This post was originally listed on 4/22/08.
I had my very first tea party on Sunday. I invited a group of ladies to get together for a few hours to sip a variety of tasty teas and nibble delicious desserts while wearing proper afternoon tea attire. At least that was the plan.
I enjoy entertaining and thought a ladies tea would be an interesting change to my more casual gatherings of friends. I encouraged the invitees to wear hats and and pretty frocks. Mind you, though I have a few ensembles that may be considered acceptable for a tea, other than a collection of baseball hats, a variety of winter hats and shower caps, I don’t own any hats. It is not that I don’t like the decorative ladies hats, it’s just that I have a large cranium. For those that know me and want to say “oh Alysia, you are much too lovely to have a head that is too large for proper ladies hats, it simple must be all of your extra thick hair that prevents a hat from fitting”, let me tell you something. I can wet my locks, slick them back into a ponytail or bun and the men’s fitted extra large baseball hats that I own fit snuggly. Before you spend time making up jokes, I prefer to think my sizable dome is because of all the knowledge that is crammed into my brain.
Back to the tea party.
Now that you have an understanding as to why I did not wear a hat to my own afternoon tea, I’ll share that none of my guests wore hats either. Their reasons were not nearly as exciting as mine (didn’t want to mess up hair, didn’t have a hat to match dress, etc), but everyone looked lovely nonetheless.
The afternoon was a very special experience for me and my guests. I even learned a few etiquette tips. You aren’t to stir your tea, but move you spoon back and forth in the cup to blend (I failed that). You are to wait for all of your guests to arrive before serving (since some of the guests were late and I was sitting directly in front of a three-tiered dessert display, I had not parts of that). You are to always pass items to your right (I failed this too. If what I want was right in front of the person to my right, why should it go all the way around the table to get to me?)
I can’t forget to mention that I tried a few things that up until Sunday I’d only heard of. The lemon curd was tasty as was the clotted cream. I feel more upscale already. I also made a fuss about having actual sugar cubes. I have never had sugar cubes in my home, but I may need to get some.
Did I mention that I don’t drink tea? Nor coffee. I don’t care for them, mainly because they aren’t sweet enough. I had a fantastic orange tea and added 4 of those nice sugar cubes which made my beverage just sweet enough. To add to my sugar intake, I sample at least one of each of the wide selection of desserts. My guests were all tea drinkers and raved about the selection of teas and had several cups!
After reading up to this point, you’ve probably figured out that I did not organize this event. I have a friend who happens to own the business Taking Tea in Style that put on this fabulous event. All I did was pick the date, let her know how many people would attend, the size of my table and had the option to select my menu of teas and desserts. My dining room was transformed complete with linens, fine china and silver, candles, fresh flowers, other fantastic decor and music. Plus, everything was cleaned up and taken away. I didn’t have to lift a finger! Taking Tea in Style is available for all kinds of events from sweet sixteen parties to bridal and baby shower to a ladies day for no particular reason and more! For more details visit www.takingtea-instyle.com
