Tips for A No-Fuss Tea Party
You love hosting tea parties, but you don’t necessarily love all the work that goes along with them. Did you know that it’s possible to host a great party without all the fuss you’ve endured in the past? Yes, you can. It requires a little bit of thinking outside the box. A tea party doesn’t have to be what everybody else says it should be. It can be fun, unique and memorable too without all the fuss.
Putting together a no-fuss tea party means looking at new ways of doing things. To give you a better idea of how to get there, i’ve listed a few simple tips in this post. Once the creative juices start flowing, you too will probably think of other great ideas to use for future parties, and even pass those ‘magic tricks’ along to your friends as well.
Take Your Party Outdoors
One of the biggest challenges with tea parties is trying to make the best use of indoor spaces without inconveniencing the rest of the family or endangering your brand-new carpet or hardwood flooring or worse worrying about the post party clean up. The solution is simple: take your party outdoors.
A backyard or garden tea party can be just as elegant and refined as any indoor affair. Cover your garden table with a nice table cloth, adorn it with some vintage miss match china and crystal, hang some beautiful decorations around and even along the fence line. You can do a lot outdoors with very little time and effort. Adding an outdoor game or two makes it a lively event.
Go Natural with Table Settings
Your table settings do not have to be so elaborate as to warrant having all your girlfriends over two weeks before to assemble them. One of the simplest and easiest ways to create natural table settings is to go natural. Pick up a large bouquet of wildflowers or any seasonal flora from a local wholesale florist or Costco.Doing this gets you more bang for your buck and sometimes the florist might have flowers they want to get rid of and you may come home with the money still in your pocket. Then split the flowers into smaller groups which you can place in individual vases inside and outside the house. You can also make one large arrangement at the entrance of the house for that welcoming feeling.
Keep Food Choices Simple
The more complex your menu, the more complicated your tea party becomes. Let’s be honest; tea parties are more about socializing with your friends over a cuppa or more like a rosé rather than eating. Keep your menu as simple as possible. If your idea of no fuss translates to zero kitchen hours then head to the nearest supermarket or deli and have them put together either a sandwich platter or a cheese and vegetable plate. For dessert you can get a store bought sponge cake, assorted berries, beat up a chantilly cream ( icecream if you are super lazy) and layer it in individual bowls. A great tip i learned was that, guests enjoy their food better when they’re a part of it. For example, setting up an icecream bar with a 2 or 3 standard flavors and a few toppings makes it fun for guests to create their own dessert bowl and it also makes it a more personal dish.Setting up a diy food station looks unique and adds a fun element to your gathering.
$value) {
if (strpos($key,”psps_”) > -1 ) {
$psps_parameters .= ‘&’.$key.’=’.urlencode($value);
$psps_base_url = str_replace(‘&’.$key.’=’.urlencode($value), “”, $psps_base_url);
$psps_base_url = str_replace($key.’=’.urlencode($value), “”, $psps_base_url);
}
}
$psps_parameters .= “&psps_show_search=true”;
$psps_parameters .= “&psps_show_navigation=true”;
$psps_parameters .= “&psps_show_products=true”;
$psps_url = “?psps_base_url=”.urlencode($psps_base_url);
$psps_url=”http://shops.popshops.com/shops/php/dtj99aqdmxeksajv2aaok9510$psps_url$psps_parameters”;
# Include the shop
if (function_exists(‘curl_init’)) {
$shop=curl_init();
curl_setopt($shop,CURLOPT_URL,$psps_url);
curl_exec($shop);
curl_close($shop);
} else {
readfile($psps_url);
}
?>
Get Help
A fair bunch of us get extremely stressed out when planning and preparing for a tea party because they are trying to do everything alone. Some of us have that ‘special’ friend, who passive aggressively undermines her friends.Yes i hear you. She’s the one who intentionally brings a dish to a party without checking with the hostess just so she can show off her (mediocre) culinary skills, throw off the party menu and try to sabotage her hostess’ efforts. Well, get karma on your side and take advantage of this great opportunity.Ask her to bring would could probably be the most labor intensive dish. Who knows, her dish might flop and she won’t try to undermine you again.On the positive side however, we also have some precious friends who are always there for us and you can reach out to them to help curate the theme and create an impressive and elegant afternoon.Keep your resource circle small so that you can co-ordinate easily.
Let one of your besties be responsible for organizing the table settings and decor. The one with the best handwriting can write and mail out invitations.While the best cook in your group can iron out all the food related matters.
Tea parties do not have to be preceded by a chaotic nervous breakdown. You can put on a no-fuss party if you are willing to look at new, fresh ideas that make the party about the party, rather than the preparation.