Teaching etiquette to children can be a difficult and trying experience. By turning manners into rules, children will instantly lose interest, so create a fun and educational experience by throwing an etiquette party. When I think of good manners, I imagine tea parties. Perhaps it is the delicacy of the china that requires a certain grace at the table. Appeal to children (ages 7 - 9) with fantasy by throwing a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party straight out of Alice in Wonderland. For younger tots (age 4-6) throw a princess party, complete with tiara and all. In the process, they will learn to hold a teacup, use a napkin, and interact socially with other children. Throw it as a precursor to Halloween and ask all of the kids to come in costume. This is the perfect time to prepare them for the holiday season and all of the entertaining that follows! Every formal affair begins with an equally formal invite. Create an elegant beginning by making an invite from the Queen of Hearts. Cut red cardstock into a heart and decorate with a lace doily. Use gold paper to line the inside, adding a luxurious effect. Inform guests that they are cordially invited by the Queen to attend a royal affair. Package the invite in an envelope enclosed with a wax seal. Set the table elegantly and inexpensively with china dishware from Goodwill. Collect an eclectic mix of teacups and china plates with a consistent color palate. Personalize the teacups by writing “Drink Me” with paint pens, and cover the table with a red linen and add vintage lace for a bit of history. Cover the lace in paper hearts in a variety of sizes. Don’t forget to include a place card within the place setting, teaching kids that at formal parties every person has an assigned place! Create an elegant yet edible centerpiece by covering a cupcake stand with royal cupcakes - red velvet of course. To incorporate a bit of the story from Alice in Wonderland, write “Eat Me” on each miniature cake with frosting. Put your cards on the table, and create a card game sharing a bit of etiquette trivia. Turn the questions into a game by attaching trivia printed on cardstock to the backs of playing cards with double sided tape. Call the game “Pass the Crown” and as each child answers a trivia question correctly they get to wear the crown. If they answer the question incorrectly, they must pass the crown to the next child. Whomever answers the most questions

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correctly is crowned “Queen or King of Etiquette.” Now that your guests know the rules, let them break one! Encourage children to wear hats at the table, like the Mad Hatter himself, by creating a station for decorating hats. Provide each guest with a top hat and include ribbon, glitter, decals, and fabric for decorating. Children will enjoy personalizing these costume pieces which will allow them to role play at the table. Of course, I always like to send guests home with something as they leave the party. And since it is always proper etiquette to send a thank-you note to the host after a party, inspire children to adopt this process by sending them home with this stationary kit for kids. The stationary is customizable, so have the stationary monogramed to make your recipient feel very grown up and special. If you have a shorter lead time, send them home with these hip thank you notes from Target. Teaching your young ones etiquette is also important, but calls for a less formal setting. Create a princess party with crowns, bright colors, and taffeta fabric. Fully set the table to educate children on formal dining, but keep the materials casual with colorful plastic flatware, paper napkins, and melamine plates. Shy children may feel more comfortable if they bring their cuddly bear for support. While they may feel reluctant to introduce themselves, they will never hesitate to introduce their furry friend. Be sure to leave extra room at the table for these special guests. For an educational activity, read a children’s book of etiquette to the table. Sarah Ferguson, aka The Duchess of York, just released one called Tea for Ruby. As royalty, she knows a thing or two about etiquette and as a mom she understands how to teach children. Her heartfelt picture book is the perfect way to teach manners to small children in an accessible and entertaining fashion. The story follows Ruby as she gets ready to have tea with the Queen. From the appropriate attire to remembering not to talk with a full mouth the lessons are taught in a very whimsical way that all kids will enjoy. I believe that one can never be too young to send a thank you note, and these thank you notes from Target are the ideal gift to give each princess that leaves this soiree. Tie a ribbon around the pack of cards and include a faux jewel that each guest can wear long after the party is over.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, October 5th, 2008 at 2:38 pm and is filed under Friends, Fun things to do with kids, Kids. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.