Pipe shoes and socks as illustrated, and attach a gold ball to each shoe.
  7. Coat the arms and the head with the flesh-coloured icing.
  8. Add a row of gold balls to one arm for a bangle.
  9. Insert the dummy (pacifier) into the face and attach the googly eyes, adding small liquorice strips for eyelashes.
  10. Cut the tip off the dome-shaped sweet and place the round section, cut side down, in position for the nose.
  11. Add the popcorn hair and enhance with a Smarties® flower (coat the flat round sweet with icing to provide a firm base that will allow for easy placing in the popcorn, and attach the Smarties®).