"Tea is quiet,
and our thirst for tea is never far from our craving for beauty." ~James
Norwood Pratt
It is not often that I
am more excited than my guests about a party, but this time was
different!
I have not been entertaining for quite
a while (since the building disruptions), and was really afraid I lost my mojo.
So slightly nervous, I started to plan a High Tea for a few woman at my newly
renovated home.
At first I just had a bunch of
cluttered ideas in my head, and then I remembered, as we all read in Alice
in Wonderland, that you should just start at the beginning, go on until the
end, then stop.
That immediately gave
me the idea for the theme of the party, and from there it was like riding a
bike, and everything just fell into place. I have always loved Alice in
Wonderland, and with the Mad Hatter, what better theme for quirky and beautiful
table decorations?
I decided on a pastel mixed colour palette, to
keep it light and whimsical. The invitation is very important, because it sets
the tone and standard of the party. I started getting feedback right away,
which meant everybody was inquisitive and excited to come.
The next thing was to do the rest of the planning. I printed
tags and pictures to use on the cupcakes and on the glasses - thank you
Pinterest. I used "Drink me", "Eat me" and some pictures to
enhance the theme.
I used three beautiful flower teacups to make some loose
flower arrangements in for colour. The tablecloth and crockery was white, and
the cutlery and teapots silver. I wanted to keep everything as neutral as
possible, because the food and flowers were very colourful.
Make
sure you have four salt and four sweet treats per person, and whatever you do,
a high tea is just not a high tea without scones with strawberry jam and
clotted cream, and fresh cucumber sandwiches. I always overdo
everything, so I added the most adorable, quirky Alice cookies, which
someone made for me! They were so beautiful, hardly anyone wanted to eat, they
decided to take it home as a souvenir.
Because
this was a week day, I bought half of the food, and made the rest. I usually
like to make everything, time permitting. I also had three types of tea, as
well as Ice tea with mint and lemon.
When
the guests arrived, they were handed a glass of champagne that said: Drink me,
and from there we moved to the tea table. To strengthen the theme further and
break the ice, I had Alice in Wonderland quotes printed as teabags. Everyone
read their quote, introduced themselves, and from there it was very difficult
to get a word in again! The sign of a very successful party! As they
say, love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea. Make sure you
take enough pictures.
After a wonderful afternoon, every one went
home. I made a collage of photos and posted them on facebook, so everyone can
have a nice keepsake of the very special day it turned out to be! We all have
such busy lives, and women always look after their husbands, children and jobs.
I think that is why a spoil like this is so special for all the ladies
involved. Go ahead, treat yourself and your friends sometimes. It is well deserved. I hope I can inspire you all to go out and get started
on those invitations for your own High Tea!
"If you are cold, tea will warm you; if you are too
heated, it will cool you; if you are depressed, it will cheer you; if you are
excited it will calm you." ~William Ewart Gladstone
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