Tea Parties

Anytime we host a party or event Meg and Kate enjoy helping and often have ideas of their own to contribute. Usually I dismiss their suggestions (gently, I hope?), because I want things to be done my way—even at the girls’ own birthday parties. (Ugghh, this sounds much worse as I type it here than it does when I explain it to them at the time. Hmmm…)  Well, I thought one solution would be to let them throw a party of their own just for the fun of it. So, at the beginning of the summer I told them they could each have a tea party and choose the menu, decorations, dishes, etc. themselves. Suddenly the end of summer was around the corner, so we found a day to squeeze in both parties simultaneously—one in the dining room, one in the living room.

Meg chose the milk glass luncheon set with various serving pieces. She prepared peanut butter sandwiches, carrots and tomatoes with dip, fruit salad, peach cobbler, brownies, and a fig cake (she and Maggie made it with figs from Maggie’s back yard and Meg froze the leftovers for this occasion.) Oh, and milk and pink lemonade to drink.

Meg wore her formal red gown with a hot pink scarf and presided over a lovely, albeit somewhat silly, table of friends.

 

Kate was adamant about using her miniature metal tea set. After much research online to determine that it was indeed food safe, I consented. We used doilies as mats to give each place setting more presence at the table.

Her menu included mini peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, carrots, and strawberries with more strawberries, carrot cake, and cookies for dessert. Since she is not as independent of a baker as Meg I suggested we make one dessert together and purchase the other. She really wanted to make the carrot cake (and really wanted a frosting carrot on top) so we did that and I bought some yummy chocolate-topped shortbread at Trader Joes, which she garnished with sprinkles.

Her pink seersucker sundress and the red, yellow and blue star necklace she got from the treasure chest at the dentist last spring hung on her door knob for days before the big occasion. She daydreamed about serving milk and “fizzy” lemonade from her little tea pot and (very) reluctantly let her guests take a turn. After all, what fun is a tea party if you don’t get to pour?

 

A good time was had by all. Maybe a new summer tradition.