Join us for a Beary Tea Party!
Oh my God, I gasped as I talked to a friend who has a three year old, complaining that she had nothing interesting to do with her daughter. What are you kidding, what a missed opportunity, let’s have a party I said, she looked puzzled and really said a tea party? So I had to ask you if you’ve ever had a tea party. The answer was no and from then on I got very excited because I love tea parties. When my daughter was little, we had all kinds of Saturday tea parties in the backyard. Tea parties were held with the dolls, with the neighbors, and sometimes our parties turned into super tea parties with friends. I got so excited that I thought I’d plan a tea party with my niece this weekend just to have fun and enjoy my friends.
Planning the perfect and imperfect tea party requires some patience and creativity. A party can be held on a very tight budget or on a fairly expensive budget. For this event the goal is to spend $25.00 or less using what is around the house and in our cabinets. My only investment is the bows, the tiara, the flowers and the table linens. To stay on budget, most of our shopping will be done at the nearest dollar store or lobby/hobby.
Theme
The theme of this tea party is bears; We invite our favorite friend Rachel Beary to join in the fun.
Invitation
The invitation is a must, but make it hassle-proof, with a combined effort an invitation can be created online or using the old fashioned method of construction paper, scissors, magic markers and glitter. The key is to have fun and keep costs to a minimum. It also creates some excitement knowing that the event is coming up soon.
Clothing
Deciding on clothes, choosing the right clothes is strictly up to you, it depends on how much work you want to put into the occasion. Consider a dress and flip flops or some kind of comfortable shoes. It’s strictly about using your imagination and having fun.
Rent, rent, rent
Location is also simply a matter of preference; This celebration of life can take place in your backyard, on your front porch, or in a neighborhood park.
The following are essential
The tiara can be found for sale at your neighborhood arts/crafts store or dollar store.
Bowa can be found for sale at your neighborhood arts/crafts store or dollar store.
Flowers and table setting, my only investment, everything else was in the house, I bought a bouquet of flowers to celebrate the time together.
The tablecloth also found a variety of disposable tablecloths and carts at the dollar store. Again, the choice is yours to make it easy and fun or slightly unique and fun.
Dinnerware we had a stash of fancy saucers and small plates to fulfill our planning purpose without drama.
Cutlery: Picked up fancy cutlery (must be pink, of course) at the dollar store and extras for the next tea party.
Music: This was an easy task. I created a tea party playlist the week before. I started with soft relaxing music to play while I served the main course of tea and sandwiches, followed by current music and something not so modern to get us moving and shaking our butts.
Some kind of drink, water, tea, soda, or possibly hot chocolate (make it fun). Oh the options, my first choice for the party was a pitcher of cold water, my second choice was slightly sweetened cold pink lemonade, in a pitcher or teapot of course.
Small Sandwiches – Easy to make, start with what your family traditionally eats and then experiment from there. Ham and cheese on white or whole wheat bread, cut into squares or turkey and cheese on whole wheat bread cut into some kind of shape is always fun and inexpensive.
Vegetables or small fruits, knowing in advance that I wanted to have a tea party, I bought our favorite fruits and vegetables, such as cucumbers, apples, grapes and oranges. Choose a medium-sized serving tray, arrange sliced cucumbers on the outside, then arrange sliced apples, grapes, and oranges or arrange by color all the way to the center of your tray or create fruit cups.
My favorite dessert, cookies, cake pops or cupcakes, really anything with sugar. Delicious, my favorite part of tea party dessert time. I’m a big believer in preparing ahead of time regardless of what I’m doing to be successful. For this occasion, keep the time factor in mind when planning the tea party. I bought a roll of cookie dough and cut them into silly, fun shapes; My niece’s job is to decorate with her favorite sprinkles or toppings. While she is busy eating the ingredients, I am working on the drinks.
Now for the main event, this tea party takes place on the back porch, the table is set and ready to go. The Tea Party on a Budget is bound to be a huge success and we had a blast putting it together. Enjoy!
