Chapter 3 - It's My Own Invention: Games
We needed games appropriate for a wide range of ages. Flamingo croquet is cute but it wasn’t suitable for our space or our guest list. We came up with our own original games which we will share with you here.
Search for the White Rabbit and Cheshire Cat
This was a simple game we planned because we had young children coming to the party. We hid a plush White Rabbit and Cheshire Cat before guests arrived. During the party we told the kids to be on the lookout for them. As a prize they kept whatever character they found. If using this idea for your own party, you could hide multiple plush characters to allow for more winners or provide a prize in exchange for any characters found.
For this game guests were divided into teams. We had them select antique replica keys tied with different colored ribbons. The ribbons denoted their team color and also made nice keepsakes for them to take home. The teams were taken to separate rooms, where they were told that a character from Alice in Wonderland had been locked up. The first team to free their character would be declared the winner. We assured guests that they were not being locked in the room.
We used Itty Bitty plush Alice, Mad Hatter, and Queen of Hearts. We locked them in a small box, placed that box inside a trunk and locked the trunk. (We also filled up the space between with balloons and encouraging notes/clues.) The outer lock was a word code bicycle lock. (We looped it through the handle a couple of extra times so that nothing could be removed from the trunk before the bicycle lock was solved and opened.) You could easily use only one container and lock.
Teams were not told which characters were locked up. We wrote clues in the "voice" of the characters. A word from the character clue sheet was the four letter word code that would unlock the trunk. Once the trunk was opened, and the balloons floated out, other clues encouraged the teams to find the key hidden in the room that would unlock the final box. We hid the key using Glue Dots to secure it under or behind an object in the room. Tip: Glue Dots peel easily off of smooth surfaces, but if using them, place the glue only on the head of the key and not the teeth to avoid getting glue inside the keyhole.
The team that released Alice was our winner! Soon after the other two teams freed their characters and everyone happily posed for pictures. Our teams were made up of a mix of adults and children. The adults were able to read the clues and the children were able to search for the key which made it fun for everyone. We allowed the youngest in each group to keep the characters. We also had Wonderland themed prizes such as books, DVDs, and jumbo playing cards.
This game could be modified to suit other themes and occasions by using other characters such as heroes, princesses, animals, etc. Download the instructions free on the Appendix page.