Spring High Tea Birthday Party: Pinkies Up!

For a fun twist to coincide with your child’s birthday why not throw them a spring tea birthday party? This party can work with both sexes (if the boys are young enough) but girls will especially love this! Keep your guest’s ages between 4-7 years old for the most fun!

For a young child, a tea party is a fun opportunity to dress up in fancy clothes, pour and sip “tea” for friends (and their teddy bears), and celebrate being a year older by pretending to be a grown-up. There can be a few bonuses for parents, too. A “formal” tea is a fitting occasion for kids to be able practice good table manners and get into the habit of sending post-party thank you notes. You also have a great chance to swap stories with the guests’ parents while sharing your own pot of tea.

Tips for the tea party-

• Keep in mind that the table is a main focal point of this party, so be sure to go all out with a festive tablecloth, place cards and lollipop flowers.
• Remember this is for younger children so keep the activities simple: put on outfits from a dress-up box filled with old party clothes, hats and costume jewelry; go on a sticker hunt; pose for photos; and sing “I’m a Little Teapot.”
• It works well to fill a box with outfits from your closet or a local thrift store that the guests can dress up in.
• Be sure to buy film for group photos and toy cups and saucers for favor bags.

Be sure to go all out on table decorations.

The invitations-

You will want to brew up a proper invitation for this party. You can draw a teapot freehand or simply enlarge from the computer and use it as a template. Write the party greeting on the front and the date, time and other particulars on the back. Then cut out a tea bag “tag” on which to print “Bring a teddy bear, stuffed animal or doll.” Staple one end of a short string to the tag and the other end to the teapot top, and the invitation are ready to pop in an envelope to mail or deliver.

Lollipop flowers-

Colorful candy blossoms make a great centerpiece for your party table. The petals and leaves are simply cut out of colored paper. Affix the petals with tape around plain lollipops and cut slits in the leaves. For a special touch, you can arrange a bouquet by inserting the lollipop “stems” into a Styrofoam dome (sold at most craft stores).

Lacy paper fans

This is a perfect prop for your tea party guests and best of all these lacy paper fans are a breeze to make. Use a glue stick to affix a paper doily onto a sheet of colored paper, and then simply fold the sheet accordion style. For a handhold, you can pinch together one shorter end and secure it with a rubber band.

Party favors-

For a simple party favor turn white paper bags (sold at most party stores) into giant tea bag party favors by filling each one with costume jewelry, penny candy and a toy cup and saucer (buy a tea set and divide it up). Then fold the upper corners of each bag toward the center fold down the top and staple a piece of string to it. You can also staple a paper name tag to the end of the string.

Suggested menu-

• Juice, herbal iced tea or sun tea punch
• Tea sandwiches with the crusts removed and cut into quarters: PB & J or chicken salad
• Animal Crackers
• Mini cupcakes