I just love a tea party, don't you? Few things are more simply delightful than a lovely old-fashioned tea party. If only they were more common in this age! Oh, the days of formality and pleasing manners! Also, if you're like me, you love any occasion for which a little dressing up is in order. My two sisters and I used to have tea parties very often, with our dolls or our animals, (if Elbert was behaving himself he was permitted to come also :) and we would dress up in our nicest dresses and put on blush and maybe even a bit of lipstick (those were the days when lipstick= pure delight!) Our dolls would come dressed in their very finest too, which required a great deal of switching and mixing and matching to determine which dress looked best on which doll.
Usually we would host the gathering inside at our dining room table, but if the weather was particularly pleasant we would take a blanket outside under the tree in the yard (which hasn't grown any bigger since) and set up our tea service there. Once my doll Elana had a birthday party under the tree and we invited my cousin, and it turned out to be a most delightful occasion.
Tea Party Etiquette
Afternoon teas are little social events given in honor of visiting friends, new neighbours, VIPs. They can also be given as birthday parties, a house warming or simply another way to entertain.
Invitations
How formal should your invitation be? The type of elegant invitation should follow how formal and elaborate your tea party is. If you do not want too much fuss, use simple printed, written, fill-in-the-blank type invitations. For informal tea parties, you may simply use the telephone! But, of course, why not use your best stationary and handwriting and have the most elegant affair!
Tea Party Etiquette as a Tea Party Guest
Despite having a casually elegant or minimal fuss approach to the tea party as mentioned above, a tea given in honour of a person or event, there is a certain formality as we pay tribute to that. this simply means there are certain expectations of etiquette. you show respect to your host and the person/event in honour of by your dress code. Women usually wear dresses or non-business suits and men wear business suits, jackets and ties.
As a guest, never overload your plate.There is no limit to going back to help yourself to the food.
Like all good party etiquette, when you are ready to leave, you simply thank your host and say goodbye before you take your leave. Other than those 'protocols', everything else is kept very casual. Guests freely move around the room, helping themselves to food and tea and talking to everyone whether formally being introduced or not.
How to set the Tea Table
The tea table is usually set up in the dining room, though the party for mingling and moving around may not be confined to the dining room. A large tray is set at both ends of the table, one for tea and one for coffee. Even though it is a tea party, you should serve coffee for the coffee drinkers. You may also serve hot chocolate. The cups and saucers are placed at the left of the tray, making it easy to reach for the the person who pours the tea. Usually tea is poured with the right hand into the cup and saucer held by the left.
How to Serve Tea Properly
Prepare the proper serving of tea with:
- one pot of boiling water or a full pot of tea already brewed with proper tea leaves
- alternatively, a hot water dispenser with boiling water with a tray of tea bags
- cream pitcher, sugar bowl, honey, sugar, and lemons.
Tea Party Food
In proper tea party etiquette, when it comes to food for a tea party, it is sweet-- cookies, cupcakes, fruitcake, or slices of iced cake. To cater for those without a sweet tooth, tea sandwiches are served.
Because a tea party is literally self-serve, it is possible to give a formal tea without serving help. That is why afternoon teas are so wonderful! You may do the entire set up yourself and make sure you have sufficient boiling water when your guests arrive.
Tea Party Etiquette for Those who Pour
Who pours the tea?
The pouring is usually done by close friends or the host or the party giver. Of course, if you are a close friend, you'll ask if you may "do the honours". It is also a good idea to help out when a friend has been pouring tea for others for more than half an hour.
How do I ask for a cup of tea?
Each person walks up to the table and says, "may I have a cup of tea please?" The one pouring should answer, "Certainly, how do you like it? Strong or weak? would you like cream or lemon?"
If the visitor says, "Weak", boiling water is added, and according to the guests' wishes, sugar, cream or lemon.
If you are not too busy pouring and the guest is alone, you make a few pleasant remarks. Do not hold up the line if the tea table is busy. But if there are a number of guests around the table, you need only smile as you hand each guest their cup of tea.
I hope this was as helpful to you as it was to me! I am quite looking forward to my upcoming tea party!
God Bless,
Emma Jane
0 comments:
Post a Comment