Posts filed under 'Children's Tea Party'
My own personal reference librarian, my mother of Teaching Tea, pointed me to a child’s tea set the company confirms is safe for use. With so many toy recalls this year, and the stores filled with so many items, “Made in China”, it can be difficult to know you’re making a wise choice.
Thanks to three safety tests listed ‘passed’ on the packaging, and a follow-up phone call to the company, choosing a Schylling tea set
is your best bet for holiday shopping. They are “Made in China”, but the Massachusetts family-run business vouches for their safety.
With lots of darling sets to choose from, I’m sure you’ll find one for the little girl or boy in your life.
November 19th, 2007
Children delight in the tea party. They fill their plastic tea sets with tap water, throw a few goldfish crackers on the plates, and invite every friend and animal (stuffed or not) to the event. My favorite part of those early tea parties with my children included trying to fit in the little chairs they provided!
Therefore, it’s not surprising that many of my new visitors to Tea Party Girl are looking for information to throw their children a “real” tea party. It’s a favorite theme for birthday parties and the holidays are a particularly special time for such an event. Paired with a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker and a pair of patent leather shoes, the children’s holiday tea party can transport any tomboy or girl to The Kingdom of Sweets.
The secret to the child’s tea party is to keep it simple. This is Tea Party Girl’s advice. Keep it small (eight guests is plenty!) and consider age appropriateness. My daughter’s first tea party with guests her age took place when she was four. Even then, some mothers stayed one-on-one with their child while the little ones navigated tea, sugar, milk, and chocolate-covered strawberries.
Personally, I think 6-9 year-olds are the best age group to introduce to the tea party, especially with a group of their peers. You can offer it to a younger crowd, of course, but be prepared for the attention-span to be short. You might be surprised how little time they actually sit down to tea!
The highlights of the tea party for children are:
- what they wear.
- what they eat.
- what they drink out of.
Stick to the highlights. Especially if the crowd is younger, you will need to plan some crafts and activities. The best option is to pair a craft with what they wear. Teddy Bears and Tea Cups on Balboa Island in California, for example, provides beads and pipe-cleaners to give the girls a chance to make bracelets and necklaces. At my daughter’s tea parties, we’ve decorated hats the girls then wore. Encourage the guests to wear their favorite dress-up clothes or party dresses, depending on what you plan to do. Or raid your local thrift store for all sparkly, gauzy, or “poofy” accessories like scarves or boas.
If your guests DO wear their best party dresses, you may want to skip the chocolate-covered strawberries. Instead, think small, simple (and pink!). Make the food petite such as:
- small sandwiches cut with cookie cutters
- petit-four cakes
- tiny ice cream scoops rolled in sprinkles
- little colorful candies in little baking cups
- mini muffins or tarts
A simple touch includes adding garnishes of fresh flowers and fruit. Keep it small! Fix up a plate for each child with these special nibbles ahead of time. Then they won’t have to reach for anything, minimizing spills.
Finally, I recommend providing children real plates, teacups, and linens. Expose their senses to beauty and move beyond the practicality of plastic and paper tableware. They will love drinking from real teacups. (And with enough cream and sugar, real tea!). Go ahead and add the beauty of beautiful classical music from Mozart or Bach. It’s amazing how much children respond to real art and beauty. Often the dumb-downed version is just excess noise.
Providing tea parties for children can also be a lucrative business and niche in the tea culture. Many local tea rooms provide this service or can recommend someone who does. If you are involved in a children’s tea party related business, would you leave a comment and tell us about it? (One of you did a few days ago, and for some reason I can’t find your info. Please feel free to leave it again). What would be your one piece of advice for someone throwing a tea party for children?
And if you still have questions after reading this post about the children’s tea party, please feel free to ask it in the comments as well.
Anyone hosting a holiday tea for children this year?
November 15th, 2007
Children, boys and girls alike, enjoy the tea party. The window to capture their hearts on beauty and etiquette is actually quite small, between six and ten years old. My eleven-year old boy is still going strong because I started him young. My friends and I hold tea parties for our children once a year. We invite their friends, choose a theme, and teach our children how to serve as hosts. We usually hold them in the early spring before the weather breaks because it gives us all something to look forward to while we wait for the end of the gray days. Here’s a picture from our event last year. Recognize the young Mr. Darcy?
A children’s tea party is an appropriate, fun setting to teach a few etiquette tips. Children want to learn and etiquette doesn’t come naturally. I usually keep the lesson short if I make them wait before beginning to eat and drink. If I want the lesson to go a little longer, say 20 minutes, I allow them to eat and drink while I interact with them.
Here are three simple etiquette tips you can share with the children at the very beginning of the tea party.
- Teach the children to find their seats and stand behind their chairs. This allows everyone time to gather and teaches the children to wait for others. Once the assigned host pulls out his or her chair to be seated, the others follow.
- Teach the children to pull their chairs all the way out so they clear the tablecloth when sitting and not pull it into their laps! Tell them to enter on the left. Ask them why. They’re smart enough. They’ll tell you its so they don’t bump into each other.
- Teach them to place their napkin on their lap.
After everyone is seated, invite your child host to welcome her guests. She knows about this ahead of time. Sometimes they choose to say a simple grace or just a short welcome to their friends.
Next, take a few minutes to help children know how to handle their teacups. Children especially love to fill their tea (and I do recommend you serve the real thing!) with cream and sugar. It’s good to provide them with a few guidelines.
Hold up a teacup and spoon to demonstrate. Show them how to stir tea without clinking the inside of the cup. Ask them, “Do we shake the drips off our spoon by loudly tapping the side of our cup with it” No! “Do we lick or drink our tea off our spoon?” No! “Do we slurp our tea?” No! Why not?
Because we want our event to be enjoyable for everyone and when we pay attention to these details it shows we are thinking of others over ourselves. (They probably won’t know this answer off the top of their heads. Most adults don’t either :-). )
It’s also a good idea to teach them to limit their sugar to only a lump or two per cup!
Other areas of etiquette you can take time to teach include how to pass plates (right to left, don’t help yourself first!), where to place your arms (in your lap if you’re not eating, not laying all over the table), and what not to talk about (like body functions, including animals! Can you tell I’m the mother of boys in a rural community?).
Ideally, children would grow up understanding that etiquette teaches them to think of others before themselves. The goal is not for them to become overly self-conscious, but gracious. While many manners of children need to be taught regularly, a tea party provides them great incentive for practice. And by all means, once the lessons are over, let them eat cake!
October 22nd, 2007
“My question would be when throwing a tea party how do you best accommodate those that favor decaf over traditional teas? I love to include children at my teas, but prefer to offer them a decaf tea due to their ages. How can I accomplish this without making it obvious that the grownups are enjoying different varieties?”-Pam (no url)
Pam, I don’t think you need to worry about children knowing they’re drinking something different. In my article, The Definition of a Tea vs. a Tisane, I explain why I recommend brewing two pots of tea for each party, one with caffeine and one without.
Personally, I do not worry about the caffeine in tea for myself or my children. It’s important to know, first of all, that the amount of caffeine in a cup of black tea is one-third the amount in an equal cup of coffee. When I serve black tea to children, I also provide them with milk and sugar. They see it as a treat. By the time they add the milk and sugar, and often don’t finish the cup, the amount of caffeine they end up consuming is negligible.
“What is the best cookie or such to serve with your tea?”–Tasha (no url)
I’m sure, Tasha, that we could gather as many opinions on your question as there are cookie choices. I can give you Tea Party Girl’s perspective, however:Make your calories count and only eat what you really love. Homemade cookies are the best choice for making the calories worth it unless you live by an exceptional bakery. If the cookie’s large, break it in half and save the rest for later. Don’t sweeten your tea, but let the sweetness of the cookie suffice. And always make sure you are sitting down and really enjoying it. No standing in the kitchen allowed!
“How do I serve the tea and make sure it stays warm?”-Becca (no url)
Becca, this is a great question. Even decent restaurants rarely provide decent cups of hot tea because they find it tricky.
There are a number of ways to keep tea nice and hot. I recommend the following in the order of effectiveness:
Be sure to warm your teapot before brewing by filling it with piping hot tap water or swishing it with some of the boiling water from your kettle. Water from a coffeemaker does not get hot enough. One doesn’t want to use their coffee accessories to brew or store tea, anyway, unless you clean it thoroughly with baking soda first. The strength of coffee’s pungency will ruin the taste of your tea.
If anyone else would like to add their number one tea party question, please feel free to leave it in the comments. I will get through all of them!
August 7th, 2007
My friend, Lady Dawnya, over at Tea Business Dreams posted this week about the Faerie Tea Party. If you need an idea for a Children’s Tea Party she has great ideas for activities, decorations, and invitations. She is also a respecter of the Tea Party’s Most Important Ingredient as well, and has continued the theme to the ‘tea’. Be sure to stop by and check it out. Let her know, too, with a comment if you find the information helpful. I know she’d love to hear from you!
There is also a book, How to Host a Flower Fairy Tea Party, I came across the other day that would be helpful. My six-year old daughter absolutely loves the Flower Fairies. I love the classic illustrations and poetry, as well as the way it teaches my daughter the names of the different flowers.
May you have some time this weekend to lose yourself in the bounty of summer flowers over a cup of tea. Be sure to spend a few minutes imagining the flower fairies dancing and skipping amongst their beauty. When I do, I thank our Creator for the gift of the imagination and the children He gave me to help me remember…
July 20th, 2007
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