Play Theme

Hopscotch outlines on the floor added to the playground vibe.

Designers used oversize cardboard boxes to form "graffiti walls" inspired by skate parks. Performers from the Actors Gymnasium entertained guest with circus-style acts.

After cocktails, the 600 guests headed to a dining room filled with a combination of illuminated rectangular tables, square tables without linens, and round tables with linens. Decor including suspended Slinkys, glowing orbs, and oversize paper daisies was intended to make guests feel "dwarfed," or child-size themselves. To underscore the evening's message, chair caps were decked with children's faces.

The cocktail reception took place in an area inspired by urban parks and playgrounds, replete with lampposts and indoor greenery. Tables were decked with miniature Chihuly-inspired flower arrangements, tucked into beds of wheat grass. J&L Catering's appetizer menu included salmon in sesame-tuile cones, warm cheddar puffs with mango chutney, and miniature phyllo purses with brie and raspberry preserves.

Guests attempted to score during a round of artsy darts by Davide Balula during the Public Art Fund's spring benefit.

Guests tried to figure out Nathalie Pozzi and Eric Zimmerman's game of strategy.

OfficeMax’s Green Tie Ball XXI, held September 15 at A. Finkl & Sons in Chicago and hosted by nonprofit organization Chicago Gateway Green, had an Alice in Wonderland theme. Roaming actors and performers from Redmoon Theater were dressed as characters from the story.

Produced by Absolute Production Services, the Green Tie Ball had three tented areas. The V.I.P. tent, called the "Mad Hatter's Tent," featured rustic, organic decor by Kehoe Designs. The focal point of the bar area was a giant drum shade embellished with a bronze tree, oversize pocket watches, and wine bottles. Absolute worked with Windy City Music on the lighting design, which included timepiece gobos.

In a homage to the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s tale, the Canadian Cancer Society hosted an Alice's Adventures in Wonderland-inspired fund-raiser in Montreal in April. Produced by Alison Silcoff Events, with decor by Decor & More, the event had guests helping themselves to champagne from the Queen of Hearts' dress during the cocktail reception.

At the Canadian Cancer Society gala, topiaries divided the cocktail reception and dining areas. The eclectic dining room design included five different table centerpieces, seven linen combinations, three types of chairs, and four colors of chair cushion. Giant playing cards hung overhead.

Chefs from Fairmont the Queen Elizabeth created an inventive Alice in Wonderland-inspired menu with items like "Large and Small Shellfish in a Pool of Tears."

Guests at the Canadian Cancer Society fund-raiser were also served soup from a teapot. An edible pocket-watch crust rested inside the teacup.

The Washington Ballet turned to its production of Alice for inspiration when designing its annual gala in April. Organizers tapped Syzygy Event Productions to produce the event. Guests were greeted by younger members from the ballet school dressed like the card guards from Alice in Wonderland.

During the reception at the Washington Ballet gala, waiters served tea sandwiches shaped like hearts, spades, and diamonds from Susan Gage Caterers on trays lined with playing cards.

Inside the auditorium, red linens, chairs, cushions, place settings, and rose-tree-style centerpieces filled the space in a re-creation of the Queen of Hearts' palace. A wash of red lighting from Digital Lightning completed the look.

In January, the Washington Ballet’s Jeté Society, a social and networking group of ballet patrons from ages 21 to around 40, hosted its annual dance party. PoshBooth provided a photo booth complete with Alice in Wonderland-themed props like bunny ears, a crown, and a top hat in the V.I.P. section of the ballroom.

Syzygy Event Productions worked with Digital Lightning to turn the reception and ballroom areas into a whimsical environment. A large, white tree decorated with red hearts inspired by the story's Red Queen served as the backdrop for the check-in desk.

In November 2011, students from the Illinois Institute of Art, mentored by fashion designer Maria Pinto, put together a table setting at Diffa's Dining by Design in Chicago inspired by Alice in Wonderland.

The sixth annual gala fund-raiser for the National Ballet of Canada, inspired by Alice and called "Mad Hot Wonderland," was held in Toronto in June 2011. Staffers dressed as Alice played croquet with flamingo mallets and hedgehog balls on Osgoode Hall's lawn, across the street from the venue. Later, guests could purchase raffle tickets from staffers dressed up as Alice, who dispersed themselves throughout the party.

The valet drivers from Gatsby Valet Inc. were dressed as white rabbits.

In the dining area, checkerboard tables covered with mismatched gold and silver cutlery added to the Alice theme. Giant mushrooms and heart-shaped hedges served as centerpieces.

Specialty "White Rabbit" cocktails were served in William Ashley teacups.

A caterpillar relaxed in the Henry N.R. Jackman Lounge at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, which served as the V.I.P. area at the Canadian National Ballet's fund-raiser.

In May 2010, Walt Disney World hosted a kickoff party for the U.S. Travel Association's 2010 International Pow Wow, the largest global conference for the travel industry. The design team used stacked chairs à la Alice in Wonderland to decorate the food stations near the teacup ride.

Oversize playing cards resembling the Queen of Hearts' guards from Alice in Wonderland displayed menu descriptions and served as small food stations.

Also at the International Pow Wow, Alice in Wonderland-style teacups served as food displays. Light bites included finger sandwiches on skewers.

Aerialists and burlesque dancers dressed as characters from Alice in Wonderland performed at the University of Toronto's Hart House in February 2010, for the school's second annual Palais d'Hiver event. The event adopted a "Through the Looking-Glass" theme as a nod to the release of Tim Burton's film adaptation of Alice's adventures. Dancers from Glamour Puss Burlesque performed three shows from the group's Burlesque in Wonderland production.

At the Palais d'Hiver event, black-and-white checkered linens topped tables, and teapots and teacups held floral arrangements. Giant playing cards also hung from potted plants.

At MoMa’s annual film benefit in November 2009, the museum kicked off an exhibition of Tim Burton's work with decor inspired by his movies. Inspired by his soon-to-be-released film Alice in Wonderland, the lobby was filled with topiaries, large paper flowers, and whimsical white chairs designed by event producers Spec Entertainment.

In October 2009, Toronto's Bell Gala had fairy-tale decor by Solutions with Impact, with several nods to Alice, including a teacup carnival ride in the reception area.

In the Bell Gala's after-party space, giant playing cards, chairs, and flowers were suspended from the ceiling.

In October 2009 at the Meridian Ball, David Stark's decor was inspired by Alice in Wonderland. The influence was evident in the Queen of Hearts-styled dessert buffet, where Stark included faux cakes made of carnations, and a suspended silver teapot poured a string of red tassels into a stack of saucers and teacups.

Toast produced the Justice Ball benefit in 2009 with an Alice in Wonderland theme. Decor included giant mushrooms and funhouse mirrors. A pair of stiltwalkers, one dressed as the Mad Hatter, circulated among the guests.

Cossette Communications in Toronto paid tribute to Alice in Wonderland with their 2007 holiday party featuring teapots filled with flowers, topiaries, and paper roses. Wooden signs hanging from one of three 12-foot juniper trees pointed guests in the right direction.

In October 2007, fashion line Alice & Olivia hosted a "Mad Tea Party" at its Bryant Park boutique to debut the Spring 2008 line. A bright yellow table held refreshments and served as a decorative centerpiece to the room. Tea sandwiches and cocktails were served in teacups.

In 2006, Disney celebrated the launch of a home furnishings line inspired by Alice in Wonderland with a lavish Alice-style tea party at the Bel Air home of Quincy Jones. Event Eleven used pieces from the collection along with a custom 40-foot table to recreate the look of the Mad Hatter's tea party.

For an Alice in Wonderland-inspired design inspiration shoot, Kate Miller Events displayed Luxecuts custom laser-cut place cards leaning against vintage teacups filled with flowers at each place setting.

For an Alice in Wonderland-themed bat mitzvah at Greenhouse in New York, Maya Kalman of Swank Productions decorated the dinner area with accents inspired by the Queen of Hearts.

At an Alice in Wonderland-inspired afternoon cocktail party designed by Fete Events, guests were offered food and drink by a giant Tweedledum and Tweedledee from Tim Burton's film version.