How to Organize a Tea Party

Tea Time

There's just something sweet, feminine, sophisticated and elegant about hosting a high tea that conjures thoughts of Jane Austen, the Edwardian era, and impeccable manners. Tea parties are a lovely venue for mothers and daughters to spend an afternoon together, as well as a refreshing alternative for girlfriends who want to catch up on each others lives but would rather not go to a noisy restaurant or bar.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• China cups and saucers
• Silver or porcelain tea service
• Spoons and knives
• Lace or linen tablecloth
• Garden or large dining area
• Sufficient chairs
• Napkins
• Tiered serving tray (optional)
• Tea
• Milk
• Sugar
• Lemon slices
• Scones and clotted cream or jam
• Small sandwiches
• Petit fours
• Classical music
• Invitations
• Flowers

1. Set a date and time for your tea party. Unless your guests are all ladies of leisure, you'll probably be holding your party on a Saturday or Sunday at 11 in the morning or 1 or 3 in the afternoon. The weather and the layout of your residence, of course, will dictate whether the party is held indoors or outdoors. If you plan to hold it outdoors, it's never to soon to start spiffing up the garden so it will provide a pleasing backdrop.

2. Send out invitations to your guests at least two weeks in advance. These can either be handmade cards or you can purchase ready-made invitations from any stationery or gift store. Companies such as the Victorian Trading Company also offer a fine array of vintage invitations. Encourage your guests to dress for this occasion by including the line, "Appropriate attire requested."

3. Start assembling everything in advance that you will need for the party, including your best lace or linen tablecloth, cups and saucers, silverware and tea service. If necessary, arrange to borrow these items from friends and relatives.

4. Plan your menu. This should include dainty finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream or jam, and petit fours or small cookies. The idea of a tea is that everything is small enough to be eaten in just a few bites and not involve any utensils except spoons to stir one's tea and small knives to spread jam on the scones.

5. Decide whether your guests will serve themselves from a table or sideboard and then seat themselves around the room or garden or whether you will have tables set out for groups of three to four. If they will be serving themselves, all of the cups, saucers, napkins and silverware will be on the main table. If they will be seated at tables, these items will be set out in advance at each place setting.

6. Recruit an assistant to help you with the serving of tea. If you have a teenage daughter, this is a wonderful opportunity to include her in making your guests feel comfortable and at home.

7. Arrange the sandwiches, scones and petit fours on china, crystal or silver platters at one end of the main table. Set up your tea service along with a small pitcher of milk, a bowl of sugar, and a bowl of sliced lemon wedges at the other end. If you have brewed several types of tea for the party, you'll want to have a small card set out in front of each carafe to indicate the blend.

8. Decorate with vases of fresh cut or silk flowers. Use smaller vases if your guests are going to be seated at tables so that they won't have trouble seeing one another while they chat.

9. Play classical music softly in the background throughout the tea.

10. Replenish items as they start to run out. Do so by discreetly removing the platter and taking it into the kitchen.

Tips & Warnings

• Planning a bridal shower or a baby shower? Hosting a tea is a lovely departure from the norm.

• If you don't have enough tea cups of your own (and if you don't have a mum or aunt who will let your borrow hers), you can incorporate this absence into the wording of your invitation and ask each guest to bring her own favorite tea cup and saucer. If it has an interesting story behind it, all the better.

• In larger cities, you may be able to find a party rental service that has all of the china, silver and serving platters you need.

• Unless your tea party is specifically a mother and daughter event, gently dissuade your guests from bringing their children (especially toddlers). Not only will the screaming and running around disrupt a perfectly tranquil afternoon but you are also running the risk of them scalding themselves with hot tea or grabbing the end of the tablecloth and sending all of your beautiful china crashing to the floor.

• If you have automatic sprinklers, make sure that they're not slated to go off while you and your guests are sipping tea out on the lawn.

Resources

• Victorian Trading Company
• Tea Muse
• Tea Party Girl
• Tea Time Traditions