Great Ideas for a Kid's Tea Party

 Every now and then, it is nice to do something different, but not too outlandish, to celebrate the birthday of a child. Rather than having a raucous party, you can still put on a fun-filled afternoon of giggles, delight and lovely food.
sourceEvery little girl at some point, should have a tea party for her birthday (or any occasion, in fact!). Not too young to be considered baby-ish and not too old to be considered inappropriate, a tea party is a gathering of friends for fun activities, food and drinks in a way is very girls. So ring the changes from the moment they arrive at the door, to the moment they leave clutching one of the many party bag fillers you have to complement the day. It’s time to get creative!Tea parties are a small groups of friends, all coming together to spend some time, celebrating a birthday and enjoying some activities. Many tea parties tend to be creative in their theme and thus, if this is something that appeals to you and your little girl, then this is the right kind of party.

• Theme or no theme?

The first decision is whether to have a theme or not. Some young ladies decide they just want their friends to wear their prettiest dress, have their hair up and pretty shoes too and arrive ‘as they are’. Some choose to have a theme and there are loads to choose from; what about Alice in Wonderland for example?

• Get decorating!

The great thing about tea parties is that they are great to decorate with garlands, bows, sequins and glitter. Pastel shades of pinks and blues are just perfect, along with ditzy print flowered patterns for table clothes, napkins and so on.There are many pretty ideas online, some that can be bought and others that can be made. Most homes, for example, have a PC so why not design your own beautiful invitation cards? Again, there are online templates that can be used.Keep an eye out for homemade garlands too. Print shapes on various colours card to match your color scheme, and cut round the shapes. String them all together using string or pretty coloured lace and hang from walls and ceiling. 

• Pretty food too!

Tea parties are a great way to get creative with how food is presented too. You may still be serving the staple party food fare – sausage rolls, cocktail sausages on sticks, a selection of sandwiches and so forth – but how you present them can really make or break the tea party. Cake stands can now be bought relatively cheaply are coloured or patterned cardboard and can be used to display everything from fancy cakes to sandwiches. Follow the true essence of a tea party, making sure that the food is cut into tasty morsels. And don’t forget to decorate the food! Purchase cocktails sticks with delightful flags on them to litter across the food and so forth. Your guests – and party girl – will love it!

• The crafting activities

Many tea parties have one thing in common and that is that the guests leave with a creation all of their own; a memory from the tea party that could last for many years, bringing the memories flooding back of what a great time they had. Again, there are many ideas…

• Create your own teddy bear – using material already pre-cut into the shape of a teddy bear, show the children how to sew or glue on eyes, create a mouth, add hair and so on. Sewing can take a long time when it is a new skill, so invest in some coloured pens for use of fabric, as well as glue and sequins and so on. When they have finished, show them how to sew the two sides together, leaving a small hole with which to stuff their bear. They may need help sewing the last bit closed! But, after a few hours interspersed with chatting and giggling, the guests have their own unique teddy bear to take home. 
• Tea parties can also be a great way of making an item of clothing too – what about creating your own t-shirt? Buy white or light, pastel coloured t-shirts and using clothing marker pens, get your guests to design their own t-shirt. Help them out with glitter, glue and sequins too and maybe some feather and the like to add a 3D look to their t-shirt design. 

There are loads of crafting ideas suitable for all ages that can really make a tea party go with a swing. Enjoy!