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DIY Teddy Bear Tea Party Place Settings (Plushie Guest Cards)

The invitation says 'bring your favorite stuffed animal.' The table should be ready for them. Here's how to set a place for every plushie guest — and why it's the detail children remember.

Teddy-bear picnics, plushie parties and stuffed-animal tea parties have one thing in common: the guests of honor arrive under a child's arm and then have nowhere to go. They end up on the floor, in a heap on a chair, or forgotten under the table. Setting a real place for each stuffed friend — a tiny plate, a name tent, a ribbon reservation on the chair — takes twenty-five minutes and turns the whole table into a scene the children step into rather than just sit at.

It's also the perfect companion to a build-your-own stuffed animal activity like our upcoming M.C.A Plush & Play station: each new friend gets stuffed, named and then seated at the table with its own card.

How to make them

1. Cut and fold the name tents

   Cut the cardstock into 4-inch by 3-inch rectangles — a letter sheet gives you eight. Score each one across the middle with a ruler and the back of a spoon, then fold into a tent. Make two or three blanks beyond your guest count; someone always brings a second bear. If you'd rather skip the cutting, the Paper Atelier prints matching place cards ready to fold.

2. Write the plushie's name — or leave a line

   If the invitation asked for plushie names in the RSVP, write each one in gold pen with the child's name smaller beneath: Mr. Buttons · guest of Leah. If you don't know the names, draw a short line and write guest of Leah — filling in the name becomes the first activity at the table. For a Plush & Play party, leave every card blank; the children name their friend after stuffing it and the card becomes part of the ceremony.

3. Make the tiny plates

   Every stuffed guest needs a plate. A four-inch paper plate or an upturned cupcake liner beside each child's place setting does it; add a single tiny treat — one animal cracker, a sugar cube 'tea sandwich', a mini marshmallow. Children take this very seriously and it keeps the plushie's plate from becoming a second dessert plate for the child.

4. Tie the ribbon reservation on the chair

   Cut ribbon into 12-inch lengths and tie a simple bow around the top rail of each little chair. This is the plushie's reservation — and, in photos, it's the detail that makes a row of chairs look styled. Our ribbon chair sash tutorial has the full-sash version if you want more drama; the small bow is enough here.

5. Set the seat

   When the guests arrive, each child seats their friend — on the chair beside them if there's room, on the seat before they sit down if not — with the name tent in front of the tiny plate. Put one small sticker or a strip of washi tape on the corner of each tent in the party color so children can find their place from across the room. Seat the birthday child's plushie at the head of the table.

Where it earns its keep

On a kid-height table the plushie place settings do double duty: they slow the children down at the start (finding their card, seating their friend) and they give the photographs a story. Set the table with our Atelier Rattan chairs for a garden tea party, or the Classic collection in blush for the full Pink Dreamhouse look. For the rest of the table, our table-styling guide shows where the eye goes first.

Frequently asked questions