A little girl in a red feathered hat and a pink boa pulls on smooth white gloves that go to her shoulders. “We’ve had such lovely weather, haven’t we?” She grabs a pink teapot and pours the imaginary tea into a cup with cut-out handles to keep the ever-steady stream of such hairy conversation going. At the low table he smiles at each of the guests: Ursa, the best girl he ever had, Zippy, the monkey, who always tried his patience with his antics, and Louie, the sweet baby elephant, stole the gift from the shop. The zoo animals sit around the table mesmerized. In the quaint scene of the boys pretending to have tea with all their friends, it brings smiles to faces and fond memories of another time. Tea, tea parties, taking tea upstairs conjures up images of formality and more polite customs from a bygone age. However, tea has made a resounding comeback with teahouses, teashops, and once again people sharing tea with friends and family. Every girl loves a tea party. Bring the child’s imagination into reality; Throw a Birthday Tea Party for your girl with frills galore.
Theme: Think of a theme to base the Christmas Tea Party around. Consider the time of year of your child’s birthday and what may be tied into it. Spring is a wonderful time for tea parties with flowers blooming everywhere, animals giving birth, and everything magical about this time of year comes into full view. Purpose: The average Tea Party would incorporate all things beautiful and small. Daffy Down Dilly Tea Party nods to daffodils and gives the color yellow. Summer brings ideas around the theme of water, such as Tea on the Beach, which requires a formal tea, but the possibilities are endless. A Peter Rabbit Tea will also charm Mr. McGregor. A December birthday theme would be Tea and the Sugar Plum Fairy, picking up ideas from the Nutcracker. I will use Tisket, Tasket A Green and Yellow Basket for my theme. That phrase alone gives me a treasure trove of ideas to use for the party.
Invitations: You’ll want to send out invitations at least three weeks before the party. It is recommended that children’s party invitations be mailed or delivered at home rather than hand delivered at school. Be aware of all the children’s feelings when it comes to parties and other festivities. You can make simple invitations or buy a pack of note cards, blank on the inside that ties in with the theme. A simple invitation for the theme of Tisket, Green Tasket and Crocus basket includes: buying small, cheap bags; yellow, star, green grass, satin ribbon; purple tissue paper and a few sheets of white stationery. Decorate the basket with ribbon wrapped in loops or tied with a bow. Match all three colors of ribbon for each bead. Place a square of purple cloth on the card; tie it around to form a bowl. Cut the station so it will fit inside the wrapped basket. Write or type in each of the stationary squares: A Tisket, Green Tasket and Crocus Basket Tea Party will be held in honor of Janie Doe on May 3, 2006 from 3 to 4:30 pm. Donate your favorite stuffed animal to join Janie’s 5th birthday celebration! Unroll the invitation and tie a ribbon bow around it. Place the invitation in the basket. You can add a variety of things to the basket such as silk violets or pansies. A live Johnny Jump-Up plant wrapped in plastic and fabric should look sweet in a basket. A piece of candy or cookie gives a sign of sweets to come. These invitations should be delivered to the home of each child invited.
Decorations: decorations depend on where you are having the party. If you have a beautiful spot outside, and it’s warm enough, keep the decorations simple. If you’re inside and want to add a festive touch like flags, fish, and create a garden-like atmosphere, you need lots of decorations. I like to keep it simple with the idea that less is more. A green, purple, and yellow balloon flower tied to each child’s back with satin ribbon makes the room or area outside smile. Remember this tea is not just a birthday party. For the centers they fill the baskets with violets, daffodils, green mosses, and the smallest toys, such as children’s teacups and small dishes and straws. Make sure there is a toy for each child sitting at the table. A white table with colored maps and plates that go along with the theme will look great. If you are not afraid of breaking something, you can always use bikes. You can make the tea party as informal or formal as you like. We are just remembering these children who will have tea. Set a table of gifts with a basket to capture the birthday.
Menu: Traditional tea usually consists of sweets, scones and sweets. The flavors are diminutive sandwiches or crackers with a variety of toppings. Small snacks could be placed under the filling. Scones are rich breads filled with Devon cream, clotted cream, lemon butter, jams or juice. Sweets in teahouses can be cookies, pies, cakes, brownies, soups, any kind of dessert. For the Tisket, the Tasket Green and Crocus Basket Tea Party is a mini sandwich made from thinly spread peanut butter and grape jelly cut into triangles with the slices cut off. Flower-shaped sandwich using egg salad as a spread. The scones will be served with lemon butter and whipped cream along with four petit fours decorated like little fiddleheads with violets and a bumblebee on top. A traditional birthday cake will also be served and decorated with gifts placed on the table. Pink tea and Vanilla milk tea will complete the menu.
Recipe: Recipes and suggestions –
Pink Tea: Make strawberry or pink lemonade.
Vanilla Milk Tea: Yields 4 to 5 cups
1 cup of milk
1 2-ounce piece of vanilla bean, alum
4 teaspoons English breakfast tea
1 quart of boiling water
Pour the milk into a saucepan, add the vanilla bean, and bring to a boil to stir frequently. Remove from the pan from the heat and let stand until the milk is cool. remove the beans
Simple teacup and teacup with hot water. Drain and dry. Put the tea leaves in a bowl and add the boiling water. Cover with a tea towel or warm and steep for 5 minutes.
Pour a glass of chilled milk into a teacup.
Stir and strain the tea into hot glasses. Serve immediately.
– Recipe from Amenity Tea (p 47
To taste: use sliced Pepperidge Firm bread thinly sliced. This is the heart of the bread, which supports well formed. Cut off the crusts.
For Spread peanut butter and jelly on one side of the bread. Spread another slice of bread on the jelly.
Egg Salad: Make or buy your favorite egg dish. Cut a flower shape out of thinly sliced bread with a dromon cookie, spread egg salad, leave the center open, but add a little dill or chopped dill.
Other suggestions for sandwich fillings: Milk or savory cheese, fish or chicken salad, thinly sliced ham or turkey.You made one sandwich by covering it with damp paper towels and wrapping it in plastic wrap.
Sweet Lemon Scones
2 cups whole wheat br> teaspoon salt < br> 4 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons butter
1 8-ounce carton low fat lemon yogurt
2 eggs separated
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel < br> 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Preheat the oven to 425o Stir the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder. Using a heavy-duty pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in lemon yogurt, egg yolks, and lemon zest. Add the flour mixture and stir lightly with a fork. Add the cream 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough starts to clump together. Gather the flour on a lightly floured surface and sprinkle it three or four times, or until it holds the flour. (Do not overwork!) Pat the dough into a rectangle about an inch thick and cut a 2-inch round cookie cutter. Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush the tops with egg white. Bake for 10 minutes or until light brown. Serve hot. Makes about 16 scones. Make smaller portions than recommended in the recipe keeping in mind the appetite of the little ones. Adjust the baking time according to the size.
The scones can be cooled before baking. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer until firm, then place in a plastic bag and keep frozen until ready to bake. Add a few extra minutes to the baking time.
Serve with Devonshire or clotted cream with the scones. You can find these items, along with lemon butter, in specialty stores and some supermarkets. The following is the recipe for Devon Milk for Mock:
cup heavy cream or 8 ounces softened milk
2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
cup sour cream
In a chilled bowl, whip the cream until medium-high peaks They form a stiff dough by adding sugar during the last few minutes of beating. (If you are using cream cheese, just stir in the sugar.) Fold in the sour cream and mix. Makes cups 1 .
– Recipes from If Teacups Could Talk by Emilie Barnes (p 23 & 65
Sweets: Weave a petulant ornament in a basket with violets, green leaves, and a bumblebee on top. I’m also considering buying the boxes I’m asking for four it would be appropriate for the children to take them home. Bring out the traditional birthday cake of your choice with great fanfare, blow out your little candles and serve a piece to all the guests. .If small tables can seat two children, that would be great.Set the table with a basket in the middle, but leave a loose spread of sandwiches, scones, and cream. Ask your friends, parents, and grandparents if they have “dressy” clothes you’d like to get rid of. . Each child was asked to bring a stuffed friend. If there is time, they each introduce their “friend” and tell a story about him.
Tea Party with friends is a great pleasure, yes. Even if those friends are five and six years old, or they are covered in theft and filled with rags. Just remember to think well and have fun in preparing and in the party itself.
