tea party baby shower!

hawkeyes00

Hi Gals - I'm looking for decorating or any other ideas for the Tea Party themed baby shower i'm hosting! 

TIA! 

Magdala9

Here are some traditional offerings

Cucumber sandwiches

Bread and butter sandwiches

Cream Cheese and Chutney sandawiches

Chicken salad sandwiches (in England they refer to these as chicken paste sandwiches)

Seed cake (toasted sesame seeds in a butter pound cake)

Shortbread cookies

Strawberry tartlets 

Hot Tea (pick your favorite type...I'd recommend ceylon for something a little different but not too different)

Iced mint tea

Lemonade 

 

Meels12

I love doing egg salad sandwiches on mini pretzel rolls (if you can find pretzel rolls in your area, otherwise use basic white bread) and then 2 types of tea sandwiches, the kind you cut in triangles.  My fave is Nutella with strawberry slices and fresh mint on brioche bread--always a big hit!  Here are a few other ideas for side dishes:

http://eating-made-easy.com/2010/10/19/easy-party-ideas/

mireille86

I don't know where you're hosting it, but for decorations you could do a couple things.  For centerpieces, put teacups on a cake stand and put single large blossoms in some of them (like peonies) and stack some of the empty ones.  Or you could grab/borrow some teapots and use them as vases and instead make some old teacups into candles.  You could also grab/borrow some antique/lace/floral tablecloths for all the tables.  Obviously tea would be a great idea for favors, but you could always package it prettily.  Or, if you want to do the teacup-candle idea (found on Martha Stewart's site), you could make those the favors.  Teacups can be purchased really cheaply at stores like Goodwill, so hopefully that won't be a large problem.

Also, instead of cheap-o paper plates (which aren't necessarily always bad - I've used them myself - but they'd look weird with your lovely porcelain cups), grab/borrow a bunch of patterned plates and set the tables so that every person has a unique place setting.  For the mom-to-be, try to make a combination of hers, her mother's, and her mother-in-law's formal placesettings.  

If you want to do placecards, you could put a small doily in the middle of every plate and write each person's name on them.  But obviously that's not required at all showers (mine didn't have them).   

For the mood, pick some light and lovely piano music.  Something upbeat but with a slow tempo would probably set the right mood - calm, sophisticated, sweet, and fun.  

Finally, you could try an iced tea bar, which we did for my sister's shower and was a big hit for people who normally don't drink hot tea.  You just make a bunch of unsweetened iced tea and then make three or four flavored simple syrups.  We made a mint one, an orange/citrus one, a raspberry one, and a plain simple syrup.  Put those into little creamers for presentation, and then fill up a couple teacups with garnishes like mint leaves, slices of lemon/lime, or similar small items.  The iced tea bar worked outside, but we made sure to have cling wrap to cover the simple syrups since otherwise the bugs would have gotten into it. 

Good luck with the shower, let me know if there's anything else you want help with! 

hawkeyes00

Thanks ladies - these are AMAZING ideas! I'll keep you posted as the planning progresses! You're the best!

alanna_redman

It might also be a nice idea to ask everyone to contribute a teacup...vintage or new...then the bride could have a little collection! I LOVE this idea!

alanna_redman

woops, I meant mom-to-be...not bride! Face-palm!

lsgarver

This party was for a 5 year old's birthday party but a lot of the decor could be the same--the vintage rosebud fabrics and dishes, the pearls as napkin rings, tins of loose tea as a favor, doily placemats, flowers-in-a-teapot centerpiece.  Some menu ideas as well.

http://www.thepartydress.net/2011/03/real-parties-time-for-tea/

wldktz10

I have a series of entries on my blog about tea parties.

Click me!