Dress Up Tea Party

Go thru your closets and see what's there the girls might enjoy dressing up in. Also check places like the local Thrift Shop or the Salvation Army. Set up a make up ( a little pink lipstick, eye shadow and maybe some blush) table, a floor length mirror and clothes, hats, purses and lots of jewelry for them to choose from. Have the children put their hair up in fancy hairstyles using ribbons, bows and curls. Again the dollar store is a good source for jewelry or garage sales. Use clip on ear rings. Have each girl model what she has chosen to wear. Once everyone is dressed and ready to go, have them gather around for a short photo session. Have them do some silly poses. Make up bags of the jewelry for each girl for gifts.

After they are all dressed serve the girls their tea (punch) and cake. Set the tables ahead of time. Use tea cups and fancy tablecloths. For a centerpiece you can use a single carnation in a vase or 3 balloons in center with confetti sprinkled on the table.  If the birthday girl has willing siblings, dress them up like maids and butlers, and they can serve the �ladies.�

Serve sandwiches cut out with cookie cutters on pretty plates.

To make a tea party interesting for young children today, here are some helpful hints:

Select a theme that works with the tea partners; invite some children who don't yet know each other well; then get some background on each child in order to make introductions and generate conversation.

Make up a place card for each child, and offer some inexpensive party favors to serve as conversation pieces among the children.

Create a child-friendly environment (use washable linens and replaceable crockery) so that no one will be upset if something spills or breaks. After all, they are children who are looking for a good and relaxing time.

Offer them some other theme-related activity that is engaging but not too difficult or time-consuming - partaking of tea and its trimmings should be the main focus.

Let very young children help with simple tasks such as filling and bringing out the sugar bowl or adding the finishing touches to pastries or savories with fruit or herbs. Older children can help with actually creating and serving the food.

Before launching into the party proper, briefly explain the history of tea (consult a book on tea) and suggest some points of etiquette (for example, don't use the sugar spoon to stir one's tea; don't leave one's teaspoon in the teacup, and so forth).

As host, offer a gamut of food for different tastes. If your child is a guest, teach him or her the virtues of trying everything once. Since everything is in small portions at tea parties, there's less to waste if they decide they don't like it.

Tea Party Game
Use large tea pot.... On small pieces of paper, write one crazy thing to do, such as, "Walk around the table on your hands," or "Skip around the room waving your arms like a bird," or "Stand on a chair and sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". Have the guests take turns selecting one piece of paper from the Tea Pot and performing what the paper says - sort of like Charades. Give a prize for the funniest, silliest, best singer, ect. Make the prizes match the nature of the crazy thing they had to do.
 

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