How to have a classic tea party

classic tea party

How to have a classic tea party with all the flounce you could image!

The important thing about a classic tea party is that you shouldn’t have to spend all your cash on it. The second best feeling in the world is having your very own tea party with your close friends. The best feeling in the world is chatting to them and munching fairy cakes knowing you still have some money in your pocket.

Classic tea party supplies

You will need…

1) Enough tea cups for you and all your attending friends (maybe even one or two extra, just in case an accident takes place.) If you don’t already have tea cups, venture to your favorite local thrift shop. Thrift shops (especially local ones) always have at least one or two tea cups of some sort floating around. There’s a low likelihood you’ll be able to find an entire matching set, but that’s not a problem. I find tea parties that I attend don’t usually have more than one or two teacups of the same design. Mismatching is okay.

2) Tea bags – of course.

3) Two or Three Teapots. Once again, if you don’t have these already you can probably find them at thrift shops, or borrow from friends and family. I say two or three so that your guests have a bit of an option when choosing what they’d like to drink. (If you’re afraid that some of your guests may not like the hot tea you’re preparing, try also serving a pitcher of iced tea, lemonade, or water.)

4) Pretty trays or platters. Most people already own at least one or two serving trays/platters. If you don’t, you seriously should go kitchenware shopping more. My mother acquired a really, really pretty plastic tray covered in coloured butterflies from a garage sale for two dollars. Pretty nifty, eh?

Classic tea party  FINGER FOOD

A couple of finger sandwiches that I recommend as enjoyable and looking fancier than they really are, are the vegetarian ‘cucumber and cream cheese’ sandwich and the delicious ‘chicken salad’ sandwich.

1) Cucumber and Cream Cheese Sandwich

You’ll Need: Wheat or White Bread, Garden Vegetable or Plain Cream Cheese, Cucumber

Remove the crust from the bread. It’s easy to just pull off, so you probably won’t have to cut it.

Spread on a medium to thick layer of cream cheese with a knife. (Onto one slice, only.)

Peel the cucumber and cut it into thin slices.

Put the sliced cucumber on top of the cream cheese. (One slice per finger sandwich, so four for the whole slice of bread.)

Put another slice of bread on top of the other. (C’mon kids, you know how to make a sandwich.)

If you haven’t cut the bread, cut it into quarters.

2) Chicken Salad Sandwiches

You’ll Need: Wheat or White Bread. And chicken salad. Make the chicken salad as you see fit. Next:

Remove the crust from the bread. It’s easy to just pull off, so you probably won’t have to cut it.

Spread on a medium layer of the chicken salad.

Put another slice of bread on top of the chicken salad. Once again, you can make a sandwich.

Cut the sandwich into quarters.

Fix as many sandwiches as you see fit, and remember, a finger sandwich is small so there’s a high likelihood your friends will want three or four of them with their tea.

Every tea party needs… DELICATE YUMMY SWEETS

Chocolate Covered Strawberries!

If you don’t have a double boiler pan, there are a couple of types of dipping chocolate in the baking aisle of most grocery stores that you can microwave and when it melts, dip the strawberries in and the chocolate will harden.

Mini Muffins!

Buy one or two types of muffin mix and follow the directions for mixing, but instead of using average sized muffin tins, try to find a tin that has very small cups.

Pretty Chocolates!

I suggest simply buying these, because it’s fairly hard to make your own chocolate and make it pretty, unless you’re a professional chocolatier. My favourite brand of inexpensive, adorable chocolate is “Choxie” by Target.

Every tea party needs… A NICE CUP OF TEA!

You can probably find these teas in a grocery store, tea room (some smaller cities have them), or a recipe online.

Ambrosia tea has a subtle vanilla flavor and a smell to match. It’s good for someone who hasn’t quite gotten used to drinking hot tea yet.

Ginger Tea has a spicy, invigorating taste and can be easily made by grating fresh ginger into hot water.

Black Peach Tea is delicately scented with peach and has a fruity, juicy flavor.

Every tea party needs… AN ELEGANT SETTING!

Food: Arrange all of the food on one or two different trays and make sure they look nice. Put the trays out on a table wherever you’re holding the tea party. Also, if you think your guests will be willing to try something new, bring out a saucer of milk (NOT CREAM) with the tea, and be sure to remind them to put the milk in their saucer before they pour the tea.

Table: If you feel like decorating, a good idea is to take a few candles in quiet colors like light pink and arrange them on the table. Make sure they’re unscented so the smell doesn’t overpower that of your teas. Fresh picked flowers in a tall, plain glass vase are always pretty. If you don’t have any in YOUR back yard, sneak around, your neighbor might have some that you can… er.. “borrow.”

Party Favors: If you feel like it’s proper to send your guests off with something nice, a simple gift idea is to allow them to take home the teacup that they drank from that day. If you’re entirely too attached to them, take a picture of each of your guests enjoying the meal and have the pictures printed out. Then, go to some type of store (Dollar General always works, or some place cheap like that) and frame their pictures in a fancy frame, or a plain frame.  Whichever floats your boat.

Every tea party needs… THOUGHTFUL TOUCHES!

Send your invitations out so that your guests will receive them at least two weeks prior to the event.

Make sure that before you plan the menu, you have all of the allergy information on your guests.

Buy your food the day before you’ve planned to host your party and prepare it the day of, a few hours before guests are meant to arrive, so that food is freshly prepared.

HELPFUL LINKS

How to brew a perfect cup of tea (British tea-brewing style)

Games to play at your tea party