Anything served in cat in the hat themed paper party supplies, like all things related to children’s author Dr. Seuss’s classic work, are the things that make for good times. Fun with absurd characters only disguises the moral. The children who let the mischievous stranger in while the mother is away get more than they bargained for.

Timeless history deserves a timeless recipe. Try serving this variant of spaghetti with meatballs. Find or make pasta hats. Boil them and serve on top a large meatball decorated with a cat’s face. Make facial features out of cooked spaghetti noodles and add a bow tie of cooked pasta for each. Serve each cat in the hat with canned spaghetti sauce. Add a large bowl of salad, punch, and fruit each along with serving utensils, plastic silverware, paper cups, and bowls. Make sure you don’t forget the Cat in the Hat birthday cake!

Pasta hats are a bit hard to find and expensive when available. Making the dough and pressing it with a pasta machine may be the most economical approach. The paste can also be stretched with a rolling pin. A simple recipe is two cups of flour, one egg plus three egg yolks, two teaspoons of salt, and enough water to form a workable dough (1/4 cup or so). Stretch very fine. Cut into a cone about three inches tall at a maximum three-inch angle. Bring the two outer edges together and press with a little water. Fold up about 1/4 inch at the bottom to form the brim of the hat. Dry for at least two hours. Later cook in boiling water for 15 minutes or to taste. Take care that the hats do not move around too much or they will lose their shape. Have a tasty time!