Come to Tea: Fun Tea Party Themes, Recipes, Crafts, Games, Etiquette and More

by Stephanie Dunnewind, Dan Potash (Design), Capucine Mazille (Illustrations)

Drink from delicate cups, eat dainty finger foods, dress up in your finery, and be as polite as you can be: it’s time to come to tea. With the help of this oh-so charmingly illustrated guide, you can throw a delightful tea party for birthdays, holidays, or just to have fun with friends. You can even choose a theme to make it extra-special. Start by designing your own invitations and decorations. Then, follow the recipes for making a great cup of tea, simple cucumber and other creative sandwiches, shortbread bars, and more tasty treats. What kind of party are we going to have? A Mad Hatter Tea, Teddy Bear Picnic, Garden Party, Fairy Tea, or one just with your dolls or your mom? Plus: crafts, games, boxed hostess tips, and delicious “tea party” quotes from favorite books, all shown in pictures that capture the timeless pleasures of this favorite little-girl event. A quintessential gift from grandmother to granddaughter.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Crafts, Nonfiction

80 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2002

Reviews

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reference book for any party ideas for girls from ages 4-12. There are 8 variations on the tea party theme with sweet illustrations that make me want to throw every singe party!

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A super helpful and educational resource for Tea Parties!

The book includes 8 themes:
-Classic
-Princess
-Mad Hatter
-Teddy Bear Picnic
-Mom and Daughter Picnic
-Garden Tea
-Literary
-Pajama Breakfast Party

Each theme features décor, invitations, crafts, games, recipes, teas, and tea etiquette.

Standouts for me would be:
Classic (Chess board sandwiches, very clever)
Princess (Cinderella shoe hunt game)
Mad Hatter (the food is champion of these themes: cheshire cat smiles, White rabbit nibbler platter and queen's stolen tarts)
Teddy Bear Picnic (the party favor picnic style basket with all things bears is really cute)
Mom and Me (the scrapbook page and the mock Devonshire cream take the cake...no pun intended)
Garden Tea Party (the floral ice cubes are a nice touch.)
Literary Tea (Anne of Green Gables' Ginger Snaps sound tasty.)
Pajama Party (the Chocolate Mint Tea and the Pinwheels sound like a good bedtime snack or a good wakeup call.)

I do wish that the book was photographed instead of illustrated. Some of the activities seem a bit unfeasible depending on the number of attendees (more supply cost and if the kids mess up, there's not really any nice way to fix them without starting over, such as "Garden bonnets" or "DIY Pillowcase art".

[Emily Frith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute ideas for tea parties of different themes.

[Selena Pigoni · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the record, there's actually very little tea in this book. Most of the recipes are punches or hot chocolate (they do include tea, but it's mostly fruit juice or lemonade). Only one recipe is truly a tea recipe, Cambric Tea.

So why call it a tea party book when it has little to no tea?

This recipe actually has a lot of good tea party recipes. It has how to make cucumber sandwiches, truffles, tarts, scones, and other finger foods. The other nice thing is that the recipes are designed with a little kid helping in mind, they're pretty easy recipes. Most of them are also designed with party proportions in mind.

There are also themed crafts and how to make themed invitations, but as I don't plan to have a tea party for five-year-olds any time soon, I didn't really look at these parts.

So for tea, this is a bust, but for tea party munchies, it's worth a look.

[Marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this book was written as a guide to children I through enjoyed it. I was looking for some tips on throwing my upcoming tea party and even though I'm an adult this book was a great find. It has wonderful recipes, invitation ideas, etiquette, and all sorts of tips. If you're child is looking to throw a tea party buy this book! It have multiple theme Ideas and some great game and craft ideas as well. Even if you're a first time tea party thrower like myself I suggest getting your hands on it.

[R. C. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Crafts that one throws out after one makes them, assumption that only girls would be planning and attending teas, and a lack of in-depth explanation of how to do the etiquette traditions listed. I really did not like this book at all.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was perfect for what I needed. A book about tea parties for 6-9 year old girls.