Autumn Tea Party for Girls
Planning a Fall Tea
Girls love tea parties. At-home get-togethers are coming back in style. Plan a lovely party with your friends. How do you have a tea party? A real one, not a child’s playtime, but a real chance to entertain.
Planning The Tea
A first step is to brainstorm. What do you hope your party will be like? How will the table and room be decorated? What dishes, tablecloth, and centerpiece will you use? Do you want candles? Tapers? Floating candles? Tea lights?
Will you use flowers? What kind? How many? What vases and arrangements? Tablecloth or placemats? Looking at decorating magazines may help you come up with ideas.
Plan your invitations, decorations, food, and entertainment around the season or a theme. Decide on the feel you want--elegant, chic , formal, playful, casual, or cozy.
Sending Invitations
Decide who you will invite and send the invitations out one to three weeks before the party.
Head the invitation with a line like, “You are hereby cordially invited to an autumn tea party!”
Be sure to include date, time, address and phone number to call to RSVP.
Let guests know how they should dress: casual, fancy, or thematic.
The Decorations
What flowers are available? Zinnias are bright and colorful fall flowers. One chrysanthemum plant may yield many perky bouquets arranged in small glass bottles or decoated tin cans.
If there are flowers in your garden, use some of them.
Fill vases with autumn leaves. Dry grasses and plants can make beautiful arrangements. Use pine cones, pine needles, ivy, holly, or mosses to make centerpieces.
Cut the top off a gourd or a pumpkin, hull out the seeds, and insert a jar to use as a vase.
Choose the dishes, napkins, silverware, candles, and table cloth. The centerpiece and candles must not be so tall they interfere with your guests’ view of one another.
White paper doilies add a Victorian touch.
The Food
Plan seasonal foods, like apple muffins, pumpkin bread, spice cake, cinnamon rolls, or spicy molasses cookies. Choose some favorites and add some surprises. Serve nuts or a plate of fruit slices to balance sweets.
If your guests don't prefer teas, consider serving mulled cider or spiced orange tea. Provide a selection of flavored teas in a pretty dish or basket.
Heat water in a large pan before the party and pour it hot into tea pots as needed. Check thrift stores for used teapots. A coffee carafe works.
Honey straws, honey spoons, or sugar cubes are options to the sugar bowl.
The Entertainment
Allow your guests to spend most of the time at the table sipping tea and visiting. Steer conversation to interesting subject matter. Keep music low, light and airy--mood music is what you are looking for.
Lead your quests in playing games, reading poetry, singing, or making a craft. For example: Buy some old lacey handkerchiefs and tarnished silver spoons at an antique store. Lay the handkerchiefs flat. Place the spoon in the center of the cloth. Add potpourri to the spoon. Gather the edges of the hanky around the handle and tie with ribbon. These Victorian sachets are beautiful keepsakes for your guests.
Providing a door prize such as a box of tea, candy, flowers, or a book about friendship adds fun.
Your tea party will be a time to remember for your guests if you plan carefully, send invitations, decorate creatively, and serve yummy food.
Tea Party Table
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