Can you recall a Christmas scene from a cherished book or favorite movie that included a big, merry gathering of family and friends? Perhaps you remember the winter reunion of aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House in the Big Woods. Or you might dream of attending a traditional Christmas ball, like the heroine did in Jane Austen’s Emma. Maybe you’d like to bring the spirit of the season to your neighbors, as the March girls did in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. Whatever your preference, you, too, can have a big gathering of friends, family, and neighbors when you host a Celebration of Merriment Tea!
Invitations
Make bells and bows the theme of your party invitations. You can cut out bell and bow shapes for the cards, or you can use a more classic design and add your own bells and bows to the invites. Include all the information your guests will need to know, and then sprinkle some bell and bow confetti into the envelope!
Table Setting and Décor
Ribbons and Bells
To create an instant feeling of Christmas at your Celebration of Merriment Tea, think of a familiar sound of the season—bells ringing! You can find jingle bells and ribbon at your local craft store (or order them online). Choose ribbon to match your family’s Christmas décor—silver and gold for an elegant appearance, plaids and raffia for a farmhouse feel, or red and green velvet for a traditional look. Tie a few bells to the end of each piece of ribbon and fasten the ribbons around your doorknobs. Every time someone opens a door, you’ll hear the sounds of Christmas.
Fun Food Service
Think of fun and easy ways to serve your tea party food—colorful paper plates, cups, and plasticware, veggies for dipping, and Christmas cookies displayed in paper bags that are rolled down and tied with ribbon (try crushing the bags and then unfolding them for an old-fashioned, textured look), dips and dressings in holiday-themed serving dishes. The table will look so fun and festive!
Punch Bowl Centerpiece
Your punch bowl can double as a container for a delicious beverage and a cheery centerpiece. Make colored ice cubes with juice or create big blocks of fruited ice. Freeze slices of fruit and berries along with water or light-colored juice in plastic containers. To ease the blocks out of the containers, soak them in a tub of warm water for about 15 minutes. They’ll slide out just fine and add a bright touch to your punch bowl.
Peppermint Candy Cane Cookies
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened
½ cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
3½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon red food coloring
2 tablespoons crushed peppermint
candy
2 tablespoons sugar
Directions
Mix the sugar, butter, milk, egg, and vanilla together. Add the peppermint. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Divide the dough into halves, and tint one half with red food coloring, fully mixing in the dye. Cover and refrigerate both halves of the dough for at least 4 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. On a floured surface, roll the dough into long ropes, then twist together a rope of each color dough in a spiral to make a candy cane effect. Cut the twisted dough strips to the desired length for your cookies, and curve the top of the cookie to form the handle of the candy cane. Bake on a cookie sheet until they are set and very light brown, 9 to 12 minutes. Make a mixture of the crushed peppermint candy and the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. After the cookies are baked, immediately sprinkle them with the peppermint sugar.
Craft Stations
Plan some fun crafting activities to do during your tea party. You can choose what kind of crafts to offer—and how many stations you want to set up. For an arts and crafts party, designate an art room somewhere in the house. You can set out pens and paints, paper and ribbon, rubber stamps, and glitter for creating cards and giftwrap. A table filled with oranges, cloves, toothpicks, ribbon, and scissors serves as a Christmas pomander-making station. Or create terra-cotta tree ornaments with terra-cotta modeling clay, fabric paint, Christmas cookie cutters, ribbon, and paper clips (for the hooks).
The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”
LUKE 2:10-11
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Let’s Have a Tea Party, by Emilie Barnes, helps young girls and their loved ones recapture the joy of teatime with fifteen themed tea party celebrations and attractive watercolor artwork.
Whether your special guests were dolls, stuffed animals, parents, or friends, do you remember having tea parties as a child? Now you can share this special tradition with your tween daughter with this collection of fun and unique teatime parties.
Alongside fifteen themed teas, you’ll find inspired ideas for holidays, beach parties, book clubs, birthdays, and more. Each tea party includes suggestions for invitations, table settings, decor, menus, recipes, activities, and crafts. These parties are easy to create and suitable for any budget.
Learn more about the book and how to purchase here.
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