Throwing a watching party for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton doesn’t have to be a royal pain.

But with the wedding scheduled for midnight Hawaii time, you probably are going to find that plenty of coffee is, so to speak, your cup of tea.

Patra Wroten, who lives in the Washington, D.C., area and writes about parties and other occasions on her blog, I Do Declare, has found a workaround to the inconvenient timing: a slumber party for some friends.

“We just love weddings,” she says. “It really was just a great excuse to get a group of our girlfriends together, take off work and theme a party around such an exciting wedding.”

The party will start on Thursday evening and go right through to the festivities with a few hours set aside for rest.

They plan to watch a tape of the marriage of the prince’s parents, Charles and Diana, eat English food such as miniature shepherd’s pies, and might just have a little drinking game — a sip for every time someone says “future princess,” for instance.

And, of course, there will be fake tiaras.

For Penny Bradley, co-owner of the Lyon restaurant in New York’s Greenwich Village, throwing a wedding party took a bit of smooth talking. Specifically, she had to persuade her partner in the restaurant, French chef Francois Lata­pie, to be English for a day.

He agreed, and now neighboring businesses, including the British restaurant Tea & Sympathy, are joining in. Festivities will start with a champagne breakfast and screenings of the ceremony, with reruns later in the day.

Raffle tickets are being sold to benefit a local park, and with interest already high, there will likely be a silent auction.

“It’s getting quite exciting,” says Bradley, who already has gotten reservations for the 6 a.m. seating.

Bradley, a native of Yorkshire, England, sees the occasion as a break from everyday life, one that is especially welcome considering all the grim news that’s been happening of late.

“These are events that don’t happen very often in anyone’s lifetime, and people love to celebrate them,” she says. “They really enjoy watching the wedding and all the glitter of the carriages and the spectacle. It’s something that’s really amazing.”

Ready to host your own wedding watching party? Here’s a couple of suggestions for early-morning eats:

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Classic to afternoon teas, scones are commonly baked plain or studded with currants, then accompanied with jam and clotted cream, a thick, creamy spread. You can make your version with any dried fruit and add chopped nuts or chocolate chips.

 FRUIT AND CHOCOLATE SCONES

Alison Ladman

2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups dried fruit, nuts and/or chocolate bits
Coarse sugar, optional

Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add melted butter and stir until well distributed. Add cream, sour cream and vanilla. Mix until almost combined, then add fruit and nuts and mix just until distributed.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Pat into a circle about 3/4 inch thick and 10 inches across. Cut into 8 wedges; transfer wedges to prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate or freeze until well chilled, 15 to 30 minutes. 

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle scones with coarse sugar, if desired. Bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cool. Makes 8.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 602 calories, 36 g fat, 19 g saturated fat, 84 mg cholesterol, 947 mg sodium, 70 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 9 g protein

Named for the sound it makes while cooking, bubble and squeak is a breakfast hash of sorts designed to use leftovers from the previous night’s boiled dinners. It generally is made from shredded boiled cabbage, mashed potatoes and whatever else is around. Leftover meats could be shredded or chopped and thrown into the mixture, as well as carrots, onions and squash. Our version assumes the vegetables are cooked, but if you don’t have any leftover veggies, simply boil them until tender.

BUBBLE AND SQUEAK

Alison Ladman

1 pound sausage meat
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 russet potatoes, peeled, cooked and mashed
1 cup shredded, cooked cabbage
1/2 cup chopped cooked carrots
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

In large, nonstick skillet over medium-high, cook sausage until well browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, remove meat from the pan and set aside.

Add onion to sausage drippings in the skillet and cook until translucent and beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. 

Add potatoes, cabbage and carrots, then return sausage to pan. Mix and cook until well browned, 15 to 20 minutes, scraping bottom of pan occasionally and flipping mixture over and about. Season with salt and pepper. Serves 6.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving: 390 calories, 20 g fat, 7 g saturated fat, 54 mg cholesterol, 540 mg sodium, 37 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 16 g protein