Tasteful Tea Party
Choose two or three relatively calm activities for a two-hour party. Have a few extra ideas ready just in case. Alternate crafts and other sit-down activities with active games to keep the pace of the party moving.
Reading is great between activities. It can be used to keep children occupied while a parent sets out the tableware and cake. Also, reading can be effective at the end of the party, when children are waiting for their parents to arrive. Some suggestions:
- The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch (Annick Press, 1988)
- Bears in Pairs by Niki Yektai (Aladdin Paperbacks, 1991)
- The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Andersen (various editions)
- Miss Spider's Tea Party by David Kirk (Scholastic, 1994)
- Tea Party Today: Poems to Sip and Savor by Eileen Spinelli (Boyds Mills Press, 1999)
Having a craft activity set up as guests arrive is a good way to corral the excitement in a positive way, since each person can start working immediately.
Ages: 4 and up
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Playing time: 15 minutes
Players: Any number
What you need:
- Red licorice strings
- Edible candy or sweetened cereal "beads," such as Fruit Loops, Lifesavers, Gummy Lifesavers
Before the party:
1. Buy candy and cereal and separate them by style or color into bowls.
At the party:
2. Show children how to string candy onto licorice.
3. To make bracelets: wrap a length of candy-adorned licorice around the child's wrist and tie ends together.
Ages: 6 and up
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Playing time: 20 minutes
Players: Any number
What you need:
- Heavy wrapping paper (24-inch x 30-inch will make 4 fans)
- Scissors
- Tongue depressors or crafts sticks (2 per fan)
- Stapler
- Low melt glue gun or crafts glue (takes longer)
- Rubber bands (if using crafts glue; 1 per child)
- Ribbon (10 inches per child)
- Acrylic paint and brush
Before the party:
1. Paint the tongue depressors or craft sticks, and let dry.
2. If using wrapping paper for the fans, flatten overnight by placing the paper on a table and pressing with heavy books on each end.
3. Cut paper into four 6-inch x 30-inch strips, one per guest.
4. Cut 10-inch lengths of ribbon, one per guest.
At the party:
5. Hand each guest a 6-inch x 30-inch strip of paper. Show the children how to fold over the short end one inch, and continue making one-inch accordion folds to the end of the strip. (See illustation, Step 1.)
6. Staple one end of the folds together, about 1/2 inch in from the end.
7. Glue one flat stick to one side of folds about 1/4 inch above the staples; see illustration, Step 2. (If using low-melt glue gun, an adult should assist with the gluing.) Glue the other stick to the other outside folded edge in the same way; see illustration, Step 3. If using crafts glue, wrap rubber band around to hold it tightly closed until dry.
8. When dry, open fan (see illustration, Step 4) and use the ribbon to tie the sticks together to keep it open.
Alternative: Buy solid-white paper fans and give guests watercolor paints to decorate the fans.
Ages: 5 and up
Preparation time: 10-15 minutes
Playing time: 15 minutes
Players: Any number
What you need:
- Pressed flowers
- Washable markers
- White crafts glue
- Small foam paintbrush
- Brightly colored posterboard or construction paper
- Self-laminating sheets (optional)
- Hole punch
- Thin ribbon or lace
Before the party:
1. Buy or press flowers. Small flowers with thin leaves, such as pansies, can be pressed between two sheets of paper in the pages of a heavy book.
2. Cut posterboard or paper into small strips, about 2 inches by 6 inches.
At the party:
3. Let children glue flowers to strips of posterboard and decorate their bookmarks with markers.
4. Use a foam paintbrush to lightly coat the flowers with glue (you may need to thin the glue with water).
5. When glue is dry, bookmarks can be laminated with self-laminating sheets, if desired.
6. Punch a hole at the top of each bookmark and add lace or ribbon.
Ages: 6 and up
Preparation time: 35 minutes
Playing time: 20 minutes
Players: Any number
What you need:
- Lace and felt, about a 5-inch square per guest
- Large heart-shaped cookie cutter
- Large embroidery needles
- Thin ribbon or embroidery thread
- Dried lavender, rose petals, or store-bought potpourri
Before the party:
1. Using the cookie cutter as a pattern, cut 1 felt and 1 lace heart per guest.
2. For guests under age 8, machine-stitch the two pieces together, 1/4 to 1/2 inch from the edge, about 3/4 around the sachets.
At the party:
3. Let guests 8 and older stitch a felt heart and lace heart together, 3/4 of the way around.
4. Fill with dried lavender, rose petals or store-bought potpourri.
5. Stitch opening closed.
- Make hats for dolls or teddy bears by cutting a hole in the center of a paper plate. The resulting ring should rest on the doll's or bear's head. Decorate the hat with ribbons, feathers, sequins, markers, etc.
- Gather 2- to 3-inch clay pots, soil, and small flowering plants, like pansies or violets. Set up a work area for guests to pot their own plants. Before they are filled, the pots can be decorated with ribbon or paints.
Continued on page 4: Games
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