The ‘Mad Hatter’ invites individuals at Gretton House to Tea
In July, the team at Gretton House organised a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, much to the delight of the individuals supported at the specialist Prader-Willi Syndrome Service (PWS) in Corby.
Themed meals and events are very popular at Gretton House and are part of an open planning process between supported individuals and colleagues. At the beginning of the year everyone comes together and shares their ideas on the events they would like to be involved in. Supported individuals short list a variety of themed/cultural dinner parties that match their shared interests and preferences which are then organised throughout the year.
Although everyone had been involved in choosing the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party theme, the actual day of the event was kept a closely guarded secret by the support team, with supported individuals being surprised with their personal invites the day before.
Even though individuals with PWS have to maintain a strict calorie controlled diet, the support team got their creative juices flowing to put on an imaginative spread of themed food, that included checkers board sandwiches, a small bottle of ‘drink me’ potion and ‘eat me’ biscuit followed by cheese and tomato toadstools on a bed of salad and jam tarts, marshmallow teacups and chocolate mice for pudding.
In true fantasy fairy tale style, the party was hosted by the ‘Mad Hatter,’ accompanied by a white rabbit (who was running very late,) Alice who needed the supported individuals help to find the tea party and the Queen of Hearts who wanted to chop off everyone’s head with the help of her trusted soldiers adorned in cards.
Throughout the evening, there were plenty of opportunities for supported individuals to have their photos taken with themed props and to get involved in themed games, with pin the smile on the Cheshire Cat a clear favourite! When supported individuals were asked what they thought about the party, Clive said, “I couldn’t stop laughing, the support team looked so funny, I loved it.” Tamara and Charlie said, “It was the best one yet!”
