Birthday Tea Party

The two biggest lessons I’ve learned in the last 4 years of planning parties for my littles, are 1) don’t make all the food yourself and 2) it’s easier if you don’t host the party at your house. I was pregnant, had a baby, and planned/hosted a welcome to the world party for the baby all just prior to Elle’s 4th birthday. So, I decided to take my own advice and had Elle’s party at a tea room. I loved it! I got to focus on the fun parts like decorating, favors, and games without the not so fun parts – cooking large quantities of food, worrying if there’s enough for everyone, making sure the house is spotless, & ensuring there’s enough space/amenities for everyone to be comfortable.

We set the tone of the party with an adorable invitation featuring Elle’s silhouette, similar to this one by Beyond Design

A little plug here: Ginger at Beyond Design is absolutely wonderful to work with. She’s designed very creative and special invites from scratch for me for several occasions. I’ve recommended her to lots of friends and she delivers flawlessly every single time!

The morning of the party, we came a little early to add the finishing touches to the place settings and do just a bit of decorating. I hung curling ribbon from the chandelier above the table and put the favors at each setting. I made tissue paper flowers with paper leaves that I wrote the guest’s name to use as place cards.


The favors were tiny ceramic tea pot candles for the Moms and purses with gloves (I picked up a few pairs on sale at JC Penney just after Easter) & “pearl” beaded necklaces that Elle and I made for the little partiers. The little white tea pots are from beau-coup. I followed the directions on a package of wax to melt it and dye it pink, filled the pots, inserted a wick, and tied on a favor tag. I used this tutorial to make the simple little purses with bracelet handles.

We started the party off with the Mommies and daughters making hats from wrapping paper, lace tape, and the tissue flower place cards. I don't remember where I saw this idea originally, but I just found this tutorial for you to use if you want to try it!

Then it was time for tea. The girls loved the finger sandwiches, devoured the sweets, and sipped fruity teas with lots of cream and sugar!

After all that prim and proper behavior, we of course made time for dress-up (even for the big girls)!