Host an Amazing Afternoon Tea Party With These Recipes and Ideas
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If there's one thing we can thank the British for, it's the delightful tradition of afternoon tea. Started by a peckish Duchess one afternoon in 1840, this tradition of snacking on an elegant spread of tea and treats became a centuries-long English tradition that's still valued by people around the world today. After all, who wouldn't enjoy an assortment of tiny sandwiches, scones, and hot tea as a late-afternoon pick-me-up?
While our afternoon snacks today may not be as delicate, there's still a time and place for tea, especially when it's served at a festive tea party for a birthday, bridal shower, or Mother's Day celebration! There are so many cute and fun tea party ideas to choose from. Get creative and send your guests paper invites designed to look like tea bags to start the festivities on a high (tea) note. After the invites are sent, it's time to decide on a charming theme! You can channel the classics with an upscale high tea party with a fancy dress-theme or take notes from spring with a floral tea party, complete with floral serveware and gorgeous flower centerpieces.
Of course, no tea party would be complete without an impressive spread of sweet and savory bites to enjoy with a brimming cup of Earl Grey or chai. It's the perfect time to whip up delectable finger foods like curried chicken salad finger sandwiches, sausage rolls, and crostinis! And that's not to mention all the sweet treats, like mini bundt cakes topped with fragrant, fruity glazes. Regardless of what aesthetic, dress code, or menu you decide to go for, you can't go wrong with these unique tea party ideas!
Host a Floral Tea Party
If you’re looking for the perfect theme for your tea party, consider sticking to the classics and going with a floral theme! Set your table with floral teapots and teacups, and create a bright flower arrangement to serve as your centerpiece. All the dainty, floral details will make your table look as beautiful as a spring garden!
Serve Mini Tea Sandwiches
Apart from tea, the most crucial components of a tea party are the mini cakes or cookies, scones, and tiny finger sandwiches that line your table. Traditional finger sandwich flavors include cucumber, smoked salmon, and curried chicken salad, which will delight your guests. Arrange them on pretty plates or tiered platters and they'll double as decor!
Get the Tea Sandwiches recipe.
Bake Lemon Bars
A spring or summer tea party calls for bright, delicious flavors, and lemon certainly fits the bill! Bake buttery, tart-sweet lemon bars, top them with a dusting of powdered sugar, and watch as they disappear from your dessert platter in seconds.
Get Ree's Lemon Bars recipe.
Serve Up Sweet Scones
Scones are a must-have for any tea party, and a subtly sweet flavor like orange-vanilla is a safe pairing for most types of tea. These scones are topped with an orange glaze and orange zest for a dash of fresh citrus flavor.
Get Ree's Orange-Vanilla Scones recipe.
Decorate Your Table With Tea Cup Candles
Candles are a great way to add ambiance and excitement to any tablescape. These DIY teacup candles are so on-theme for a tea party and can be made using mismatched old tea cups and candle wax!
Get the tutorial at The Craft Patch.
Brew Homemade Chai
Everyone has their personal tea preferences, but when deciding on a tea that everyone will love, you can't go wrong with a warm pot of homemade chai. This spicy, sweet, milky tea calls for a few crucial ingredients, including fresh ginger, cinnamon sticks, cardamom, and whole cloves.
Get the Chai recipe.
Serve Sausage Rolls
Puff pastry sausage rolls are a delicious and traditional British bite that make the perfect appetizer or afternoon tea treat. This recipe couldn't be easier to execute, as it calls for pre-made puff pastry, so all you have to do is whip up the sausage filling and bake!
Get the Sausage Roll recipe.
Decorate Your Table With a Flower Arrangement
Whether or not you've decided on a flower theme for your tea party, any tablescape can benefit from a stunning flower arrangement! When deciding what flowers to add to your arrangement, keep your color scheme and the season in mind. For example, a spring tea party would fare well with brightly colored tulips or pretty pink peonies.
Get the tutorial at Inspired by Charm.
Serve Refreshing Finger Foods
Aside from the finger sandwiches and treats on your main tiered trays, keep your guests fed by passing out light bites throughout the party. Ree's Everything Cucumber-Smoked Salmon Bites are the perfect finger food to munch on while mingling with guests and sipping tea!
Get Ree's Everything Cucumber–Smoked Salmon Bites recipe.
Present Your Pastries Like a Royal
All those pastries you're going to bake deserve to be presented like the delicacies they are! Invest in a double or triple-tiered serving tray and delegate each level to a different type of finger food like you would at a traditional afternoon tea service. Place tea sandwiches on the bottom, scones and cream in the middle, and mini cakes and cookies on top!
Serve Fancy Appetizers
With all the frilly dresses, beautiful decor, and delicate finger foods, tea parties are the perfect time to go all out with fancy flourishes. Given that, the foods you serve should be just as fancy (yet still easy), like these strawberry and goat cheese crostinis that look just as good as they taste!
Get Ree's Strawberry and Goat Cheese Crostini recipe.
Send Your Guests DIY Tea Bag Invitations
Every good tea party starts with a pretty invitation, and these adorable DIY tea bag ones are perfect for the occasion. These invitations are printed on vellum paper, filled with actual tea leaves, and assembled similar to how you would any tea bag!
Get the tutorial at Oh So Beautiful Paper.
Make Madeleines
Maybe it's cake, maybe it's a cookie. Regardless of what madeleines are, there's one thing we know for sure: they're delicious! These tiny cake-like cookies have notes of almond and vanilla, and they're the perfect accompaniment to tea.
Get the Madeleines recipe.
Make a Batch of Sun Tea
Steep a batch of sun tea for your guests to sip while sitting under the sun during a garden tea party. To make homemade sun tea, fill a large glass dispenser with water and add eight tea bags per gallon. Let the tea steep in the sun for two to three hours, and once it's as dark as you desire, sweeten it with honey or agave and add a splash of citrus!
Get the Sun Tea recipe.
Create a DIY Floral Centerpiece
Fresh flower arrangements are a great way to add color and life to a table, but you can still get a similar effect using tissue paper and a little creativity to make a DIY faux floral centerpiece! This one is made with a mixture of tissue paper, crepe paper, and cardstock for a stunning mix of textures. Opt for white tissue paper for a uniform look, or go crazy with colors depending on your tea party theme!
Get the tutorial at The House That Lars Built.
Bake Mini Bundt Cakes
You can never have enough mini food at a tea party! If you're looking to make your guests something sweet to eat, bake some mini bundt cakes and top them with delicious glazes like blackberry, maple whiskey, and dark chocolate sea salt.
Get the Mini Bundt Cake recipe.
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