Shopping for costumes and birthday presents was almost just as much fun as the party itself. Rundle St. presents itself with a wide range of groovy shops where you could find anything from Cartoon character merchandize to exotic looking jewellery. In the end I settled on a Hello-Kitty wallet – yes not very original, but nonetheless appropriate for my lovely (and slightly crazy) friend.
I ended up dressing up as the Black Chess Queen from Through the Looking Glass. My first choice of character was the White Rabbit, which unfortunately had to be forfeited as I couldn’t find rabbit ears anywhere. I was told to go to the Whacky Shack in Myers, which stocks a variety of funny gifts and party supplies, from where I picked up a black top hat to complete my costume.
I had a fabulous time at the party talking to different people dressed like ‘Alice’, ‘Mad Hatta’, ‘Queen of Heart’, and ‘Jack of Spades’… I also happened to catch up with parents of my high-school friend, who turned out to be ex-neighbours with the birthday girl (whom I know from uni). In Adelaide it is not unusual to run into people you know at other’s birthday parties, even though you know them through completely different avenues. Anyway, it was a great night.