How to Host a Tea Party in 5 Easy Steps

Do you want to host a tea party but you’re not sure where to start? Learn how to throw a high tea or an afternoon tea with my 5 easy steps!

Can you believe it’s almost May?

Wow…this year is just flying by!

And Mother’s day is next weekend.

Have you figured out how you’ll celebrate mom?

We have a super fun way to make her day special with an afternoon or high tea party!

How fun would it be to dress up and wear a cute spring hat while enjoying a nice cup of tea.

Do you love to entertain?

Yes!?!

Oh…good us too!

Since you love to entertain like Anne & I, you’ll love our monthly virtual supper club posts.

Every month we get together with our friends Stacy, Rachel, Jen, and Michele to share our tablescapes and recipes on our blogs.

It’s so fun to see what everyone in our group comes up with each month.

There’s so much talent and creativity with this bunch of bloggers.

And to add even more inspiration, we now have a guest host join us each month too!

We’re thrilled to welcome Brendt from She Gave it a Go this month.

Brendt’s blog is filled with inspiration about her faith, family and their farmhouse style home.

You’ll love all the amazing ideas she shares!

Anne & I were lucky enough to meet Brendt at the Haven conference for bloggers and influencers last summer and she’s just the most genuine person.

This month our virtual supper club is featuring tea party tablescape ideas and delicious recipes to serve at an afternoon tea.

Get the links to our previous tablescapes for even more inspiration at the end of this post.

If you’re joining us from Jen at Midwest Life & Style or if you’re new to our blog…

Hey there & welcome!

We’re AnnMarie and Anne, the two moms behind this blog having a little fun with this tea party theme this month!

When we aren’t wearing cute hats sipping tea in my dining room, we’re working to share simple and budget-friendly ideas for decorating, recipes, DIY projects, and tips for life with older teens (and beyond!).

You can read more about us and our families here.

And we would love to learn more about you! Be sure to say “hi” in the comments below and tell me where you’re visiting from.

But that’s enough about us…let’s talk more about this month’s theme… and my easy ideas to host a fabulous tea party!

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Why Should You Host a Tea Party

Hosting a tea party can be so much fun but it doesn’t need to be difficult or expensive.

You can have a tea party anytime of the year for many different occassions.

Mother’s day is a perfect time to throw a tea party.

But other celebrations like a birthday, Galentine’s day, girls night out, a baby or wedding shower are all wonderful times too.

And tea parties are great for any age from little girls to grown women.

When our supper club decided on a tea party theme I started to do some research.

Did you know there’s a difference between afternoon tea and high tea?

Yup, crazy right?!

I didn’t realize it either and I’m sure I’m not the only one who uses the terms interchangeably.

Afternoon tea is what we immediately think of when we hear the phrase tea party.

Usually light snacks are served at an afternoon tea, such as tea sandwiches and sconces.

Afternoon tea is also called low tea because you sit in low chairs or on sofas.

High tea is a British tradition of drinking tea in high back chairs at a table after a long work day.

A high tea was for the working class and heavy foods were served.

Now that we know the difference, I’m thinking our tea party is a combination of the two since we’re sitting on high back chairs at a table with light snacks.

No matter what you want to name your party it’s going to be awesome with these simple tips!

How to Set a Tea Party Table

I pulled out my wedding china to set these elegant but simple place settings.

It’s nice to be able to use this Lenox set every once in a while.

A black metal charger under the stack of plates breaks up the cream plate from the white table.

And the gold flatware looks beautiful with the gold accent on the dinnerware.

I’m not a super fancy decorator and like more of a modern farmhouse style in my home.

So to bring my style into the tablescape design I mixed the traditional look of the china with some more rustic items.

Placing the silverware (or goldware…lol) on a folded cotton napkin allows the gold to pop against the black.

Then, I tied a burlap ribbon around the flatware and napkin for a bit of casual vibe.

The little tea cup and saucer are dainty and perfect for sipping hot tea.

It would be beautiful to style a table with vintage tea cups too.

Antique stores, Goodwill, or garage sales are great places to hunt for tea cups.

How to Style a Tablescape

As I mentioned before, I’m more of a casual girl so of course, I wanted my tea party tablescape to reflect my style.

Just like my place settings, I used both traditional & farmhouse pieces when styling the dining table.

Adding wood, linen and greenery to the table brings a casual feeling to the party.

A large wood riser or cake plate holds a small cast iron hobnail tea pot next to the cream pitcher and sugar bowl.

Blending the modern and the conservative styles with wood looks awesome.

And aren’t those pyramid tea bags so cute!?

Tea Forte has a delicious assortment of organic tea flavors…you have to try them.

Plus, the unique shape of the tea bags scattered around the tablescape adds even more interest to the table.

I used two of my favorite washed linen skinny table runners from South House Designs.

Weaving the linen runners through the middle of the tablescape gives another casual element and more texture to the table.

A porcelain white tea pot fits perfectly on a small wood riser.

The two tiered metal and wood tray is a Home Goods find but I found a great one here.

These clear glass mugs are big and just wait until you see what we filled them with!

Using different mugs next to the standard tea cup and saucer brings in a bit of whimsy.

Then I placed the large glass mugs on a mini wood cutting board to absorb any moisture.

And the round wood boards is another place to add…you guessed…a casual look.

Rustic serving and tiered trays, risers and cake stands were placed around the table.

Since the food was on the table for this party, there wasn’t much room for anything else to decorate the table for a tea party.

The food display doubled as the centerpiece.

I was able to find room for three small wood baskets filled with faux greenery orbs between the tea party food.

What Foods are Served at a Tea Party?

Light snacks are a great option to serve at a tea party.

Since Anne and I follow the Trim Healthy Mama eating plan, all the food served at the tea party fits that healthy lifestyle.

Anne created some amazing savory finger foods including tuna salad, egg salad, pimento cheese sandwiches, ham & cheese roll ups and more.

It was all so delicious!

Stay tuned for her to share some of the recipes on the blog soon.

Keto blueberry scones with a lemon glaze look almost too good to eat, don’t they?!

And they’re even prettier on the cake stand.

I can’t wait for this recipe to hit the blog.

Another sweet treat to serve are scrumptious chocolate dipped macaroons.

And yup, they’re keto friendly too!

How to Host an Adult Tea Party?

Have you ever heard of a tipsy tea party?

Well, this is the kind of party you don’t want your little ones to attend or at least partake in the tea sipping.

I’m not going to give away too much because Anne’s sharing her recipe on Saturday.

But let’s just say this adult cocktail is one you’ll want to serve at your tea party too.

Now you see why we needed those larger mugs! (wink…wink)

I hope you were inspired by these easy ideas to host your own afternoon, high, low or tipsy tea party.

Click on any image to shop items from this post

More Tea Party Tablescape Ideas from Our Friends

Next up on the tour is our friend Rachel from The Pond’s Farmhouse.

Wait until you see her gorgeous waterside table set for two!

Be sure to click each of the blog names below the photos to get even more inspiration for your high tea party table.

If you’re a blogger and you’d like to join our virtual dinner club for a month leave us a comment below or contact us here.

If you’ve missed any of our previous tablescape ideas just click the link for even more inspiration:

If you have any questions or suggestions, contact me or leave a comment!

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