Hosting Afternoon Tea
- Melanie Holsti
- Apr 6
- 4 min read
About 15 years ago. My oldest daughter was 3 and the youngest was still a baby. My husband’s aunt was about to celebrate her 70-something-eth birthday, and I had the bright idea to host a tea party for her. I was a fairly inexperienced tea drinker at the time, but I could bake and I had enough food service experience under my belt that I wasn’t afraid of assembly-lining some tea sandwiches.
Yes, I spent a couple of days cleaning house around meals, laundry and nap time. And no, I was not a great housekeeper, even before the children arrived.
We had a wonderful afternoon with Aunt Pauline, her daughters and a few of our close neighbors. I’m so glad I didn’t talk myself out of it, because we lost Aunt Pauline to cancer just a couple of years later.
It’s easy to think “I’d like to invite some people over for afternoon tea just as soon as [insert excuse here]". It could be you’re waiting for the baby to get a little older. Maybe you’re planning to repaint the living room. Maybe your sofa needs replaced. Maybe you don’t have fancy dishes. Maybe you think you’re the world’s worst housekeeper (I promise, you’re not). Maybe you think you don’t have enough space in your home (I can completely relate to that right now). Maybe you think you’re not the world’s best cook, you don’t have time to put together a fabulous afternoon tea menu, or you’re saving up to buy a house and money is tight.
Despite any or all of these obstacles, I promise you can still host a successful afternoon tea. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that you not only can, you absolutely should.
The Food Obstacle
Maybe you don’t have the time to bake and prepare all of the traditional tea time treats, or maybe you’re not so gifted in the kitchen. You don’t have to prepare all of the food yourself, and you also don’t have to do a full afternoon tea.
You can purchase some sandwich fillings at the grocery store, or find small desserts at a local bakery.
Some tea rooms offer afternoon tea to go.
Cream Tea (tea and scones with real or mock Devon cream, jam and lemon curd) You just have to prepare the tea and scones, the jam, curd and cream can be purchased.
The full-on afternoon tea with scones, finger sandwiches and desserts. If it’s your thing, go for it!
You could host a tea time recipe swap. You provide the tea and a batch of scones or finger sandwiches, and invite guests to bring their favorite teatime treat and share the recipe for it.
The Space Obstacle
If weather permits, think about using your carport, your front porch, your back yard or your deck.
Host at a local park’s pavilion, your church’s event room, a community hall, the local library, or in your bank’s meeting room
If your home is too small or you don’t have a dining roon:
Host in your basement, your garage or your barn
Ask a friend/mom/sister/aunt/dad if you can host at their place
If all else fails, consider inviting a small group of friends to a tea room or museum for afternoon tea
The Overwhelm Obstacle
Send the kids out for a special day with their other parent, your mom, your dad, your sibling, your BFF etc. Or, offer to switch child care with another parent. You’ll enjoy a low stress event and be able to bless someone else with some free time too.
Get a friend to help you clean house or prepare food, and then help them with their project. Many hands make light work.
The Time Obstacle
Maybe you work a full or part-time job outside the home, and your weekends are already packed. While afternoon tea is lovely and traditional, there’s no tea police that will arrest you for hosting tea in the morning or the evening.
The Money Obstacle
You could host a simple tea tasting, which is just a few kinds of tea and a sheet of paper for the participants to record their impressions about each tea.
Host a themed tea and food pairing. You provide the tea, your guests bring their favorite fruit, or chocolate, or cheese.
The Fear Obstacle:
If you don’t have fancy china and table linens, so what?
Use your coffee cups
Pick up a random assortment of teacups at thrift stores
Purchase disposable teacups online
Invite guests to bring their favorite teacup and share why it’s their favorite
Invite guests to bring a teacup for a swap
If your home isn’t perfect, again so what?
True friends and family aren’t going to judge you. They just love you and want to spend time with you. Anyone who is there to judge is either an acquaintance or a relative, and they are welcome to take their judgment somewhere else.
The tea is the vehicle for gathering together. The goal is making memories and building relationships.
So, what’s stopping you?
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