Depending on where you live, tea might be heavily involved in your culture. In many places of Asia and the United Kingdom, although different, tea is heavily present in their society, to the point of being shared to guests whenever they are present in any household.
Some of the social connotations of the drink have been lost over the years, since back in the day tea was something considered a high-quality product that was only available for the wealthy.
This, of course, changed over the years, since there was a point in time where most people could afford to hold such events. Right now, it can be enjoyed by most people, and the idea of holding a tea party is still present in many cultures as well.
Although the idea of parties involving it vary greatly depending on the culture we are talking about, the mainstream idea of it tends to be heavily connected to the British nature of the event. Over at Tea Party is a good example of how they usually were.
Scenes portrayed in many pieces of media, such as the old but recognizable movie Alice in Wonderland, are a good example of what people usually think about when we talk about tea parties.
Wanting to host such an event often involves either entertaining important people in our line of work or business, or just celebrating something special, like a graduation, a birthday, or a reunion between long-lasting friends.
Whatever the case is, wanting to host a tea party, especially if it is your first time doing it, can be a rather exciting yet intimidating experience, but we are here to teach you the basics on how to do it!
The Furniture and Decoration
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A lot of people usually relate the idea of a tea party with very fancy furniture and expensive decoration. Although this is true to a certain extent, you can always be as flexible as you want about it.
Things do differ when you are aiming to entertain a very important guest, however, since you want to make sure you are impressing them as much as possible, thus, you should act depending on the situation.
Even then, you will surely need a certain amount of furniture for the occasion. A table based on the number of guests as well as an appropriate number of chairs goes a long way, and I have seen people adding smaller tables for things like spoons and sugar too. Over at Watson’s you can get more examples of furniture sets you can get for a reasonable tea party, in case you are interested!
Decoration is another thing to consider as well. When it comes to these parties, decoration involves using flowers, jewelry, and nice supplies such as pots, cups, small plates, tablecloths, and napkins. Some music might also come in handy as well, especially if it suits the event and the guests you are having over!
Supplies and Goods
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There can’t possibly be a tea party without buying the tea, so make sure to stock up with enough of this amazing supply for all guests and try to have multiple choices to pick from so people can have different choices during it.
Besides tea, you want to get your hands on other things as well. Sugar, vanilla, honey, lemons, milk, hot water, and some coffee can make a huge difference for a lot of people, especially considering how much flavor these can add!
Snacks are as Important
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Another thing that is often considered essential for this type of event, just like many other events, is food. In this case, we should call them snacks, however, since they are not meant to fill people’s bellies, but to reset their palates, to enhance the flavor of the beverages they drink, or to have their flavors enhanced by them.
It’s like when you soak a sweet biscuit in coffee! It tends to taste a lot better, thus, you want to have something similar for all your guests. Snacks on tea parties, though, tend to be rather fancy, unique, or extravagant, or all adjectives combined, so researching a little bit on the matter goes a long way.
You have a wide range of options to pick from depending on your tastes and your guests’. What people usually go for the occasion, though, include things like:
- Double-lemon scones
- Curried-egg sandwiches
- Blueberry muffins
- Sweet potato biscuits
- Cucumber and avocado sandwiches
- Mini fruit tarts
- Cupcakes
- Battenberg cakes
- Brownies
- Chicken or meat pies
If you can, try to have a solid variation of sweet food and salty, savory food, so everyone has something to pick, and so your guests have some variation on what to eat as well. Too much sweet, or too much salty food, is never a good thing. If you can, try to have enough for everybody, but never go too overboard as well. A healthy balance of having enough for everyone, with a little more just in case, is often the best approach!
