How To Host A Spring Tea Party

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Have you ever wanted to host a tea party or felt the delight of being invited to one? I would like to show you the joys and charms of hosting a spring tea party, or a tea party for any season and occasion.

Up front I will inform you that my hostess experience is very limited. I have been renting tiny apartments since I graduated college and I have not had the space to host a tea party of greater than three guests so this was my first foray into the realm of hosting a tea party. However, I have learned quite a few things along my journey and I am hoping to inspire you to host your own spring tea party this year now that the weather is getting nicer and brighter.

For the past year I have been renting an apartment in a house so I have the use of a yard for the first time in over a decade. I believe we made the most of it on this lovely warm day. I am going to share with you all of the steps I took when planning and hosting the tea party.

My first step was to consider the space and theme of the party. I knew that spring weather in New England can be unpredictable so I needed an alternative plan if I could not host outside. In my case, my living room would do, although it is not as scenic as a grassy yard. I also had to consider seating. I do not have any storage space for fold up tables or chairs so I borrowed from my cousin. If you do not have a space for hosting, there are venues that will rent rooms or outdoor spaces like parks where you can rent a pavilion for an afternoon. You can also rent tables and chairs from event companies. The second most import thing to consider is the guest list.

Create the guest list

The guest list is important. For a tea party you do not want to invite an overwhelming number of guests. Keeping it smaller and more intimate is the way to go in order to keep the conversion going and the party organized. I invited a small group of friends and a few of my cousins and my neighbor to the party. A couple could not make it, but I had a few surprise guests with my nieces and it was lovely to have them there. When creating the list, I recommend thinking about how the guests will interact. It is not always the case that everyone will know each other. One thing I wish I was able to do a little better was break the ice between my cousins and friends at the beginning of the party, but the craft I had planned at the tea party did a nice job of getting people to mingle and have fun together.

You will want to consider how the guests will be with one another at your party. Keeping the list limited to a more intimate number of guests will help keep the party together and keep people from dividing into groups.

Select Your Theme

Tea parties are a theme of their own of course, but you can decide to go with a theme to keep the décor to a specific style. My themes is simply spring. It is what directed the color choices, linens, décor, favors, and activity selection of the day. It also guided my party favor theme.

The Party Favors

Without a doubt, the menu is probably the next most important thing to plan, however, I knew right away what kind of favors I wanted to give out. Of course, a tea party does not necessarily require favors, but it is customary to give a small gift. I considered teas, flavored sugars, and tea infusers and strainers. I decided that I wanted to give each guest a tea cup of their own. I thrifted the tea cups myself because it was better for the environment and my budget. It also allowed for me to find cute and unique designs. I filled each of those tea cups with some goodies and wrapped them in a floral handkerchief.

You can use silk scarves instead of handkerchiefs if you prefer. The vintage inspired handkerchiefs I used were found here on Etsy.

Each one has a unique floral design.

I bought several packets of various wildflower seeds and mixed them together to put into custom envelopes. Seeds are a lovely spring party favor.

As for the teacups, many of them were collected over several weeks from local Goodwills, thrift shops, and the Elephant’s Trunk Flea Market. I did my best to pair each tea cup with each guest’s personal style.

I placed the packet of seeds in the tea cups with a selection of four different types of my favorite teabags.

Each cup was then individually wrapped with a handkerchief to match and tied with a ribbon to keep it all together into a dainty parcel.

The Decor

I always highly recommend using what you already have. These table and chairs are borrowed so these two tablecloths that fit my table at home are a tiny bit too short, but it still came together nicely. I used a pale pink tablecloth as the base to fit with my spring theme and layered a floral white lace tablecloth on top to add style and dimension for a more formal and feminine look.

The floral salad plates and tea cups were previously thrifted for my wedding as were the pink 1930s vintage Jeannette glasses. I originally found them at a flea market for about $2 a piece, not knowing just how old they were. I recently found matching glasses and other parts of the set on Etsy.

I found additional floral china at my local Goodwill along with the depression glass candle holders. The crystal glass serving trays were from Goodwill for only $2 each and the crystal vase was borrowed from my mother. The two tea pots, creamer, and sugar bowl I already owned. The only new addition was the tiered cake stand that I bought with a gift card from Amazon. I went with a classic white and gold so that it can be reused for any holiday and occasion from Easter to Christmas.

The various tea infusers and strainers are from Harney & Sons teas and the Woodbury Pewter Company in Woodbury, CT. You can find similar English style tea strainers on Etsy here.

The menu

Perhaps the most important part of the planning process, the menu should include various light finger foods and sweets to compliment the tea. The tea is the most important. You will want two tea pots of hot water for guests. You can offer a selection of teabags or even have a teapot prepared with some green tea, but you will want to have a limited and cohesive selection of mostly black loose leaf teas.

I had a selection of two Simpson & Vail teas from our local Hope & Honey Boutique; the Emily Dickinson and Beatrix Potter Literary Teas.

There was also a Harney & Sons iced tea, also from Hope & Honey for those wanting a cooler refreshment. And of course, always offer water or even have lemonade on hand for those who may not be tea enthusiasts.

The menu consisted of:

A bowl of fresh berries and watermelon
Bruschetta and toasts
Singer sandwiches:
- Mini bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon
- baguette with fig sauce, Dijon mustard, brie cheese, and arugula
- Baguette with prosciutto, balsamic, olive oil, and mozzarella
Sourdough toasts with fresh ricotta drizzled with honey
Cheddar and egg tartlets

Deserts:

The sweets are perhaps the most important element of any tea party after the tea. I dropped the ball on this one and ran out of time for scones! My friends tell me that the menu was big enough already that they did not miss the scones, however, it is a vital party of any tea party and I don’t suggest missing them. Pair your scones with clotted cream and an assortment of jams.

Chocolates from our local Litchfield Candy Shop
Macaroons
Lemon cake
Gluten free berry crumble

What to wear

Tea parties do not have to be fancy affairs, but it is customary for guests to dress up a little bit. A tea length midi dress is perfectly acceptable. This lovely spring floral dress with puffed sleeves and a subtle high low hem is from our local Hope & Honey Boutique in Litchfield. I paired the dress with beautiful earrings and a gold daisy necklace from Hope & Honey.

I did not give a dress code to my guests as I wanted everyone to be comfortable, but dresses were more than welcome. I highly recommend a nice dress or slacks to any tea party. For a spring tea party, layers with a cardigan or light jacket are always a smart idea.

Set up

I realized too late that setting up actually took twice as long as I imagined. With the food prep and getting the table scape together outside. I did my best to set up before my guests arrived, but ended up leaving them to chat and occupy themselves as I made a mad dash to pull it all together. Make sure you plan a little extra time in case some guests also arrive early.

Thank you to my lovely cousin Alexis for taking these photos of me setting the table.

Activities

The tea is of course the main event. All the nibbles and sips are very important. So is the small talk that happens around the table. For this, a round table may actually be preferred. The tea portion however is only act one of the party.

You can plan any activity you desire for the second half of your tea party. The tea and food goes fast so planning an activity that people can enjoy together goes a long way into making the day more enjoyable and helps break the ice between guests who may not know one another.

Popular party activities may include games like board games, cards, or even yard and garden games like croquet or badminton. You can do a craft like beading jewelry, simple embroidery patterns, or painting. For the spring tea party I decided on painting spring themed tea towels.

For this project you will need:

Plain tea towels
An assortment of soft fabric paints
Sponge brushes
small paint brushes
Paint pallets
Stencils

You can find white tea towels almost anywhere for a reasonable price. I found packs of ten at Walmart for about $8 each.

A few of the spring stencils I used:

A special thank you to all of the ladies who were in attendance; I am so thankful to have such amazing friends and family in my life. I would also like to thank my friend Mary Catherine for helping me thrift and set up for this tea party, my cousins Ginger and Brian for letting me borrow their table and chairs, my cousin Alexis for taking a few photos of me setting up, and Leah of Hope & Honey Boutique for the lovely teas, honey sticks, tea dress, and for letting me borrow her iced tea pitcher.

I hope that you feel inspired to host your own spring tea party. ‘Tis the season.