Tea parties . . . just the thought causes me to sigh and smile as I wait for the tinkering of china, the entrance of brewed tea in a beautiful tea pot and tea fancies to grace my lips.  Yes, I love tea parties . . . and so does my Sweet Girl.

She regularly enjoys having a tea party at the little table in her bedroom, inviting her babies and stuffed animals as the guests.  My son also joins her, but I think for him, it is more about the vanilla wafers I offer than a heart for tea.

This year’s birthday theme for my daughter’s kid-party quickly became a no-brainer.  We would host a tea party.  But we would invite the baby dolls too.

Let’s start at the beginning.  The invitations.  

I made the tea cup and tea bag invitations using the print and cut feature on my Silhouette Cameo.  I wanted a room filled little dresses so we made sure to tell the guests to wear their best dress.

The Decor

 

With china and lace being the primary elements, decor was easy.  The tables were filled with dematasse tea cups, tea luncheon plates (which usually fall on the smaller side), dematasse spoons, tea napkins, cream and sugar.  This is an easy theme for me thanks to my mother who used to cater tea parties.  All the china, linens and lace are borrowed from her.

But if you don’t have the one-stop resource, you can borrow china from several different people.  As you may notice, I deliberately did not match the place settings.

Because our guests were all shorter than a yard stick, I intentionally created a buffet table that they would be able see.  I nestled my piano bench into an old (and long) double school desk.  Using photo boxes, I added height and dimension.  (Go here to read more about setting your buffet table like a pro.)

The backdrop to the buffet table is filled with pink and white streamers, pom poms and eyelet lanterns.  I borrowed the white eyelet paper lanterns from a friend and found the Martha Stewart pom pom kit on clearance.  (The deal was too good to pass up.  I would have spent more on the tissue paper alone.)

For the centerpieces, I wanted something pretty, but playful.  I made these cardstock rolled roses with my Silhouette Cameo.  The ivy bowl is filled with styrofoam floral balls . . . which incidentally are super fun for a three year old to play with and a big pain to clean up.

Are you ready for tea?  Later, we’ll take a look at the yummy food and fun activities that engaged the little girls.

Birthday Tea Party Foods
Birthday Tea Party Activities

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