Tea party - a lovely way to spend an afternoon
This is another party idea that is fun,
somewhat unusual, and, although it requires some prep work, it's a
party that, as the hostess, you can actually sit down and enjoy.
This tea party was on a larger scale--a bridal shower that served
14, however, all of these ideas could be modified a bit and make
for a fun ladies social of any size, large or
small.
The prep work:
All of the food for this can be made in
advance. My menu consisted of cucumber sandwiches, two kinds of
spiral tea sandwiches (that I cheated and bought pre-made), caprice
salad skewers, melon and grape salad skewers, mini quiche (also
pre-made),
high tea lemon
cookies, iced sugar cookie cut-outs and
chocolate cup cakes.
Tip: Skewering fruits
and vegetables is a great way to serve them on a buffet or for a
cocktail party. The presentation is lovely and there is no need for
extra bowls or plates to accommodate
salads.
Some
Recipes:
Cucumber
Sandwiches
1 large cucumber, striped and thinly
sliced
1 package of sm round sesame crackers - I
used Sesmark Sesame Thins
1 small tub of vegetable cream
cheese
Dill
Using a pastry bag and a large tip, pipe cream cheese onto
crackers. Top with cucumber slice and a pinch of
dill.
Caprice Salad Skewers
1 pint of grape tomatoes
1 small ball of fresh mozzarella
Fresh basil leaves
2 T extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
25-30 small bamboo cocktail skewers
Cube mozzarella. Skewer a grape tomato, mozzarella cube, basil leaf
and cap with another tomato. Drizzle olive oil over completed
skewers. Salt and pepper to taste.
Tea Time:
When guests arrived, we started with something cold to drink and a
little time to mingle while everyone arrived. I served a light
sparkling pomegranate wine and flavored sodas. I used a 'cold
drinks' galvanized tub on ice and cocktail sized clear plastic
cups, with cute cocktail napkins and soda straws on hand, so guests
could help themselves.
When the teas were hot and on the table, guest were called to find
their seats. Place cards explained party game instructions.
Envelopes held cards explaining the rules of "don't say Cute". Each
place card also had a paper flower clip (Martha Stewart adhesive
paper flowers stuck to mini wooden cloths pins). Each guest clipped
the flower to her clothing and if another guest heard you say the
word "cute" she could take your flower clip. The guest with the
most flowers after the bride finished opening gifts won a door
prize (an ceramic planter that looked like a giant tea cup, filled
with white paper shred, wrapped in a cello gift basket bag and tied
with a polka-dot ribbon).
Once the game began, guests helped themselves to tea and
snacks!
TIP: Set a lovely table and don't be afraid to break out the
finery. I used several sets of heirloom china mixed in with some of
my every day dishes and three different tea pots for serving. I
actually prefer the look of a table set with mismatched china
(which is good since that is all I have for any more than four).
Mixed and matched china can give your table an air of whimsy and
feel fun, like the Mad Hatters' Tea Party.
Detail Downloads
I used these adorable free clip art downloads from the graphics art
fairy, the place cards, buffet iables and favor tags. Don't you
just love?
This entry was written by
amy,
posted on
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
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