Tuesday, 7 April 2015

A guide to planning the perfect High Tea


A High Tea is a great theme for a number of events though it is mostly used for parties and get-togethers. So if you’re searching for inspiration for your event or if you’re already considering having a High Tea, I have some tips to make the day run smoothly.

A Theme within a Theme:

If you want people to dress up in specific colours or patterns you should set a theme. Here are some options:
o   Pastels (combinations such as light pink, light green, and light purple are quite fun)
o   The Union Jack (aka blue, red and white)
o   Olden day England (You can assign each guest a person to dress up as: either you can all be royals or the birthday girl can be the queen and everyone else can be nobility)
o   Spots and stripes (many people have clothes with patterns on so ask them to wear those)
o   Black and white (this is cool; almost as if you’re stuck in an old-fashioned movie)
o   Mad-hatters (this one is a favourite because it gives your guests and opportunity to mix and match their outfits)

Invitations:

This of course depends on your other theme but just remember that the invitation is the first thing your guests see so it has to set the tone for the day.

Planning Ahead:

Entertainment:

On the actual day you’ll want your guests to have fun, right? So, although there will be a lot of chitter chatter you should probably organise some games as well. Of course the games will depend on the age group but some of my favourites include:
o   Croquet
o   Gaze and Relic
o   This is a very old game that has been played at High Teas for decades. Thankfully it’s not very complicated. All you need to do is set up a tray of items that are related to the theme (e.g. a tiara, wand, glove) and then every person gets about thirty seconds to memorize the items on the tray before they have to write down as many as they can remember.
o   Tea tasting or guess the flavour of tea
o   Blindfold nibbles
o   Some of the guests are blindfolded; they have to eat a variety of small snacks and guess what they are eating.
o   Quizzes (e.g. how well do you know your royals/cosmetics/celebrities)
o   Nail painting game
o   You have a selection of nail polishes that are numbered; you roll the dice and if you get a three then you have to paint one of your fingernails with the nail polish numbered 3.
o   The chocolate game
o   This game is absolutely delicious. If you’ve never played it before you’ve missed out. Basically, you all sit in a circle and take turns rolling the two dice. When you role a double six you have to put on three or more items of clothing (e.g. a hat, scarf and gloves); the other girls and boys continue throwing the dice whilst you quickly change. You then have to cut squares of chocolate using a fork; you can only cut one square at a time. If no one has rolled a double six by then you can eat the square of chocolate and once you’re finished it you can start cutting another one.

Prizes:

Usually High Teas are only for girls or ladies so the prizes should be very girly; however, they can also vary according to the theme. Some fun prizes are: lip glosses, nail polishes, nail stickers …

Food:

All great High Teas have a balanced amount of savoury and sweet treats.
Sweet Treat ideas:

o   Cake
o   Scones
o   Cupcakes
o   Macaroons
o   Shortbread
o   Biscuits
o   Tarts
o   Brownies
Savoury Treat ideas:
o   Miniature sausage roles
o   Samosas
o   Miniature sandwiches
o   Sushi
o   Popcorn

Decorations:


Again this depends on the theme but the basic decorations you should include are: a table cloth, table centre (e.g. a vase), serviettes and lots of flowers.

HAVE FUN!!!!


No comments:

Post a Comment