Willy Wonka Mitzvah

Oompa Loompa doom-pa-dee-do, we've got a mitzvah theme for you! Everyone loves chocolate, candy and our favorite candy man, Willy Wonka. Celebrate your upcoming Bar or Bat Mitzvah with a fun Willy Wonka theme party and you're guests will think your party is "sweet!"

Willy Wonka Invitations
Along with your formal Bar or Bat Mitzvah invitation, you will want to include a fun party invitation. You can mail it with your formal invitation (in the same envelope) or mail it separately shortly after you mail your formal invitation.

A personalized candy theme invitation is perfect for a Willy Wonka theme party. A semi-custom caricature invitation is also another great choice. Have your child drawn holding an armload of chocolate, surrounded by a garden of candy in Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. There are even a few cute Oompa Loompas standing next to your child. You can add text to the front or the back of this fabulous design!

Willy Wonka Candy Decorations and Party Supplies
As your guests arrive, welcome them with a Oompa Loompa cutouts at the door and one of Willy Wonka himself! You can even have speech bubbles with them welcoming everyone with Oompa Loompa-ish phrases, like, "Oompa, Loompa, doom-pa-dee-do! I have a perfect WELCOME for you." Have a fun cutout of your child holding armfuls of chocolate with a speech bubble attached welcoming everyone to their chocolate factory.

Have fun with your cocktail hour. Imprinted cocktail napkins are great for cocktails and dessert at a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Have these napkins printed to read, "Gobs of Fun with (Child's Name)!" and include the party date. You can get napkins in an assortment of bright colors or brown and silver (for a chocolate look).

We'd, of course, set up the cocktail and party area to look like Willy Wonka's fabulous chocolate factory. Here are some Wonka decorating ideas:

• Hang large circular paper lanterns from the ceiling around the party room. You might want to hire someone to do this or ask for help from your party center. They can be hung with magnets and wire. Easy and super cool!
• A combination of exotic potted plants (these can be rented) and flowers works well with the feel of the factory.

Then decorate the area with brightly colored balloons and even fun polka dot balloons. Any balloon company can get you polka dot balloons in your event colors and create great balloon bouquets and arches to use in the entrance, cocktail area and throughout the party.

Have a candy sign-in board made that says: "(Child's Name)'s Chocolate Factory." If you used a caricature for your invitation, include that artwork on the sign in board as well.

Seating cards can be boxes of candy with a sticker attached as the seating card. Or choose a candy theme seating card!

Have a backdrop behind the DJ that says, "(Child's Name)'s Chocolate Factory" and make sure there's terrific lighting on it. Have balloon towers on either side of the stage in your event colors, with a giant 3' circle balloon on the top of the tower.

Willy Wonka Theme Table Decorations
Start your table decorations with great linens in as many bright colors as your can find. Use one color on each table, alternating them around the room. Then use the same bright colored napkins on your tables. Or choose chocolate brown linens with silver overlays and make your tables look like Hershey's Kisses! Either way, you'll see that a room full of bright linens really has great impact!

How about a personalized candy theme centerpiece with photos of the guest of honor? Add balloons coming out of the 3-sided base and you've got a fun, bright, personalized centerpiece. Or make enlarged candy boxes for your centerpieces. They can be 3-sided bases and you can add great balloon bouquets to each centerpiece. Or use your invitation caricature as a centerpiece base with balloons coming out.

For napkin rings, get small boxes of candy and cut off either end of the boxes. Pull the napkins through the center of the box. Another fun option is to use a sheet of candy buttons wrapped around as a napkin ring. Delicious! Instead of candles on the tables, choose personalized mini tabletop lanterns with a photo of your child on all four sides. They all come with LED candles, so they are safe to use on the kids tables too, and look great surrounding a centerpiece.

At each place, a personalized swirl lollipop is delicious and a great candy theme favor! Next to it, have a copy of "Today's Candy" published by (Child's Name) and write reviews of all his or her favorite candy and place one at each place for your guests to enjoy. Don't forget the personalized water bottle labels, you know your guests will be thirsty after the lollipop.

Since this party is all about candy, sweets and desserts, you'll want to make sure you have a great selection. Themed cakes are hugely popular right now and we love love love this Wonka theme cake from Debbie Does Cakes. We especially love the little sculpted Oompa Loompa that she added on the side! Amazing.

Along with dessert, have a "candy bar". I don't mean an actual bar of chocolate, but a large table filled with bags, jars and bowls and absolute mountains of all kinds of candy. Each guest may fill a small bag full of candy from this table. Eat some candy for dessert and take the rest home for a favor. Of course, don't forget a "make your own sundae" bar complete with candy toppings. 

And, how about a "Jelly Bean Bar" with different flavors of jelly beans and recipes so people can mix and match their beans for new flavors? Have a menu of suggestions and sort the candy into different bowls. Be sure to label what flavor of jelly bean is in each bowl.

Willy Wonka Party Favors
Your guests will be going home with their bags of candy from the candy buffet and their personalized lollipops, but you may want to have some other fun favors. Your DJ can pass out beads and sunglasses that are fun, bright and great for this theme. There are also great personalized candy theme candy bars that are sweet to pass out at the end of the evening.

And, of course, Party411 can help with t-shirts, boxer shorts or any other favor you can think of for your Wonka party! Send us an e-mail for more information on personalized party favors.

Have fun, from the Party Girl and the Party-ettes!