Wednesday, September 15, 2010

A Birthday Tea Party



My daughter turned 7 on Monday. She wanted to have a tea party for all of her friends and their dolls. We started with invitations and adapted one that a friend had made for one of my wedding showers. My friend had hand-painted rosebuds onto tea-dyed paper, but we opted for card stock and colored pencils. I drew a template for a tea cup and cut them out. I typed up the wording on the computer and let Emily Anne cut those words out and glue them into place on the invitations.


The outside hinted at the type of party we were throwing.

The inside contained a tea bag along with the details about the party.

Emily Anne customized different "china patterns" for each of her friends, depending on their interests and personalities.
Emily Anne requested that I make matching dresses for her and her doll Julia, and she picked out the material. When the girls first arrived, they decorated straw hats for their dolls. Then, they placed their dolls around the dolly tea table, which was the living room coffee table draped with an old lace tablecloth and set with my daughter's toy tea set and some violet demitasse cups and saucers. Up next was a game of Pin the Lid on the Teapot, followed by a treasure hunt that led the girls from clue to clue until they found a teapot filled with strands of pink pearls and fancy rings for their own tea party. A couple of kind mothers who had stayed helped lead the girls on the treasure hunt while my mother and I plated the tea treats and brewed the tea.
We plated the tea sandwiches, cheese wafers, and fruit kabobs on clear plastic plates that could be quickly disposed of once the girls had finished. I made the tea sandwiches (PB&J cut in the shape of stars, PB & Honey in the shape of flowers, and Strawberry Cream Cheese in the shape of hearts) and the fruit kabobs, while my mom picked up the cheese wafers at a local bakery. The teacup cupcakes (also from a bakery) and ice cream were served on the violet salad plates. Harney & Sons Chocolate Mint Tea was served, along with pink lemonade. I had a table set buffet-style for the mothers, too, but I forgot to get a picture. Several of the mothers wanted to know where to get the tea, and I told them to order it from here.


One of the girls' mothers was commenting on how brave I was to use my china and silver with the girls, but they were so well mannered. No one spilled a drop, much less a tea cup! Even if a cup had been broken, it would have been worth it to have captured this sweet seven-year-old smile!


Tablescape Details:
  • Violet Teapot, with matching creamer and sugar: Royal Crownford, Staffordshire
  • Violet Teapot with violet finial, dessert plates, and cups & saucers: Crown Trent, Staffordshire
  • Other dessert plates and cups & saucers and cream & sugar, Noritake Lila
  • Silver: Tara by Reed & Barton

Visit Susan for more tablescape inspiration!

22 comments:

Kathleen said...

That is adorable. Looks like she had a good time!

ellen b. said...

Oh how sweet! Your daughter is so darn cute!

Tricia said...

What a fun party for the girls -- and their dolls! You've given us LOTS of great ideas in this post -- thanks! And your daughter is adorable! LOVE little redheads!

Jacqueline~Cabin and Cottage said...

What a fun mom you are! And what a darling girl!

Debbie said...

I love this!! As a mom of "used to be little" girls, this is right up my alley. I love her little invitations with the different china patterns. Truly... a tablescaper in training. LOL

I think everything about this party was wonderful, and you have a very blessed little girl.

The teapot cake and cups? Awesome!

Marigene said...

What a sweet way to make memories with your beautiful daughter and her friends.

Mary said...

So adorable! I love how she customized the china pattern invitations~ decorating hats, chocolate mint tea & cupcakes, what could be better?!

Mid-Atlantic Martha said...

Is this not just the sweetest and cutest party! Love the invitations and the tea all set up. What an adorable daughter you have. This is going to be a special memory for her and all those girls as well.

Debbiedoos said...

Oh that is so adorable...and what a cutie pie. I love the table cloth, it is so pretty too.

Carol at Serendipity said...

How adorable. I love the matching dresses' The girls will remember this tea party.

Carol

Carolyn said...

It was a beautiful way to celebrate the day. I love the tea set and a lovely pic of your sweet daughter.

Carolyn

Unknown said...

What a lovely tablescape and a great party for your daughter. At that age, my daughter (who now is going on 17) was the QUEEN of tea parties. What a fun age!!

Thanks for the visit and your kind comments.

Blessings!
Gail

xinex said...

What a fun tea party! Your daughter is adorable escially with that big happy smile. Your tea table is so cute and charming and I am sure everybody, including the dolls had a lot of fun
:-)...Christine

Linda (More Fun Less Laundry) said...

Oh, this reminds me of so many tea parties here when my daughter was small! Now, Samantha and Felicity and all the rest of them still live with me while my daughter is away at school! Enjoy! Linda

Barbara said...

This is so sweet! I was glad to see that Samantha was there. And I thought she was still up in the closet! :) These are memories that will stay with her forever. I think it is wonderful that you used the "good stuff". Kids have a way of living up to your expectations when you trust them with things you value. Lovely!

Entertaining Women said...

Emily Anne and her tea party are perfect in every way. I love every detail. The tablescape is delicate and beautiful, and the invitations are ingenious! So well conceived! Thank you for sharing your charming design. Cherry Kay

Anita Diaz said...

Oh my, what an incredible party!! The invitations are just perfect. What detail! What a great way to teach them the art of tea! I'm so impressed! I'll have to show my girls this!

Scribbler said...

This looks like little-girly-girl heaven! I wish I'd been there.

I love little redheads -- I used to be one!

Everything is so precious.

Scribbler said...

By the way, I forgot to say thanks for identifying the brown goblets for me -- I had tried a couple of years ago, but I never really thought about looking at Noritake -- just assumed it was Fostoria or Tiffin.

ShanaM said...

Great ideas

Tea in Texas said...

This table is so sweet and you are a wonderful mother to give your daughter a birthday to remember. The invitations are precious. The smile on your daughter's face says volumes about how much fun she was having. I truly love tea parties and this one with the teapot cake is great.

Melanie {The Tiny Tudor} said...

Hi- I'm a new visitor! Your tablescape is so pretty. Looks like those girls had fun. I just love American Girl dolls. Samantha was always my favorite...