Select a date and time of day.
Traditionally tea takes place between meals at 3 o'clock in the afternoon.
A spring tea would generally happen between the months of March and May. The best time of day in my experience is between the hours of 11am to 12 noon. In this case you need to prepare enough food for a luncheon tea party
A Christmas time tea would need to be scheduled so that your guests are around for the holidays. Generally the best time for this is November to early December.
Consider a Christmas tea party, candle lit around 6 pm in the evening. When having a tea party at this time, again prepare food enough for an evening meal, not dinner, but substantial finger foods.
Prepare guest list.
A group of 6-8 is a good number of guests for an intimate celebration. More than 8 guests at your party means you need to have your food buffet style, unless you have a table that extends enough to accommodate many tiers and platters of food.
Deicde on color scheme or theme of your party.
Is this going to be a traditional Victorian Tea? In this case you need a tablecloth made of lace, floral patterned china and silver trays.
Maybe you would like to plan your tea around a certain color like bright pink or yellow. Is it a birthday party? Consider an Alice in Wonderland theme.
Select and send invitations.
Look for invitations that give your guest an idea of what to expect and something that speaks to them of the theme of your tea. Send out invitations 4-6 weeks ahead of time to allow your guest proper time to respond.
Invitation example:
You are invited to a tea party
given by : host or hostess name
April 12, 2008
12 O'Clock in the afternoon
address
Kindly respond before
March 30, 2008
phone # of host or hostess
Plan your menu...Here are some tips to keep in mind when planning the menu.