Simple Ideas For A Fancy Tea Party At Home

Planning a tea party? Check out these details from our backyard tea party with little girls!

this awesome idea!

Garden Tea Party

Our little girls were begging for a fancy tea party, so my sisters and I threw one together and it was so much fun! This was just the first of many tea parties at home we've had. And we do not plan to stop anytime soon.

Whether you want to plan a tea party for the first time or looking for tea party birthday ideas for your next afternoon tea, I hope these ideas are helpful!

Check out the entire tea party series here with all things tea party!

How To Plan a Tea Party

Before we get to the tea party inspiration, here's how to plan a tea party!

1. Decide on a date and invite your guests.
2. Choose a venue. Will you have your tea party outside, inside, at a park, in the backyard, etc?
3. Have everyone dress up. Yes, even the adults. Having a reason to dress up in your finest clothes is so fun!
4. Choose a tea party menu. (See our tea party menu below or check out these most popular tea party food ideas here.) To simplify, have each guest bring something to share.
5. Set up your tea party table. Here's a guide how to set the table for a tea party.
6. Once the tea party begins, enjoy your tea, scones, cream, and other high tea treats.
7. For extra fun, take a group picture and talk in your best English accent.

Tea Party Decorations

We kept the tea party decorations very simple. Of course, it would be fun to go all out, but for our backyard tea party, we let the food be the focus of the event. A few extra little details though made it feel extra special.

• Boxwood topiaries- I pulled these boxwood topiaries off my front porch and set the on the patio to make it feel like we were in an English garden
• Lace tablecloth- my mom's white lace tablecloth made the table feel extra fancy
• Fresh flowers- we picked up a few cheap flower bouquets from the grocery store and put them in jars to use on the tea party table
• Tiered trays- our tiered trays were perfect for our tea party since traditional tea parties always use tiered trays.
• Cake platters to use for food
• China tea set- we used my sister's thrifted tea set. Thrift stores always have tea sets, so if you're in the market for a cheap tea set, that's a good place to look!

Tea Party Menu

Since we had little girls at our tea party, we chose delicious and kid-friendly foods that everyone would enjoy.

If you are having a tea party with adults, you can definitely add in more grown-up foods like clotted cream or these other tea party food ideas.

Tea party food ideas:

• Homemade tarts with lemon filling and creme
• Chocolate chip cookies
• Raspberries
• Blackberries
• Bruschetta on baguettes
• Cucumber sandwiches
• PB & J sandwiches cut into flowers
• Mini Cinnamon muffins
• Lindt chocolate truffles, unwrapped
• English scones with jam
• Lemonade

What to Wear at a Tea Party

Pull out your finest dresses and jewelry to wear to the tea party! Wearing princess dresses, crowns, and fancy shoes make it seem all the more special.

These little girls were so thrilled to have a special occasion to get dressed up for and were more than happy to pose for lots of pictures!

Tea Party Fascinators

You know those fancy hats that you see at tea parties? Those are called fascinators. (Don't worry, I had to learn, too.)

I bought a white fascinator on Amazon for under $10 for our first tea party for adults, so I was super happy to get to use it again. A fascinator is a great accessory piece to keep in your costume box.

Tea Party Hats

If you don't have a fascinator, a wide-brimmed summer hat will be perfect for your backyard or garden tea party!

No matter if you do a tea party with little girls or adults, I hope these ideas will help you see how easy and fun a fancy tea party can be at home!

More Tea Party Ideas