Tea parties are great ways to socialize and to entertain friends, co-workers, family or just about anyone. In fact, as an event, the tea room is making a resurgence in popularity.

A tea party can be a wonderful way to celebrate special occasions with a bit of a twist that harkens back to earlier times, and can make your next celebration, like a birthday, a baby shower or a wedding shower, or a graduation, something a little extra special.

tea room
One of the things that is making tea parties popular is that they are so flexible. They can be adaptable to children, adults, or both and can encompass the range from very formal “high teas” to casual garden parties, all the way to super laid-back picnic chinese tea parties. It all comes down to the kind of atmosphere and experience you want to create for your guests drink tea an relax.

Strolling through a garden laden with fresh blooms, with a cup of tea in hand, is a picture many think of when the idea of a tea party comes up. While such a gentile setting can evoke old-fashioned sensibilities, tea parties should not be thought of as no longer being in fashion.

chinese tea
Along with a selection of tasty tea sandwiches, tea parties can include much more that just the standard Chinese tea or herbal tea. Other appropriate beverages include sparkling water, punch, coffee, sparkling juice and even wine.

While the beverages are an important element of tea parties, so are the food choice and tea sandwiches, cookies, fruit salad, muffins, scones, and pasta salad are all great options.

Tea sandwiches are traditionally thin pieces of lightly toasted bread with garden vegetables and cream cheese as toppings, but they can be anything from simple cucumber sandwiches, egg salad, pimento cheese or chicken salad, to fancier selections such as tomatoes with ricotta cheese and basil, or ham with apricot jam and Dijon mustard.

Also, canapes and any type of food that can be picked up and eaten with toothpicks are great for tea parties as are deserts of miniature pastries such as eclairs lairs, petits fours, and cream puffs.

tea coffee
Tea parties that are held in garden settings are a nice choice because they don’t require too much work in the way of decorations and centerpieces. Whenever possible, especially if you want to involve children, they are best held in a grassy area on picnic blankets. However, if you will be having older guests in attendance it would be suitable to have a picnic table or bistro table and chairs available for them.

With some careful planning and attention to the details, you can make your coffee and tea parties seem like a truly magical event that will be remembered fondly for a long time to come.

Creating a positive, relaxing and enjoyable atmosphere for your guests to enjoy good conversation over a cup of tea will be much more important than making sure every last detail is perfect. What will be reminisced about is the lovely relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere that was created.

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