Tea Time Ideas
Source of Recipe
By Tamera Bastiaans
Recipe Link: seedsofknowledge.com List of Ingredients
Special Tea Cup Tea
Have guests bring their favorite tea cup or one with a special story behind it. Take time during the tea to have each person share their special cup or a special tea time memory. This one takes some preparation on the part of the hostess though. If the guests don't regularly drink tea, they will often come with a coffee mug, or won't bring one at all. The hostess should have some of her tea cups available and let the guest pick one they like. If they felt so inclined, the guest could tell why they picked it or just appreciate the stories that others tell.
Nursery Tea
My sister and I loved to have tea with our grandma. She had a wonderful little miniature tea set with plates, knives and forks. We never drank actual tea of course, we just had apple juice or milk with cookies, cinnamon toast, banana slices, and little tarts. It really didn't matter what we had, we just had so much fun playing "tea"! If you are having a nursery tea with children, you must make a point of reading the wonderful book Tea Time with Emma Buttersnap by Lindsey Tate. It is a wonderfully simple tale of little Emma learning the history and wonders of "tea time" from her Aunt Pru. It also has some cute ideas for giving a tea and getting the little ones involved right from the beginning.
Garden/Picnic Tea
The Victorians loved picnics because of the wonderful chance to get away from the formal withdrawing rooms and stiff social demands of high society. Picnics were usually more casual and included games, walks, stories and musical performances. Set up tables in the garden and serve tea. You could even combine this with a hat tea. In the summer, it was quite acceptable to serve sorbet and lemonade at an outside tea!
Color Tea
Apricot/Cream Tea: everything from napkins, table cloths, flowers, to cakes, cookies, scones, jam, and tea is either apricot and cream flavor or color. You could also try lemon/cream, lavender/cream, rose/cream, peaches/cream, strawberries/cream, orange/cream, pumpkin/cream, blueberries/cream.
Shape Theme Tea
Pick a shape and serve everything you can in that shape: hearts, tea pots, Christmas trees, stars, leaves, squares, circles, flowers. Cookie cutters come in so many fun shapes and sizes that there is no limit to the themes. Use them to cut your sandwiches, cookies, cookie bars, and scones. There are even candy molds, cookie molds and cookie presses as well as specialty spring form pans and cake pans.
Mother/Son or Mother/Daughter Tea
I once read an anecdote about a woman and her friends who all had sons. Once a year they would get together and have a mother/son dinner. It was a very formal affair and all dressed appropriately, treated one another with kindness and courtesy (what a wonderful way to enhance "good manners!") and at the end of the meal, each young man would share something, a poem, story, or musical piece. A mother/son or mother/daughter tea would be a wonderful time to bring young people together and to remind them of the everyday courtesies and manners we should bestow on one another in our own families, and to see other young people sharing in the same experience.
Tea Break
Just for the fun of it, why not bring tea to the office or a meeting and have a tea break instead of a coffee break? Pack a basket with sandwiches, scones, cookies and fruit. Don't forget your tea pot and tea! Surprise everyone with a special break from the ordinary!
Cake Tea
Have everyone bring a different cake and display them on different levels on the buffet table.
Cookie Tea
Same idea as the cakes tea, but with cookies.
Hat Tea
Have everyone wear a hat! Why not add gloves for some extra fun (just be sure to remove them before shaking hands, eating or drinking.)
Reason to have Tea (as if we really needed one!)
Birthdays, anniversaries, housewarmings, bridal showers, baby showers, engagement parties, wedding reception, introductions, visitations.
Recipe
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