How to Throw a Mad Hatter Tea Party

Did you know that October 6 is National Mad Hatter Day? In honor of Mad Hatter Day and all things tea party, we thought we’d update our Mad Hatter blog from 2020! Below, you can read about the history of this spirited, fun-loving national day, glean some Mad Hatter trivia, and get ideas for throwing a “mad” tea party! Enjoy!

The Mad Hatter is, of course, one of the main characters from Lewis Carroll’s 1865 story Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Disney’s classic Alice in Wonderland movie. The Hatter is a whimsical character drawn by the book’s illustrator, Sir John Tenniel, as wearing a tall top hat with “10/6” written on it, which refers to the cost of a hat in those days-- 10 shilling and 6 pence. Thus, 10/6 is the perfect day to celebrate National Mad Hatter Day.

You can understand why we are all for never-ending tea parties, of course. National Mad Hatter Day is generally celebrated by the wearing of outrageous hats, throwing fun, Alice-themed tea parties, and just general madcap silliness! If you haven’t any idea why a raven is like a writing desk, enjoy saying things that are vexing and maddening to your guests, wish with all your heart to wear outlandish headgear, and can’t get enough of tea, we invite you to celebrate National Mad Hatter day with us.

For starters, we’ve put together a pairing of our existing Harney teas with some of the main Disney’s Alice in Wonderland characters:

• Alice in Wonderland | Strawberry Vanilla Black
• Mad Hatter | Earl Grey Matcha
• Caterpillar | Blueberry Green 
• The Cheshire Cat | Indigo Punch
• Tweedledee & Tweedledum | Hot Cinnamon Spice & Hot Cinnamon Sunset
• The Queen of Hearts | Royal English Breakfast
• The White Rabbit | Ceylon Silver Tips
• The March Hare | Victorian London Fog
• The Dormouse | Chamomile

With your Alice in Wonderland-themed teas in hand, throw together a tea party that is festive and anything but refined. While all that is mentioned about the Mad Hatter’s tea party is tea and bread and butter (along with no wine, even though it was offered), here are some ideas inspired by the story and its characters:

• Macarons in festive colors
• Shortbread cookies with “Eat Me!” written in icing
• Teacup-shaped sugar cookies with “Drink Me” written in icing
• Tophat-shaped sugar cookies with “10/6” written in icing
• Queen of Hearts bright red strawberries with the tops cut off
• Caterpillar-inspired blueberry scones
• Bread and the best butter (keep away from watches!)
• Cucumber sandwiches
• Tea sandwiches
• King of Hearts Bakewell tart (an English classic!)
• Assorted nuts to represent the rest of the characters!

Whatever you drink or eat or wear, raise a cup to a reason to be silly and childlike again! Happy National Mad Hatter Day!