How to Decorate a Table for a Women's Tea Party

Throw a tea party for your nearest and dearest.

Once you’ve decided to throw a tea party and have sent out the invitations, the next step is to choose exactly how to decorate the tea party table. While the rest of the room can be decorated as well, the main focus will be on the tables themselves.

Things You'll Need

• Tablecloth
• Cloth napkins
• Iron
• Flowers
• Plants
• Herbs
• Teapots
• Pitchers
• Cloches
• Vases
• Lemon verbena
• Mint
• Teaspoons
• Sugar bowl or jar
• Shallow bowls
• Colored sugar
• Sugar cubes
• Lemon
• Tiered serving plates
• Scones
• Sandwiches
• China
• Place cards
• Favors

Instructions

1. Choose a theme. This can be a seasonal theme, like springtime, or an event theme, like a bridal shower or fundraiser. The theme can also dictate the color scheme. For example, pastels are perfect for a spring theme and specified wedding colors are perfect for a bridal shower.

2. Throw a tablecloth over each table and put a cloth napkin at each place setting. Make sure that all linens are clean and ironed -- there shouldn’t be any stains or wrinkles on them.

3. Create a centerpiece from florals, plants or even herbs. Make sure to make the centerpieces low so that they don’t obstruct the view of the guests; to do this, use short tea pots or pitchers as vases.

4. Fill small, glass vases with lemon verbena and mint. Guests of the tea party can add these herbs to their tea to change the flavor. Also, put several mismatched teaspoons in a clear sugar bowl or jar.

5. Fill shallow bowls with colored sugar crystals, sugar cubes and slices of lemon. Tiered serving plates can also be placed on the table; during the tea party, they can be piled high with scones and sandwiches.

6. Utilize good China at each place setting. Tea parties are regal events and basic dishware isn’t fancy enough for this type of affair.

7. Put a place card in the center of each setting. This is a chance to be creative. Place cards can be made by using art pens to write guests’ names on small pumpkins or clementines, vintage teaspoons, cocktail napkins or simply thick, pretty paper.

8. Include a favor for guests at each place setting. The favor can be a teacup to take home, a satchel of loose tea or an antique teaspoon.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure to have an accurate head count so that you know how many place settings will be needed.

• Plants and herbs can be covered with a bell-shaped jar called a “cloche,” found at garden shops.

• It’s not necessary that all of the dishes and teacups match -- mix-and-match different pieces to create an eclectic table.

References

• The Tea Party Club: Decorations
• Herbs Teas: Decorating
• Country Living: Mother's Day Tea Party Ideas