How to Host a Better Organised Tea Party

How to Host a Better Organised Tea Party

With spring in the air and Mother’s Day approaching we have perfect excuses to get together with friends or family for a traditional tea party. In this guest post for Cafe Creme in Bearsden, Glasgow, you’ll find pro tips for a simple, informal get together that you’ll enjoy as much as your guests do.

Theme

A favourite flower, animal, colour, fruit or book can provide inspiration if you’re looking for a general theme. For children’s tea parties, The Very Hungry Caterpillar works particularly well, as you can incorporate some of the foods that the caterpillar eats on his journey. Alice in Wonderland also provides plenty of scope for ideas for kids and grown ups alike!

Invites

If you have a few dates to choose from, using a free Doodle poll is a quick and simple way to suggest times, invite participants and agree the final option. Alternatively, send a group message via WhatsApp or Messenger or opt for the traditional route of paper (or homemade) invitations. If time allows, kids will love making and posting invites!

Entertainment

Keep it simple with bubbles, balloons and music for kids, perhaps having charades, a card game or a board game on standby for traditional family fun.

Tea sets

Whether you dust off your vintage tea set or use your regular everyday crockery, just do a quick check that you have enough place settings and that they are in reasonable condition. If you need a few more, consider picking up some extras from your local charity shop and then donating them back to the shop when you are finished with them. Remember to look out napkins too.

Geraldine from Cafe Creme shares her pro tips for crowd-pleasing treats that are simple to put together…

Party Food

• When organising any party adapt your menu to suit the audience. Kids’ crudités and fruit kebabs are fun, colourful and easy to prepare, as are meat and cheese platters
• Displayed on a tiered cake stand, sandwiches and savouries, freshly baked scones and a selection of small sweet treats provide a feast for the senses and are easy for even the most inexperienced host/hostess. Serve the best version you can or buy them in!
• Make your own tea party treats with items from Sconebox or order some freshly baked scones from Cafe Creme

Drinks

• Elevate your afternoon tea experience with speciality loose leaf tea. Darjeeling — the so-called ‘champagne of teas’ — is generally considered to be the best tea to pair with cream teas
• Rose tea served with plain scones, jam and fresh cream is delicious. Earl grey and lapsang souchong work amazingly well with dark chocolate
• To add a touch of fun, a glass of fizz is a must! From pink champagne to Prosecco, as long as it’s served in beautiful crystal flutes it brings an air of decadence to any party
• There are some amazing sophisticated non-alcoholic drinks on the market. Fentiman’s rose lemonade is a particular favourite in our cafe!

I’m Kate, a productivity coach & professional organiser and the founder of Better Organised; decluttering and organising homes, offices, businesses and lives in the UK and beyond. For more information about my services, client testimonials and to sign up to my newsletter, please visit www.betterorganised.uk or head to Amazon to pick up a copy of my book, A Better Organised Home in 30 Days.