This has been such an interesting topic, ladies. I love seeing all the lovely photos and reading the great contributions for tea party ideas. Can't wait to see what other clever ideas come up! THANK YOU for starting this GREAT topic, Lavender Lass! :)

Great to see another thread posted, as the other tea party thread was getting so long......

Can't wait to set up a tea party in my garden, just as soon as the weather warms and the roses begin to bloom! I'll be posting more photos then...

Hurry up spring!!

Becky

lavender,

Be prepared with various kid activities because kids will not sit down for tea party for long. I've gone through too many birthday parties and more coming, to know just how active kids are.

For adults, I've always thought of scattering wicker chairs or other comfortable arm chairs about, with small side tables to be shared by two or three of them, and drape the tables in vintage tablecloths. You could place small vases of flowers on each, just make sure there is room to sit down a cup and plate.

Perhaps one long table as a buffet, with the teapots and pots of hot water, baskets of tea bags (unless there is a small enough group that loose tea can be brewed), of course the sugar, tongs, lemon wedges and other accoutrements.

If you have a nice lawn, I still love the idea of croquet.

I just read the other tea thread and I'm delighted you've continued the discussion. I wasn't ready to stop talking tea.

My British born, Texas raised friend is coming to tea tomorrow afternoon. She brings the tea leaves and does the brewing, since she is picky. ;0) I'm making scones. If the weather cooperates we'll sit outside. Hurry, spring, hurry. Inspired by these threads, I'm going to get my pretty Scottish thistle tea set off the shelf.

She and I started having tea together when we both lived in Belgium. Ours husbands worked for the same company and our sons became best buds. Precious friends.

I know my dh loves me because he took me to Betty's in York, England when we visited many years ago. Betty's does fancy 'high' teas. We parked our teenage boys at Pizza Hut around the corner first. lol He and I had a lovely hour or so over sandwiches, tasty desserts, and cups of tea. Sigh.

At a church tea once, we had everyone bring a special cup. the 'entertainment' was for everyone to tell the story or reason they brought that particular cup. Some very fun and very sweet stories.

Hi Ladies!

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LL, the Peter Rabbit Tea sounds so quaint and wonderful! Certainly NOT for children only!! May I come? I'll bring a basketful of scones..

Schoolhouse, the wicker chairs and vintage cloths sounds right up my alley -- I can picture this setting in your lovely secret garden surrounded by lcuh cool greeness adn the twittering of birds. Save a seat for me, please, and I'll be right over with some tea and fresh squeezed lemonade!

Happy, living in Belgium and the tea treat from yor hubby in England sound wonderful! Lucky you! I miss the certain quaint charms of living in a foreign country.

I was born in Germany, and lived there as a child and even went to a German kindergarten! We lived there as newlyweds, too.Loved it and miss some things dearly.

Although coffee is more the beverage of choice in Germany,rather than tea, my grandmother made a lovely rosehip tea with lemon and honey that we drank together in the evenings in front of the television set. It's more typical to have an afternoon coffee hour, whilst enjoying any variety of the delicious bakery German tortes, served with coffee and heavenly dollops of schlagshane (whipped cream)! Ah the memories...

The cup idea at your church sounds like fun! I can imagine some of the stories behind each cup. Would love that!! Any pics?

Becky

Biggest hit at my last year garden Tea was a glass pitcher of water filled with fresh fruits. People drank more water than tea *lol* It was too pretty to pass up.

Becky, I also grew up in Germany as a child. The most magical years of my life. I miss the chimney sweepers and the real Gummi bears.

I've only had adult tea parties altho do serve tea to the DGD's. They drink real tea altho I don't make it very strong. IMO it's healthier than colas and few people think twice about giving those to children.

Some things I've served at tea parties are: several pots of different flavors of tea as well as plain black tea for those who don't like flavored - make little signs so guests can easily choose, lump sugar and/or colored granular (you can color it yourself or buy), cream as well as milk, candied ginger, wedges of lemon and lime (cut in about 1/6ths so the wedges are large enough to actually squeeze but small enough to look dainty).

If you are planning a Peter Rabbit party you can use any of your Easter decor or buy new on sale after Easter if you party is later.

One caution with camomile tea is that anyone with an allergy to ragweed may react to it as the plants are related. I can't drink it, makes me queasy as I have a mild allergy to ragweed.

Here's a Peter Rabbit arrangement I threw together quickly on my pedestal cake plate - needs tweaking but it's something the kids would love. I put my cake cover over it so my kitties can't play with the chicks!

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I hope you will post pics of your tea party in the garden to show us what you've done! :-)

Hi Edna~ I remember you mentioning here in the CG forum that you lived in Germany as a child, as your father was in the U.S. Air Force (if I remember correctly). I also fondly remember the chimney sweeps, as well as the good luck associated with them, too! ;-)

Am curious--may I ask where in Germany you were at?

My father was career U.S. Army, so my family moved around too. As a child we lived in Frankfurt Germany, then Monterey California, and then Augsburg Germany where my sister was born. Dad retired in San Diego. As newlyweds, DH and I lived in Kirchgoens Germany for about a year and a half.

Luckygal~ That is such a lovely photo! Makes me smile and I love the packets of seeds you've included in your arrangement with Mr. Peter Rabbit--very cottagey! ;-) Those are some great tips about labeling the various pots of tea to make it easier for the guests, and I love the idea of adding ginger to the accoutrements, too. Great!!

Becky

I don't know if anyone has suggested this (I haven't had a chance to catch up on the other thread), but my 6-year-old son loves tea and part of the appeal is that I keep a basket with an assortment of various herbal teas in colorful packets. Each time we enjoy tea, he has an opportunity to try another kind of tea. In my experience, having a choice has been a big part of the appeal to him. Another good feature of the assortment of herbal teas is that they are naturally caffeine free. I don't know about anyone else, but my 6-year-old is plenty energetic (LOL), so we avoid caffeine.

The ideas and pictures are lovely!

Lisa

Luckygal- Cute display!

Lisa- Assorted herbal teas are a nice idea for any tea party :)

I think another tea I should have at the Peter Rabbit party is brambleberry tea. I had that years ago and it was really good. I believe it's black tea with blackberries and raspberries added. Also, a nice alternative for the chamomile.

The girls usually like punch or fruit juice in their tea cups. They don't sit still for long. Tea is more of a break from playing, gardening and going to visit the horses (LOL)

My daughter's tea party birthday was today. Thanks for the inspiration.

Here's a photo and link to the rest.

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Here is a link that might be useful: Rest of tea party pics.

So pretty. What a special teapot, and it's perfect for this party. The food looks great,too. I want a tea party birthday!

I would say you have inspired me! What a great tea party.

The elephant tea pot is very cute and I love the lavender napkins...and those invitations are perfect. Did you make those on the computer?

Which little girl is the birthday girl? They are both adorable :)

How lovely. I really like that. I wonder if my friends daughter would enjoy that for her birthday. Always looking for new ideas - and we could make sandwiches from veggies we grow in the garden. She's my new best friend, only 5 and already a great gardener!

My daughter (6) had a tea party last year for her friends. It was "formal" so they all dressed up like princesses with their dress-up clothes and jewelry. After having "tea" (fruit juice in a tea pot) and cookies, I gave them each a vase and a scissors and we cut flowers to make a bouquet to take home to their moms. It was a LOT of fun. We decorated the kids playhouse and had the tea party there, which is in the garden.
{{gwi:644337}}From Garden Girls Tea Party

Would you like to come in for some tea?
{{gwi:644338}}From Garden Girls Tea Party

{{gwi:644339}}From Garden Girls Tea Party

Picking flowers for Mom.

The little one is the birthday girl. She just turned two.

I made the invites on photoshop. Printed the out and glued them to scrapbook paper.

I love my boys but seeing this is really making my pine for a daughter. Too cute. Yolana

Jenangelcat- Your little girl is adorable! Thanks for the tip on the invitations...I hadn't thought of using scrapbook paper.

Gottagarden- You have a very sweet group of princesses :) Is your little girl the one in lavender? Picking bouquets for the moms is a great idea. You have a wonderful playhouse...perfect for tea!

One of these days I'm going to have to invest in a little gazebo or something for tea time. Maybe one of those fancy potting sheds....can big girls have playhouses? (LOL)

Yes, my DD is in lavender. The kids playhouse was built to be big enough to be a great gardening shed whenever they outgrow it. Still have a few years to wait :-)

Just for fun, I thought I'd do a search for a Peter Rabbit garden statue. Here's the first link I found, scroll down to the 7th. one and see the one "with a radish". Cute.

I think a nice concrete statue of PR on a pedestal would be nice,too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Peter Rabbit statues