Children love tea parties. They are fascinated by the serving pieces of various heights and shapes, the glitter of a silver tea tray and the fun of rolling the teacart from room to room. No detail is too small for a child’s attention, and tea parties are all about details—the little silver spoons, the lacy napkins, the small lumps of brown sugar for the tea—and children are intrigued by all the accouterments of a tea party, from tea strainers and infusers to decorative tea cozies. A tea party is truly a classroom for a child’s curious mind, and it is never too early for a child to learn about the Philosophy of Tea, as young ones love to help others and innately understand the virtues of politeness and respect.
Children can learn many other life skills in the “School of Tea,” including organization and planning, time management, patience, cooperation and the rudiments of food preparation. Of course children should not be allowed to boil water or handle hot teapots, but they can participate in almost all of the other aspects of preparing and serving Afternoon Tea. Our Children’s Tea menu is designed for an adult host or hostess and one to three child guests to prepare and enjoy the tea party together. |
An Afternoon Tea for Children: Implementation Plan and Timeline
Even a novice at Afternoon Tea can organize and enjoy this children’s tea party with the help of the guests of honor. The key to success is a little pre-planning and completing a few of the steps in advance without the children’s assistance. As part of the recipes for this Tea, we offer a timeline to help you create a tea party that all participants can enjoy. |
Menu
Beverages:
Hot Chocolate with Marshmallows
Apple Juice
Orange Juice with Maraschino Cherries
Savories:
Trio of Finger Foods: Pitted Black Olives, String Cheese, Seedless Red Grapes
Sandwiches:
Peanut Butter and Apple or Grape Jelly Sandwiches on White or Brown Bread
Fried Egg Sandwiches on English Muffins
Grated Carrot and Cream Cheese Sandwiches on Raisin Bread
Sweets:
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
Vanilla Custard with Sliced Bananas and Vanilla Wafers
S’Mores
Beverages:
Hot Chocolate with Marshmallows
Apple Juice
Orange Juice with Maraschino Cherries
Savories:
Trio of Finger Foods: Pitted Black Olives, String Cheese, Seedless Red Grapes
Sandwiches:
Peanut Butter and Apple or Grape Jelly Sandwiches on White or Brown Bread
Fried Egg Sandwiches on English Muffins
Grated Carrot and Cream Cheese Sandwiches on Raisin Bread
Sweets:
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
Vanilla Custard with Sliced Bananas and Vanilla Wafers
S’Mores
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Recipes Included: Hot Chocolate You will enjoy this hot cocoa as much as the children will. Our recipe makes enough for about eight cups of hot chocolate. Peanut Butter and Apple or Grape Jelly Sandwiches Almost universally, children love Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches. And this classic American invention is often the first “recipe” that children learn to make without adult supervision. For your Afternoon Tea for Children, your young guests will make the sandwiches themselves. Since children have strong opinions about whether they prefer smooth or chunky Peanut Butter, white or brown bread, or jelly or jam, why not provide them with several choices and let them create the Peanut Butter Sandwiches of their dreams? Fried Egg Sandwiches on English Muffins Fry from three to six eggs (depending on the size of your party) and break the yolks slightly so they will not run on the sandwiches. Put the eggs on a plate and place it in the sandwich making workstation along with salt and pepper shakers, mayonnaise and English muffins, so the children can make these sandwiches themselves. Grated Carrot and Cream Cheese Sandwich Filling Children like the flavors and visual interest of these healthy sandwiches. You can make the filling a day ahead and let the children make their own sandwiches when the party starts. Vanilla Custard with Sliced Bananas and Vanilla Wafers Children love this old fashioned dessert. The thing that makes it extra special is home made custard. Make the custard the day before the party and refrigerate it. Let the children arrange the custard, the Vanilla Wafers and the sliced bananas any way they want in a decorative bowl. Vanilla Custard Custard is a luscious cooked pudding made primarily of milk or cream, egg yolks and sugar. It is not difficult to make at home, and homemade custard is infinitely better than the pudding that is made from the little boxes that you can buy at the store. Custard is also very versatile; it is a key ingredient in Trifle, but it can also be combined with coconut, bananas or chocolate, poured into a baked pie crust and topped with Whipped Cream for a cream pie, or included in any number of fruit or gelatin parfaits. S’Mores S’mores are an unforgettable combination of three ingredients—graham crackers, chocolate bars and marshmallows. All three of these items are yummy on their own, but when combined and toasted, they form a dessert sandwich made in heaven! No wonder their odd name is based on the phrase, “I want some more!” This traditional campfire treat can be made at home in either the regular oven or the microwave. Our recipe uses the regular oven at a very high temperature. The children can assemble the s’mores themselves. It will be your job to get them in and out of the oven. |
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An Imaginary Tea for Toddlers
Young children are fascinated by tea parties, and rightly so because a tea party is a visual and tactile delight. However, a full-blown adult tea party, such as our Mother’s Day Tea, is far too complex for pre-school children to appreciate. Fortunately, young children have active imaginations, and they love to play pretend. They would enjoy an imaginary tea party as much as a real one. The activity we are suggesting is not a tea party at all, but a game. A pretend tea party can provide hours of fun for both the child and the adult, and it can pave the way for the life-long enjoyment of real tea parties to come. There are three elements in an adult tea party that naturally attract children:
Toy manufacturers are well aware that children love tea parties, and a wide variety of children’s tea sets are available for purchase. These would make nice gifts for children who could then play tea party alone or with other children. However, most commercial children’s tea sets are geared only toward girls, are invariably pink plastic and covered with pictures of princesses. We think this approach narrows a child’s understand of Afternoon Tea. First of all, the custom of sharing Afternoon Tea has always been open to both men and women, and there is no reason why little boys shouldn’t enjoy a pretend tea party. Secondly, we believe that with adult supervision, children can play with real tea objects, including silver tea sets, without harming themselves or the serving pieces. Getting the real linen napkins out of the drawer and taking the elegant three-tiered pastry server out of the cabinet can add an air of excitement and adventure. This process can also provide the adult with the opportunity to teach the children the rudiments of tea party decorum and respect for the beauty and delicacy of the tea objects themselves. Carefully putting the serving pieces away can also be part of the game. Once the tea objects have been assembled, all that will be needed for the child’s imagination to soar is a few small snacks such as dried cranberries or graham crackers to place on the beautiful serving pieces. The child will be more than happy to pretend that he is pouring tea into your cup and adding cream or sugar from the lovely (but empty) cream pitcher and sugar bowl. If the child seems interested, you can also include flower arranging, decorating the room or playing music as part of the game. Don’t forget that once the game begins, the child is in charge, and you are simply her companion on this journey of the imagination. |