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I hope you don’t mind, but I am in a bit of a tea frenzy. With Alice and Wonderland opening this week, helping my mom and aunt with an afternoon tea for my grandmother’s birthday, and dreams of spring garden parties, well, let’s just say it’s tea time around here. And so while I am tweaking recipes for some updated tea sandwiches in with the old favorites, and mastering a mean linzer cookie, I figured I better get all the accessories together that we will need.
We need lots of plates for the crustless nibbles and scones – I like to mix and match … grandma’s china with some flea market finds is the way to go here, plus a bit of my own china too. For a spring tea, breakout the florals and butterflies if you have it. We also need plenty of tea cups, for the tea itself and they also work as great vessels for small floral arrangements throughout the party.
Same goes for tea pots – the more the merrier! It’s not a tea party without several varieties to choose from – for daily cups my favorite is green tea kombucha, but for tea parties, pots of your favorite loose-leaf is the way to go. In addition to china and porcelain tea pots, this is the perfect time to bring out my grandmother’s vintage tea service. Extra teapots can also be used to hold larger floral arrangements.
But since we cannot subsist on tea and sandwiches alone, we better add in some cake plates and tiered servers – we need to showcase the macaroons, petit fours, and other confections we whip up. And we need make sure we have plenty of condiment dishes for jam, clotted cream and all the traditional accompaniments.
And because it is a party, we may need a few other beverages on hand. I am thinking a raspberry lemonade in glass dispenser, and a silver jigger to spice up the spiking!
If your cabinets or grandmother’s pantry isn’t quite as ready for a tea party, flea markets or your local thrift stores are an excellence place to find these items on the cheap.
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When you look at a table setting, the napkin gets very little attention. Never mind the food and flowers – the plates, glasses, and flatware are all generally picked out with a bit more consideration. And then when it comes to linens, particularly events with rental linens, the napkin is an afterthought.
Hosts may think about tablecloths and runners, making sure they look just so, and completely then pass over the napkins – just adding on whatever matches.
Big mistake!
Napkins are the only part that guests actually touch – hold in their hand, place on their lap, use to wipe their mouth. I know that every party has a budget, but skip the poly-blend and make the napkin feel good.
Depending on the size of your event, you may even look into buying the napkins. You can find 100% cotton or linen napkins at many retailers, including online and in bulk in just about any color to fit your fancy. And if it works with the look of your event, dish towels and flour sack towels make great (and inexpensive) napkins. Or if you want to really personalize things – any fabric can quickly be transformed into a napkin, even without a sewing machine.
If you do buy them, you can use them forever, as a nice reminder of the event – and hopefully at others in the future (or at least that was my rationale for 175 “D” napkins).
Regardless if you rent or buy, if it feels good, people will notice – and remember.
Images clockwise from top: AnnieX, napkin from my wedding; Tekla dish towels from Ikea; Ritz white flour sack towels from Amazon; La Tavola Linens
Did you hear? Looks like we have six more weeks of winter.
Well, the weather may be that way and it might be a bit early for warmer wares, but nothing says we can’t bring in the sunshine inside with some spring colors.
Using the Pantone Fashion Color Report 2010 (thanks coco+kelley for the lead), we found a few things that brighten up any table.
The Venini vases may be a bit of a splurge, but the resin napkin rings have just as many colors without quite the investment. And the yellow tray can make you forget the snow, particularly if it is serving breakfast in bed. And those Missoni dessert plates, I have been eyeing that pattern for a while. It is amazing how just one or two little things can punch up the basics.
How do you handle the wait for spring?
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Once the holiday decor comes down, things can look a bit bare. It’s nice – in a clean, uncluttered way – but also almost lonely. And in the cold, the flowers aren’t exactly blooming to liven things up that way.
Instead, try taking a just a few simple blooms or branches, separating them out, and let the vases be focal point. I gathered a few tulips in champagne glasses and loved the fresh take. And then I saw this picture and thought the colored vessel was really what January needs.
My way to do it though utilizes things you may already have on hand … things like colored glasses and barware, votive holders, pitchers, even shot glasses. Of course vases and bud vases work too, but get creative and mix things up.
Jewel and fire tones will warm and brighten even the dreariest of days.
Do you think things look empty after the holidays? Or are you thankful for the clean, calm look of the decorations boxed back up?
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One of the many joys of city living/being young is not always having enough places for people to sit. And not just chairs, table space too. One of my quick fixes is a card table and folding chairs. But not the crusty kind that you would find in your parent’s garage … there are some stylish versions out there now that can even stay visible year round.
The way I do it is keep the basic table, and then just upgrade the chairs. The reasons for this route are a few:
- A quick tablecloth jazzes up the table, making it look better than it is.
- Also, the nice folding tables take up more space, and make a bit harder to fit under the bed (as it’s not like we have much storage space either).
- Plus, many of the wooden tables have cross legs, and so it is a bit tougher to get chairs (and legs) tucked in.
But an upgrade on the chairs can make it all look not so temporary. The ones I have are from Pottery Barn a few years ago, but it looks like they stopped selling those. Many stores carry these “fancy” folding versions, so there is an option now for every style an budget.
Apartment Therapy even did a little tutorial on how to DIY the Anthropologie ones. Most of these transition nicely to outdoors too, if needed, but the last 3 may be best as an outdoor option only.
And if you really need more space, you can always add a little table top extender (or even plywood) to the top of the table, just under the tablecloth.
What trick do you have under your bed (or up your sleeve) to make room for more guests?
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Do you keep the same holiday decor every year, or do you switch it up a bit?
I know that it can be pricy to change decorations from year to year, but I do like mixing it up … maybe because there are so many fun things to try. Red with lime green – metallics – magenta and white – bright colors like the old-school Christmas bulbs – so many fun things. But one style I have never quite gotten into was the snowflake – until now!
Maybe because in sunny CA the snowflake seemed downright silly, or maybe because they always looked a bit cheesy – you know the ones on the blue and white paper plates? But I think I am officially a convert.
The snowflakes on the Saks building inspired me, and I just couldn’t stop.
I found all kinds of great things for a winter wonderland in silver, pewter, grey, white, and cream.
There are lots of lovely ornaments that can be found at great prices, but you don’t have to stop at the tree. Gather bulbs in bowls, vases, apothecary jars, you name it!
With all the food, drinks and decor, don’t forget about seating. I am a huge fan of assigned seating, even for family affairs. It is a great way to make sure converstion stays following – mixing up the chatters with the shy guys. And these ideas are a snap – just using things you already have on hand.
And you don’t even need to buy place cards, just cut down a white card stock and grab a sharpie…
Artichokes have built in holders with the leaves, so just tuck the card right in.
And the X on the roasted chestnuts provides an automatic stand.
For the lady apples or small pears, all you need to do is poke a quick hole on the side of the card, and then pluck it down on the stem.
Added bonus – when these are placed on the directly on the plate, they don’t even require more table space.
I just couldn’t help but snap this pic while at an event last night. I love the idea of stemless glasses for entertaining, and so do many people, which is why the Riedel “O” series is such a hit.
But stemless champage glasses do not make enough appearances.
Yes, I realize that the stem is necessary to regulate the tempartature and stop the transfer of body heat to the wine. BUT, who drinks their bubbly that slowly? Not me, and definitely no one I know!
Champagne is for celebrations (which in my book is any day!), and so I can almost guarantee that my glass won’t be in my hands long enough to change the temp.
I really love stemless for parties – fewer spills, fewer breaks – that means less time cleaning, more time enjoying!
What do you think about stemless glasses? Particularly champagne flutes?
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