Cupcake tea party ideas

Tea party ideas: Cupcakes are as cool as they are cuplike, so why not enjoy them with your friends at a cupcake tea party? Yes, a cupcake tea party is as cute as it sounds!

Who can honestly say that they dislike cupcakes? Cupcakes are great fun to make and VERY fun to eat, especially with company! If you follow these steps, your cupcakes party will be one of the greatest parties ever, and one your friends will remember.

Planning a tea party with cupcakes

You’ll need to make a few decisions…

• Are you making the cupcakes before the party, or are you making them with your friends as part of the party?
• How many people will you invite? I recommend a maximum of 5, to keep everything cosy and a bit quieter
• How much of a party is it? A little get-together, or a fancy afternoon snack parlour? (I prefer the latter)
• Is there going to be a tea party theme? (“Pastel colours only” is a nice one to try, or you could ask your friends to use their imaginations on the themes of “Summer Seaside” or “French Fancies”. So frou-frou!)

Entertaining your tea party guests

Retro board games are a fun thing to do, and it keeps the old-fashioned atmosphere. Ask your friends to bring any of their favourite board games. Good games include:

• Trivial Pursuit
• Monopoly
• Boggle
• Mouse Trap
• Writing and drawing paper games, like “Consequences”
• If you’re feeling super-artsy, buy a copy of A Book of Surrealist Games and play them with your friends. These games are all pen and paper based, or conversation based. These games were all invented by surrealists like Tristan Tzara of the Dada movement, and you’d be surprised how many of these games are common among us today…
• Let’s not forget lovely Victorian parlour games!

Tea party music ideas

I prefer not to have music at my cupcake tea parties. But if you’re thinking of a WW2 feel, have some lovely Vera Lynn playing in the background. If you’re going for a kitsch pastel fifties feel, consider the Betcha Bottom Dollar. They do a fantastic rendition of Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (of Company B). As it’s so charming, you could listen to ‘Lovecats’ by Robert Smith over and over again. And over and over again. Classical music is always suitable for a cupcake tea party – maybe some Mozart or Handel – the ‘Clockwork Orange’ musical anarchic rigour of Beethoven, although it’s real horrorshow, is probably out.

Cupcake recipes

The most important element of your tea party is unequivocably the cupcakes! Try these delicious cupcake recipes:

1. Coca-cola cupcakes (the frosting)

2. Vanilla cupcakes

3. Molten-centered chocolate cupcakes (mmmm…)

4. Lemon cupcakes

To make your cupcakes extra special, decorate them with edible glitter, edible silver balls and multi-coloured sprinkles!

Tea party food ideas

Man cannot survive a tea party by cupcakes alone. Even if he really tries, and has been training for it for decades. This may well be a cupcake party, but your guests will also love some other food.

• French Fancies
• Finger sandwiches
• Viennese Whirls
• Toffee and Fudge
• Shortbread
• Mini gingerbread men

Tea party drink ideas

• TEA! Try all different types, not just the usual. Peppermint is nice.
• Old-fashioned fizzy drinks like Dandelion and Burdock (try the fizzy pop aisle in a large supermarket), ginger ale, rootbeer and American cream soda
• Milkshakes
• Coffee
• Mocktails (non-alcoholic cocktails)
• Asian bubble tea
• Smoothies – homemade, if possible

Ideas for tea party decorations

When it comes to hosting a really memorable and gay (in the old-fashioned sense) tea party, the icing on the (cup)cake is the decorations. Pun very much intended…

• Bunting (my favourite is the ‘vintage blue’)
• Tablecloths
• Unscented candles (unscented so you can smell the cupcakes and drinks)
• Unnecessary vintage stuff that would look cool

I hope you have a great party, and that you enjoy your cupcakes!