And guess what? They’re not that hard to organize. Well, they can be, if you really want to go the extra mile and make it perfect and Bridgerton-worthy. 

The first thing you need to decide, when you are considering hosting a tea party, is what kind of tea party you want to organize. 

Is it a simple afternoon tea, with some snacks, or do you want to do high tea? For more info, check out the difference between afternoon and high tea. I, personally, would go for the afternoon tea, so it can be a bit more informal and relaxed.

When that is decided and taken care of, you need to focus your attention to the 4 essential areas you need to manage when it comes to hosting a tea party: 

• the actual tea;
• the tea set;
• the decor;
• and the snacks. 

I’ll go through each one below, so you can have all the information (plus tips & tricks and recommendations) on how to organize the best tea party EVER!

Let’s start! Here’s how to host a tea party:

What you need for a tea party

1. Tea set – pot, cups, saucers & co 

This is actually something you NEED and without it, in my opinion, you can’t really call it a tea party. 

A TEA SET. 

You need a tea set, with cups, saucers, pots & so on. Like this Amazon 21-piece porcelain tea set.

Or this plain, simple white porcelain tea set, also from Amazon. 

They’re pretty affordable and it can be an investment piece that you will use for many years to come, and who knows, maybe even give it to your kids or grandkids. 

2. Location & Decor 

When it comes to how to host a tea party, the decor plays a big part in it. 

Why? Because it needs to put you in the mood for it, and make it feel special (and elegant / classy).

First thing, first. LOCATION.

I suggest hosting the tea party in any of the following places:

• Living room;
• Dining room;
• Garden (or any other green and/or outdoor area you have access to).

Second on the list is the DECOR, I recommend making sure you have:

• A white tablecloth. You need it to be white and simple, or maybe a white tablecloth with lace, like this one. 

• Cloth napkins.

I wouldn’t consider this a must on the list of how to host a tea party, but it does give it a nice touch. I found these white cloth napkins on Amazon, and they come in different colors, if you want to try a bolder color. 

• Cake stand.

You absolutely need a Cake Stand if you want to host a tea party. It makes the experience ten times better and it will look great in pictures. Plus, you need a cute tray for your snacks, right? This is perfect for it. Moreover, this is what the English actually use for Afternoon Tea. 

Here are two cool options from Amazon: a simple white cake stand, and a ceramic white and green cake stand. 

3. The Tea

Now here comes the most important part of knowing how to host a tea party: the tea. 

The #1 rule you HAVE to follow, and the key to having a cool tea party, is to SERVE LOOSE TEA, NOT TEABAGS. After all, you need to use the pots somehow. 

I recommend going to a local tea store and getting at least two, if not three types of tea: Black Tea, Green Tea, Fruit Tea. If you want to go crazy, try White Tea and maybe even Herbal Tea. 

Alternatively, you can order loose tea from Amazon:

• English Breakfast Tea aka Black, from Twinings

• Green Tea from Taylors from Harrogate

• Fruit Tea from Harney & Sons

4. Sweet & Savory Snacks

Last, but not least, you need snacks, both sweet and savory. 

Ideally, for an authentic afternoon tea you would also need scones. So if you want to go full out and actually serve scones, you can make them yourself- here is a recipe for Authentic British Scones. 

If you can’t make them, for any reason, I suggest going the mini sandwiches route. The most famous and used ones are Cucumber Sandwiches and Smoked Salmon.

As for the sweet snacks, you never go wrong with mini eclairs, mini fruit tarts, and small cakes. (You can definitely buy them from the store and arrange them on the cake stand, most people do it)

How to Host a Tea Party

Step 1: Invitations

After you’ve decided on a date and a location, it’s time to start inviting people. You can go about it in two ways:

• The easy way: Call, text, send an email and/or message on Messenger / Whatsapp, etc.
• The fancy way: Real invitations, printed on nice paper. If you need inspiration, I found a cool website where you can customize tea party templates and print them. Some of them look amazing, so check out greetingsisland.com.

Step 2: Plan decor, tea & snacks

You’ve settled on a date, location and you’ve sent out the invitations.

It’s time to check off the next things on your list:

• Get inspired. Pinterest and Bridgerton are your best friends. Figure out an aesthetic, the main colors and details you want and need in order to host a tea party.
• Buy the necessary tea accessories, if you don’t already have them. See the list above for what you need to host a tea party (cake stand, tea set, tablecloth, etc.)
• Research snacks ideas & plan your tea party menu. Make sure you know beforehand what tea you are going to use and what snacks you need to prepare / buy.

Step 3: Prepare location – decor & menu

It’s the day of the event aka the tea party, so you need to prepare everything. 

• Make sure the room / garden is decorated and all the tea accessories are washed and nicely displayed for the guests to use. 

• Set up the atmosphere with a cool soundtrack (upbeat classical music or even the Bridgerton soundtrack).

• Prepare beforehand (or buy and refrigerate) the snacks. 

• Have the tea ready to be made, but don’t make it until guests arrive, so it can be served hot / warm.

• Get yourself ready. Take a shower and change.

Step 4: Enjoy your tea party

You’ve gone through all of the steps of how to host a tea party and you’re reached the last one. Hooray!

It’s time to be the loveliest host: talk to everyone, make sure the tea is properly brewed, and refill cups & snacks platters, if needed. And most importantly, enjoy yourself, it’s a party for you, too.

I hope my guide on how to host a tea party helped you organize your own and provided useful tips. Let me know in the comments if you want to organize one, or have done it in the past.

P.S. Nervous to host? Here are 4 essential things to do before guests arrive! 

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links, at no extra cost to you.

The post How To Host a Tea Party – Simple & Cute Details For a Fun Afternoon Tea Gathering appeared first on Cozy Home Hacks.

I speak from experience, especially in the last few years. I had to entertain people at my place because of at least two main reasons:

1. My brother’s family wanted to see the place where he was living, plus it was a chance to get to know each other (me and his family) better;
2. We regularly host board game nights at our place;

So I know how it is to get the house ready for entertaining guests, especially since I always try to make our guests feel welcomed in our home. I’ve accumulated a few entertaining hacks along the way, and I’m here to help. This post is the first in a series, so please do come back for the rest, I think you will definitely learn one or two new tricks. 

If you check off this short list of 4 things to do before guests arrive, you will be more prepared, less stressed, more comfortable and you will be able to actually enjoy the day (gasp!). The 4 items of the list are not groundbreaking, but they are very important entertaining hacks. So if you accomplish them, “the job” is almost done before it even gets started. 

So let’s talk about the 4 essential things to do before guests arrive:

1. Tidy the house

This is a no-brainer, but you need to tidy up the house before guests arrive. You don’t need to scrub the floors and make everything perfectly clean. Or clean absolutely every room of the home.

I just mean you should make sure that the main rooms for entertaining (living room, kitchen, the bathroom, maybe even the patio) are pretty clean and organized. Things to consider:

• Counters should be clear of all other stuff besides food and drinks for guests. 

• There shouldn’t be crumbs or dirt on the floor or the couch.
• You don’t have any dirty dishes in the sink. 
• Ideally, all the toys are stashed away or organized in a corner, so that they don’t disturb the guests.

The goal here is to make sure the house looks tidy at a first glance. Nobody will use a magnifying glass to check for stains on the carpet, but you don’t need to give them a reason to do so. 

2. Set up Music / Background noise

This might not work for any party / entertaining situation, but I think most parties do well with background music. It can help with awkward silent moments, or the opposite, to get people dancing. Depends on the situation.

The first thing you need to do is to prepare a playlist beforehand. You could go with classic songs and current pop music, to have something for everyone. Or you can just play instrumental jazz or chill hip hop music, that works wonders, too.

The second thing to do is to play the music you chose, and you could do any of the following:

• If you’re old school and have a surround sound system, go for that.
• You can use a big portable speaker and play music from your Apple Music or Spotify. 
• If you’re entertaining inside and don’t have a portable speaker or sound system, you can play YouTube or Spotify on your Smart TV. 

If you’re not good at making playlists, you can do what I do most of the time, which is to put on this YouTube Chill Hip Hop live video, or turn on the TV on a music channel like VH1.

3. Have some refreshments ready.

The food / drink section of entertaining guests is probably the most stressful one for hosts. It is for me, anyway. If my boyfriend’s family is coming over, I always feel like I should prepare something and make lunch / dinner, even though I don’t have to. I did the first couple of times and it stressed me out, so after a while I decided to just order food, and only make sure I have drinks and some snacks on hand. 

When it come to food things to do before guests arrive, it all depends on the type of party you’re having:

• If you’re inviting people you constantly have over, like friends, or do board game nights, you don’t need to cook. Just make sure you have some drinks and snacks on hand: water, soda, orange juice, beer, popcorn, chips, nuts. If the party gets hungry, you order food. 
• If the gathering is a one off, or a first meeting of sorts, then I really do think you should make an effort to prepare food, even if it’s just a big charcuterie board. It’s basically a first impression of you and your home, and even though most people would say to not care about things like that, I say that you should make a small effort for it. For this, you need to think of a menu beforehand and make sure the food is done by the time the guests arrive.

Either way, please try to not put too much pressure on yourself (or your partner / family who also live in the house). Although it is expected to provide guests some refreshments, most will be happy with the minimum. It’s a party for socialising, after all, not for eating. 

4. Get yourself ready to entertain.

The house is tidy, the music (and decor, if you want) are set up, and the food & refreshments are prepared. You still have a bit of time left, so here is the last step of the list of things to do before guests arrive: get yourself ready!

You are an integral part of the party, since you are the host, so you have to take care of yourself, too. 

This is the time to take a shower, change into nice, but comfortable clothes (like a casual summer dress, or jeans and a nice shirt). Maybe even put on some makeup, if you like to. 

Getting yourself ready for the party is the last and most important part of the preparation process, because it seals the deal, and it dictates the mood you start the party. So make sure it’s a nice one!

So here are the 4 essential things to do before guests arrive. Let me know in the comments if you do all of them, and if I missed anything!

The post Entertaining Hacks: 4 Essential Things To Do BEFORE Guests Arrive appeared first on Cozy Home Hacks.