How to Create a Magical Mother ’ s Day
T P
ea arty
By Jeanne Coates
The request seemed overwhelming – a tea party for men and women , party of 7 . I didn ’ t even know how to start . Luckily , I love tea rooms , so I had a good idea of what I wanted to serve . What I didn ’ t have were teacups and recipes . Here is how we built a beautiful tea party .
The who , when and where : The first step is finding a date and time and determining your guest list . Co-ed , multi-generational – a tea party works for everyone .
Find a spot with lots of natural light . We used my daughter ’ s home , which had a wet bar for the tea setup , a nice table where we could put some of the food and a bar for the rest .
The menu : Since we had hungry men , delicate women and a request for traditional tea food , this is the menu we came up with ( some recipes are available at
www . parentmagazinesflorida . com ).
• Broccoli and Cheddar Soup ( Panera brand from the grocery store )
• Butternut Squash Soup ( Panera brand from the grocery store )
• Tea Bread ( recipe available )
• Tea Sandwiches – cucumber , chicken salad and ham salad ( recipes available )
• Assorted Tarts ( bought from a local bakery )
• Assorted Cookies & Macaroons ( bought from a local bakery )
• Green Salad ( fresh vegetable , however you would like it . I recommend a choice of a vinaigrette and poppy seed dressings .)
• Fruit Salad ( recipe available )
• Scones ( bought from an excellent local bakery )
The serving pieces : The beauty of a tea party is eclectic works ! I grabbed some serving pieces that I had in storage , borrowed tea pots from everyone I know and then realized I did not own enough teacups . A friend recommended that I check out a thrift store , and it was a great suggestion . I found many styles , from the 1940s
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