by Amy

I first heard about Alice's Tea Party, hosted at the Billings Estate, last year. I'm so happy that this year I managed to remember to make a reservation.

On our arrival we were escorted to our table by the Queen of Hearts (much more mellow that her book self), and while we waited for our food we were entertained by the Mad Hatter. Who knew he can do magic tricks?

The kid was delighted by the Mad Hatter, but even more thrilled when our tray of food arrived. Three tiers, from tea sandwiches on the bottom to sweet treats on the top.

As we ate and drank our lemonade we also got to go through the sheet of riddles on our table and try to solve them all. There was one I didn't know that she guessed right (smart kid), and she was thrilled that we won a prize for our answers.

After lunch and dessert we searched for the hidden Cheshire cats around the grounds of the estate and we played a little croquet, which I haven't done since I was a kid. This game was complete with flamingo mallets and hedgehog balls (sort of).