Throw a Pint-Sized Tea Party

By Bonnie Owens on February 12th, 2009

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There are few things in life that are more fun or relaxing than tea time. Every time I walk past a tea house, I get visions of butterfly cups and english scones and am drawn to their door. I am stopped, however, by the vision of my sons pulling down their tablecloths and breaking their china. Tea is usually reserved for little girls, but my boys love it too. And they are surprisingly reserved with a full spread in front of them. I think that they enjoy pretending to be an adult( although, I am not brave enough to test this out on $500 china). But just because you can’t take them to a fancy tea house, doesn’t mean that you can’t throw them their own fabulous little tea party. It is fun, economical and an event your guests will not soon forget.

First, you will need dishes to serve your tea. You can buy a kid’s size tea set that is made of melamine or other plastic. If your party is predominately boys, you can get more of a boyish themed set like Thomas the Train or Curious George.

Next comes your menu. You won’t need much. Most kids are so excited to doctor up their tea that they forget about the food. But to keep their hunger at bay, you should have a few things to nibble on. You know your little one’s taste buds. Cater to what they like. And if you are going for a theme, this is a great place to tie it in with food coloring or cookie cutter shapes. Here are a few ideas:

Strawberry and cream cheese sandwiches. A cute idea is to spread the bottom piece of bread with cream cheese(flavored or plain) and cover that with slices of strawberries. Then use a cookie cutter to cut out a shape in the middle of the top piece of bread before placing it on top of the strawberries.
Cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches
Fruity scones with a sugar glaze
Shortbread cookies or jam thumbprint cookies
Mini muffins or cupcakes.

For the tea, I would stick to mostly fruit flavored ones. That seems to be what kids prefer. As a bonus, most of them are free of caffeine. Be sure to set out lots of cream and sugar. To avoid spills, it is a good idea to downsize your condiments. Sugar cube are great because they won’t get sprinkled all over like regular granulated sugar. You can also pipe them with royal frosting for a little added decoration. Small, prepackaged creamers are another spill saver. My kids love the ones by International Delight that come in many different colors and flavors.

Decorations can also be kept low key. Just cover a couple of card tables with some pretty tableclothes. Pull out some folding chairs and tie some wide ribbon around the backs. Set the place settings with doilies. You can also scater flower petals, fake gemstones or anything else that completes your theme around the table.

A nice added touch is to hand out a gift bag for each guest with a few tea bags, decorated sugar cubes, creamers, a doilie and a pretty tea spoon.