Come, share a pot of tea,
and let us chat about lovely things.
Tea parties have become a regular thing in our home. Any occasion that a tea party can fit in, I make it! Ha! Our first tea party was nearly four years ago, and we've delighted in many since. They are a favorite tradition and celebration for us and I love incorporating them in with different seasons and holidays and other random events and such.
I'm certainly not a tea party expert or anything like that. Most of the time I just fly by the seat of my pants whilst I'm gathering all my ideas and plans. I like to make things beautiful and lovely and the food must be scrumptious, of course. But I am also a lover of simplicity...especially when it comes to decorating and tablescapes. I am not a fancy person in the least and that's not my style at all. I love things to be cozy and comfortable and homey. So that's what I always go for.
Today I wanted to share some of my ideas for creating the perfect tea party. These ideas have been tried and tested by me and my family and they work for us. I hope you'll find some inspiration here, if not in decorating or cooking and baking or anything like that, at least, maybe, in being inspired to host your own tea party very soon. It's truly such a fun time!
~ The Menu ~
Right at the time of putting together my first tea party, I went online and read about the proper way to host such a party. I learned that the proper afternoon tea service includes three savouries, three sweets and a scone, along with some curd, jam, or cream of some sort. Since then I've seen many teas in magazines and online, etc. and they are all done in that manner. So that's how we do ours.
For our most recent party, I decided that it would be nice to have the menu printed out and framed. We were having some friends over, and whilst we are accustomed to how we put on a tea party, they were not. This was helpful and super handy. After the party was over, I removed my menu from the frame and stuck it in my tea party notebook (where I keep recipes, ideas, etc.). It will be nice to refer back to and it also is a memory of a wonderful time had. I just need to add the date and that will make it perfect!
~ Savouries ~
Three savouries are not hard to come up with. The internet is filled with ideas and recipe after recipe. The "Tea Time Magazine" has also come in handy on more than one occasion. Sometimes I like making all the savouries individual sized, but other times I make something like a full-size quiche to cut into slices and serve it that way. In the photo above I have my Broccoli, Bacon & Mushroom Quiche which I make in a regular sized pie plate. Then below are Potato Leek Quiches that I decided would be nice in small, individual servings. These were lovely for our St. Paddy's tea.
Phyllo cups are perhaps one of my best friends. I do so adore these little things! They are so versatile and can be used in sweet or savoury dishes and their flavor is so buttery and flaky and just heavenly! I almost always make a wild rice salad with a citrus vinaigrette for nearly every tea party we host. They've become a favorite and I just can't imagine a tea party without them. For St. Patrick's Day, however, I decided that an English pea salad would be nice, going with a green them and all.
If more of valued food and cheer above hoards of gold
it would be a merrier world.
-Tolkien-
If you don't imagine, nothing ever happens at all.
-John Green-
~ Sweets ~
Sweets are the same way as savouries for us...sometimes we like small servings and other times we enjoy making a loaf cake or round cake and cutting slices to serve. Either way is nice and I love creating a variety.
One thing that I've personally learned when it comes to picking sweets (same goes for savouries) is to choose different types of desserts. "Variety is the spice of life" as they say. And I do know that to be true with tea desserts. For example, choose a cookie or biscuit, cake or sweet bread, and a mini pie or cheesecake. Then pick different flavors for the chosen desserts. For our autumn tea party, I knew I wanted something other than the usual pumpkin-flavored everything, so I strayed away from that and instead picked gingerbread, mini caramel apple cheesecakes, and cinnamon spice cookies. All three of our sweets tasted completely different and it wasn't like every bite you took was the same. I also like the various looks of the different desserts on a plate.
Some ideas for tea time sweets...
To practice any art, no matter how well or badly,
is to make your soul grow. So do it.
-Kirt Vonnegut-
~ Other Bits Not To Be Forgotten ~
When serving scones, I tend to go all over the place. There are times I want to keep the scone simple and then go all out with the condiments, such as jam or curd or apple butter and always some sort of cream. Then there are other times when I want to forego the condiments and make the scones special all on their own. It all depends on my mood! Hee! I'll be sharing a couple recipes next week that are a match made in heaven with scones, so do be sure to come back then to check them out.
Of course, with any tea party, you'll be serving some sort of tea. Where we live, it does get miserably hot in the spring and summer...and during those months I avoid hot drinks at all costs. We choose a flavorful iced tea then. But just as soon as the first chill arrives in the air, we pull out our boxes of tea and get the kettle boiling. Herbal teas are our favorite, but black tea is always nice too. We avoid caffeine most of the time as it doesn't make us feel the best. And I often have fun creating new blends and trying new recipes for teas and such.
Here are a couple favorites...
...and I'll be posting the October's Party Tea that we enjoyed recently next month.
~ The Perfect Pieces ~
Tea parties always call for a teapot or kettle of some sort and of course, teacups. Mugs also work just fine and in some cases are what I personally prefer. Again, my mood changes with each tea party and I love changing things up.
I have a number of teapots and they are all very dear to me. I was very paranoid for the longest time about putting hot, boiling water directly in my beautiful pots, but I found an easy solution to my problem. I simply washed my teapot as normal and when I was ready to fill it I ran very hot tap water through it a number of times, pouring out after each turn. I also didn't put boiling water into my pot; instead, I allowed the water to cool down just a bit and it worked beautifully. I also made my October's Party tea on the stovetop and allowed it to simmer for a couple hours to get really warmed through. Before I ladled it into my pot, I pulled it off the heat and allowed the burning hot temperature to come down a bit.
And if you want to keep your tea warm for a really, really long time, do use a tea cozy. They are not only such cute little things, but they really do work!
Eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably.
-C.S. Lewis-
~ Ideas for Serving ~
Serving varies for us each time we host a tea party. When it's just the three of us, I set all the food on the dining table, along with our place settings and teacups. However, with our recent party, since we had two other guests, I used our kitchen counters as our serving buffet of sorts and the dining table was set aside for our place settings, teacups, and the pot of tea. Of course, there was also a simple centerpiece. I'm not a professional tablescape artist by any means, as is evident by these pictures. But I've learned that my style is to keep the table simple and to always leave room for a candle or two...or three. The only thing I wish we had is a nice table cloth, which we are currently on the lookout for. That's really all that's missing in my book.
Tea Ritual...
Turn the kettle on.
Find a favorite cup.
Breathe in the scent.
Watch the amber darken.
Warm your hands.
Cozy into a comfy chair.
Teatime...a time to slow down and appreciate the little things in life and notice their beauty.
~ Simple Decorating and Table Settings ~
As I mentioned above, our tea party tables must always have candles. I'm an eternal lover of the flicker and soft glow that they offer. For St. Paddy's Day, I found these little pompoms in the Target dollar spot and they worked nicely as an accent in our candle holders. They added a bit of whimsy, which is just what I was hoping for.
Our place settings are also always kept simple. So that everyone knew where their place was at our autumn party, I had my sister trace a leaf cookie cutter out onto bright red paper and cut them out. Then I came along and painted each person's initials on the leaf. I was quite pleased with how they turned out...glitter would have been a nice touch, but let's be honest. Glitter gets everywhere!
Simplicity is beauty.
Beauty is simplicity.
Nothing more, nothing less.
-Oscar Wilde-
~ Host a Scone Party ~
If you don't want to pull out all the stops for a "proper" tea party, may I suggest hosting a scone party? We've done this once, and it was the most splendid thing! In fact, that's how we celebrated our Royal Wedding watch party last spring. I simply chose five different variations of scones (yes, I went a little crazy) and spent the afternoon before baking. The day (or rather, nigh) of, all the work was done and all we had to do was sit back and enjoy the delicious fruits of our labors.
Here are some of our favorite scones...
...and next week, I'll be sharing our recipe for cream scones.
I hope you found some tea party inspiration, dear friends! Now, go and host your own tea party!
May your day be lovely in every way possible!
♥