Whether it’s Valentine’s Day, poker night, or your twist on an Alice-in-Wonderland party, heart playing cards make an unexpected theme for a party celebrating luck, love, and full hearts like a bridal shower, engagement party, anniversary, or a birthday party for the Queen of your heart! Here’s how to throw a Queen of Hearts card party.
Playing Card Decor
–Let the deck of cards set the palette—here it’s white, red and a touch of black
–Cards come in all different sizes—use oversized ones as a photo booth and scatter small ones across the table as confetti
–String cards together as garlands
–Expand the theme to games of chance and toss some dice or poker chips around too!
–Bring the Queen, King, and Knave of hearts into the mix with accessories like these card-inspired cocktail napkins.
–Use heart stickers to decorate paper cups like cards.
Play Games!
–Grown ups can enjoy some rounds of poker or gin rummy, younger guests can play War or Snap using the cards
–In summer, head outside for the Queen of Hearts favorite game—croquet!—and be sure to shout “Off with their heads” every time your opponents score
–Build a house of cards, each adding a card to build it taller
–Hide cards for guests to find, Easter-egg-hunt style
–Decorate cups like playing cards and play the shell game.
Set Up a Soundtrack
Obviously, Juice Newton’s Queen of Hearts will be on repeat. But any song with heart in the title is fair game. Consider:
–Heart of Glass
–Piece of My Heart
–Total Eclipse of the Heart
–Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Make playing card notecards with heart stickers.
Serve Food with Feeling
Two choices: offer up an Alice-inspired tea or go for food that is shaped like a heart, like cookies, fruit, sandwiches, eggs, or even bagels transformed with a heart shaped cookie cutter. Or, set out a dessert bar whose centerpiece was a cake shaped like a playing card—the two of hearts, of course!
Two of Hearts Cake
A rectangular cake becomes your dessert table’s trump card if you cover it in white frosting and top it with hearts and numbers cut out of red fondant. For smaller sweets, any rectangular treat, from rice krispie bars to petit fours would work, too. Click here for the how-to.
Heart Card Rice Krispie Treats
For a dessert spread or individual favors, Rice Krispies treats with hearts made out of sprinkles or red icing, are a winning hand. Click here for the how-to.
1. House of Cards Cocktail Napkins, 2. Heart Dish, 3. Heart Glasses, 4. Katy Heart Keychain, 5. Gold Playing Cards, 6. Monogram Heart Notebook, 7. Gold Dot Plate Set, 8. Heart Chocolates, 9. Heart Stickers, 10. Lucky in Love: Traditions, Customs, and Rituals to Personalize Your Wedding