Summer Tea Party - A Picnic for Two

For your summer tea party, invite your sister, daughter, mother, best friend, etc for a special picnic lunch/tea for two! :-)

First pick the spot to have the tea party - a nice quiet spot is best - perhaps by a river, in a field, or even just in your back yard! :-)
Spread out a nice large, pretty blanket on the ground (If your friend prefers not to sit on the ground, simply set up a small table, like a card table, with chairs, or use a picnic table at your local park. :-)).

Use pretty paper plates and cups for lunch, and

What to eat -

Egg Salad Sandwiches -
Boil the eggs (generally two to three for each sandwich), then peel and mash them with a potato masher or a fork. Add Mayonnaise or Miracle whip to taste.

Some other ideas to make your sandwiches different -
Add celery, or green onions.
Add a little mustard.
Add some salt and/or pepper.

(I prefer just plain egg salad with miracle whip myself, but make it the way you like it, and ask your friend how she would like it! :-)).

Note - If your friend dislikes Egg Salad, try making either peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, or turkey sandwiches. :-)

What to Drink -

Make iced tea using peach herbal tea bags. :-) Make sure to keep it chilled, and have some ice ready. :-)

(Note - it'd also be a good idea to have some water handy. :-) Just bring along two water bottles, or a small pitcher. :-)).

For Dessert -
(For tea just have the iced tea. :-)).

Tea Cookies
(Taken from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tea-Cookies-I/Detail.aspx ).

INGREDIENTS

* 1 cup butter, softened
* 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 pinch salt
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
* 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for dusting


DIRECTIONS

1. Beat together the butter and confectioners' sugar till creamy. Add vanilla.
2. Mix the dry ingredients, stir into creamy mixture. Blend well.
3. Add the nuts, mix well, roll the dough out into two balls. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.
4. Flatten dough out and cut into 15 or 20 equal size pieces, shape into balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 10 to 12 minutes till firm but not brown. While still warm roll into confectioners' sugar, let cool and roll again.


At this tea party you probably won't want to play any games, so just go prepared to chat. :-)
Enjoy your picnic tea! :-)

Sippen - A blog review

Although we are a tea blog, at tea parties, and on hot summer days, some of your guests, or yourself, might enjoy a refreshing drink other then tea.
The ladies at Sippen www.sippen.blogspot.com offer some drink options that sound just perfect! Please do stop by and visit their lovely blog!! :-)

Spring Tea Party - Part Two - Party Games

At your Spring Tea Party you should play at least two games, to make things more interesting for the guests.

Here are some ideas for you -

Tea Party Bingo (Taken from http://www.theteahousetimes.com/).

Take a piece of paper and put five boxes down and five boxes across, and mark the middle one "Free". Then have the guests write words like - one in each box - "Tea" "Tea pot" "Sugar" "Milk" "Scones" "Jam", etc (ideas at the web site :-) Just list the words you want them to use at the bottom of the paper and have them write it in themselves. :-)). Then throughout the party use the words in different stories, or just randomly call one of them out. The first person to mark down five of the words in a row (Horizontal, Vertical, or Diagonal) calls out "Bingo!" and wins. (If you want too you can have small prizes for the winners - a tea cup, a little knit bag full of different kinds of tea bags, etc.).

Game number two is called Change Seats - (Taken from http://oldfashionedliving.com/parlour-games.html).

Change Seats -
This is a variation on a Victorian game, but a warning to those attempting this one, clear the room of precious little decorations, it can get a little wild! All but one person sits in a chair. The person in the middle asks someone in the circle "Do you love your neighbor?" The person selected then has to state either "No." at which point the people in the chairs on each side of him/her have to change seats QUICKLY. If they aren't quick enough, the person in the middle may slip into one of the vacated seats, making the unseated neighbor it. The chosen person may instead answer, "Yes, I love my neighbor, except those who (fill in the blank....are wearing blue, or have brown hair, or play tennis, etc) Everyone who fits the description (ie is wearing blue for example) has to jump up and change seats, while the person in the middle tries to steal one. The person left standing has to ask another person if he/she loves his/her neighbor, beginning a new round.

(Note - If your guests don't feel comfortable saying "No" when asked if they love their neighbor, just make up another saying for them! :-)).

I hope your Spring Tea Party is fun! (And sorry again for getting this post up so late!!).

God bless!

Thank you Joy!

Many thanks to Joy at http://practicalpurity.blogspot.com/ for this award!! You have a beautiful blog yourself Joy!!! (BTW, if you haven't stopped by her blog, you should!! :-)).

I'd like to award Kate at http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/wautoma/ !! She always has beautiful templates (and sells them cheap BTW!! :-)). She also is a wonderful young lady!!! :-)

Also the four girls from http://pattysplace.wordpress.com/ ! Wonderful young ladies!! :-)

Also Susan and Rebecca at Sippen sippen.blogspot.com . Beautiful blog with wonderful ideas!! (And two wonderful young ladies running it! :-)).

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I'd also like to apologize for never getting the 2nd post of the Spring Tea Party up!!! I shall try to do that soon!

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Thanks again Joy! :-)