Afternoon tea. You don’t have to be British and you don’t have to be a six-year-old girl to have fun with this idea. Hosting an afternoon tea is a sweet way to let your girlfriends know you appreciate them.

I hosted my first tea party (as an adult) a couple of years ago. Most of my guests had never been to a tea party before! I wanted them to enjoy a couple of hours of feeling feminine and fancy, while eating some decadent treats and connecting with each other as we talked. We all had a wonderful time and I’m looking forward to doing it again.

I’m here to encourage you to try hosting your own tea party! With a little ingenuity and creativity you can make this happen.

For a tea party, you’re going to want to pull together some pretty dishes and linens. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to make this happen. I did not have a matching tea set for eight when I sent out the invites for my party, so I went to the thrift shops and found a lot of pretty teacups and saucers that I mixed and matched.

Pinterest was a great source of inspiration as I planned how I wanted my table to look. I loved the look of chargers under the plates, plus I wanted to add some color, since my salad plates were clear glass. My inexpensive solution was to use a piece of scrapbook paper under each place setting.

Pink flower shaped hair-pins served as both a decoration at each place setting and as a take-home party favor for each guest.

The menu for a traditional tea party always includes 3 courses (often served on three tier trays).

Those courses are:

1. Savory: small tea sandwiches, always with the crust removed, cut into small rectangles and triangles. Egg salad, Chicken Curry Salad, Ham and Cheese, Cucumber, etc..

2. Scones with clotted or Devonshire cream and jam

3. Sweets: fruit, chocolates, macaroons…

And, of course, there’s tea!

Like I mentioned last week, my hosting philosophy is to always choose a couple of things to make from scratch and supplement with store bought for the rest. Make what you can ahead of time so you don’t feel rushed.

The sandwich fillings can be made ahead of time (but don’t put it on the bread until the last minute to avoid soggy bread).

A basic scone recipe is easy to find but my top recommendation is the Fisher Original Fair Scone mix. They’re the best!

Macaroons are a special treat to add to the final course. I usually find those at Costco or Trader Joes.

Don’t forget to have some fresh flowers as part of your décor! Next week, I’ll be talking some more about flower arranging.

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What about you? When is the last time you went to a tea party? Or have you, ever?

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