The Importance of Tea Parties

One of my earliest memories involves a teddy bear tea party.

I woke up from a nap to find my polar bear missing and was a little worried until my mom came in and said, “Do you hear that?” I paused and cocked my head. I didn’t hear a thing, but then my mom asked again and took my hand.

I followed her, thinking she might be losing it—you never know with parents, and I knew she was sleep-deprived because my little brother had just come on the scene—when we came to the door to the living room.

She pushed the door open and suddenly I heard it! All of my stuffed animals—and I had quite a few—had laid out a blanket with a variety of food, along with drinks in my special tea set, and they were singing the “Teddy Bear Tea Party” song! Now, their voices may have sounded vaguely familiar, like my mother’s, but it was easy to forget that in the joy of finding my stuffed animals enjoying themselves without me.

Well, that was just gonna stop right now. My mom and I sat down to join them and what followed was a joyous occasion filled with brownies and cookies and bread and honey (of course!) and berries and delicious tea with cream and sugar.

You can see why it was such a magical moment.

You can also see why I still to this day have a special place in my heart for tea parties.

One of the things I hope to work on with my kids as they get older is real connection. I want my kids to grow up making connections with people in the physical world, not just online or on their phone. To that end, I have to work on it myself, because frankly, as an extreme introvert who is also a stay-at-home mom, it’s getting harder and harder to make real connections in the real world.

Enter the tea party. I LOVE having people over for a delicious cuppa tea. It’s simple, doesn’t take long, and encourages good conversation. There’s probably a reason why drinking tea has been incredibly important to civilization in both the East and West…

My tea of choice depends on my mood. It can vary from PG Tips (a classic British black tea), to a beautiful chamomile blend called Evening in Missoula (who knew something named for Missoula could taste so great 😉 ), to Huckleberry black tea, to Jasmine pearls, to a simple mint blend.

What makes having a tea party even more fun is having a complete set to serve it with! I have the coolest Alice in Wonderland tea set ever, all thanks to my mother-in-law. It all started with the tea pot, then the cream and sugar holders, then the cups and plates just keep coming! If you need a brilliant idea for a gift for a mom, get her a tea set. Just buy her one piece at a time and spread it out over birthdays and Christmases for years. I have had so much fun opening a new piece every year!

I also have a Tardis tea set with Tardis tea-strainers—a nod to my geeky half…okay maybe it’s more like 2/3. 😉

I also have a mini porcelain set that’s Classic Pooh, which I plan to use with my kids when they’re just a little older. In the meantime, we use a fun plastic Classic Pooh version.

Bean may be a boy, but even boys enjoy tea parties! I mean, who can argue with finger foods. And even though honey may be sticky, it’s worth the mess to know I’m making my own special memories for him to look back on when he’s older.

And I bet you thought this entry was going to be about little girl tea parties…which I suppose, in a way, it was!