If you've been following my posts (especially on social media) for a while, you know I have gotten into hosting themed parties. This one was no exception!
My mom has a pretty incredible collection of dishware, so I knew that part would be taken care of. She also has several tea towers and tea sets, so I picked some pink pieces to set the table.
I typically have a photobooth setup at my parties, and for this one I used construction paper and mylar balloons to create a very pink backdrop. I also used construction paper and wooden dowels to make props. A little usually goes a long way!
When I go to parties, I am always so excited about takeaways. I knew I wanted to have some cool takeaways for my tea party, but I also wanted to cater personally to my guests and try not to spend an exorbitant amount of money. I got the crazy idea to make my own homemade conversation hearts, so I looked up a recipe and made them! They were a bit of work, but not difficult.
Most of the fun was being able to personalize the hearts to each guest. I also ordered boxes from Amazon and used stickers, bows, and hot glue to dress them up.
In addition, I ended up having a takeaway table where guests could assemble their takeaway bags. My takeaways included seasonal KitKats, baggies of some simple beauty items like lip masks and undereye masks, a teacup (straight from my mom's stash) and homemade hot cocoa mix. The hot cocoa mix seems out of place, but one of my guests had mentioned she really wanted a cup of hot cocoa but couldn't have any because mixes have dairy in them. So in her honor, I made some dairy-free mix and put them in jars to take home.
You can find a lot of recipes online, like this one. Instead of using milk powder, I got some oat milk powder on Amazon.
As far as the menu, I had some dairy-free guests, so I had to get a little creative with what to serve. One of my favorite resources is Pinterest, so I looked up some traditional tea sandwich lists like this one, making notes and tweaks where I needed to.
My savory menu ended up being:
Turkey and cranberry sandwich, with homemade spiced redwine cranberry sauce
Curried egg salad sandwich
Chicken salad sandwich
Cucumber and garlic herb dairy-free Boursin sandwich
Proscuitto and fig jam puff (using Pillsbury crescent dough)
For the first time in my life, I struggled with making scones. I don't know if it's the recipe I chose, but I had to pivot and make a different kind of scone - I ended up with a brown sugar oatmeal scone. They weren't my favorite, but I think they were a decent vehicle for the clotted cream (which I got on Amazon!).
I like to think I shine when it comes to desserts, but taking dietary restrictions into consideration did limit my options. The good news is, sago is a dessert that doesn't rely on dairy to be great. Sago is basically a tapioca pudding. I used this recipe as a start, and I made my own strawberry jelly to add. You can also buy plenty of different jellies/toppings to add to your sago, they don't have to be homemade!
I made some classic rollout sugar cookies, but I attempted a gingham pattern. In hindsight, I should have done 5 rows of 5 but I still ended up liking the design (which was more checkerboard than gingham).
For my last dessert, I wanted to make something more of a crowd-pleaser, so I made a copycat cosmic brownie. Instead of having them plain, I baked them in pink cups and hot glued a handle to make them look like teacups! They weren't very big, but they packed a very rich punch.
As an homage to a champagne tea, I wanted to start off my gathering with a mocktail. I decided to make a sparkling cherry earl grey drink. I used this recipe as a base (as well as some others I had glanced at). I made the earl grey syrup ahead of time, as well as heart-shaped cherry ice cubes. I know this kind of beverage can be an acquired taste, but I was surprised that pretty much everyone enjoyed it!
I served classic English Breakfast tea in two tea pots. I also had hot water ready to go in a carafe as well as a full kettle ready. For our second round, we used some awesome tea one of my guests brought. I also had a selection of tea bags available.
We enjoyed our tea and small bites, and in true Jolene party fashion I had a little 'game' to play. I wrote out some questions before the party, and we passed a teacup around and pulled out questions. I am lucky enough to have very fun, interesting friends but I always make space for shyness, especially when not everyone knows each other. I do believe this is a significant part of a successful gathering. Sometimes meeting new people can be very intimidating, so having pre-prepared questions leveled the playing field and gave us a shared experience.
At the end of our party, we took full advantage of the photo booth and participated in a fun trend that has been pretty popular - the cardboard box! We took quite a few cute photos, and I photoshopped them all together after the party.
I had a really wonderful time, and I think everything worked out pretty well. Many times, the most effective hosting techniques are the most simple. Our cutest photos literally took place in a cardboard box!
I hope this inspires you to have a gathering of your own ❤️
Until next time,
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