How to Host a Garden/Tea Party for Your Kids This Summer

 

How To Host a Garden/Tea Party with Your Kids

Summer is here! The weather is warm and perfect for hosting outdoor events. So, use the warm weather and beautiful outdoors to help keep you and your kids entertained this summer. And, if there’s one thing that we southerners know how to do, it’s get together with our family and friends for an outdoors event. So, this summer plan a fun, Garden/Tea Party with your kids.

What is a Garden/Tea Party?

Most of us have heard of a “Garden/Tea Party”. And, in your mind, you might think about little girls and their dolls. However, this is not that type of party. A Garden/Tea Party is an outdoor gathering that includes actually guests and not dolls. It is typically held near a garden.

This party does not have to be in or near a vegetable garden. It can be hosted near a flower garden as well. In truth, you don’t even have to be technically “outside” to host a garden party. All you need are some guests and warm weather.

Choose the Style

You will need to decide what type of party you are hosting. There are a variety of options. Here are a few:

*Casual

You can choose to host a picnic style Garden/Tea Party with basket lunches and nice, sturdy paper plates or you can do something simple but elegant for your young guests. The dress code is casual. Shorts or jeans and t-shirts are appropriate. Sundress and other comfy, cozy clothes may be worn.

*Semi-formal

Everyone can get dressed up in semi-formal attire and make it a real “social event”. In this incidents, you and your kids will wear clothes that weren’t too dressy but that go beyond your basic shorts and t-shirts. Sundresses are still appropriate as long as you elevate them by adding some nice jewelry and shoes. This type of garden party is more along the lines of an actual “ Southern Tea Party”.

*Formal

Let’s get dressed up! If you decide to go formal, then you’ll want to let your guests know that the garden party is a formal gathering. This  way your child’s friends will know to come in their best dresses and not just every day clothes. This type of garden party is more common with wedding, engagements, and other important social events where the participants dress very formal and the decorations for this party follows strict guidelines.

Choose a Theme

Okay, themes can be optional especially when planning a “Garden/Tea Party for your kids and their friends. Your kids will be more excited about getting to hang out with their friends outside than picking a theme for the party. However, if you want to scale things up a notch and teach your kids about planning and budgeting, you can choose a theme for your party.

*Americana

If you want, you can go “All American”. You can add a touch of Americana by using foods that are commonly associated with picnics like hot dogs, hamburgers, water, and soda. Of course, if you’re doing the Americana theme, you’ll want to use red, white, and blue as your party colors. These are great for around holidays like Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, and Independence Day.

Seasonal

It may be summer, but you can host a Garden/Tea Party during at least three season out of the year: spring, summer, and fall. And, with the various season, you can choose a color them to match the season in which you are hosting your party.

You would choose pretty pastels for spring. But, don’t shy away from adding some bold colors into the mix to spice things up.

Summer and warmer weather dictates that you use bolder colors. Neon colors and loud yellows, reds, and greens are some of summer’s most noted colors.

Fall brings the darker, rustic colors like brown, orange, golden-yellow, and emerald-green. Don’t forget to add a splash of intrigue by adding a few sprinkled of lighter colors.

Classical Themes

The themes to choose from are limitless. You can go “Disney princess”, “Beach”, “Harvest time”, or even “Back to School”. It’s all up to you and your children. Just make sure that you are having fun while planning your Garden Party.  

Choose the Area

Next, you’ll want to choose the spot for your Garden Party. Remember most Garden/Tea Parties are held outdoors. However, you can use a “work around” to get a similar effect.

·        Flower Garden

You can host your party near a flower garden. Beautiful flowers and flourishing plants can make any outdoors activity look even more picturesque. And, a flower garden would be ideal of a “traditional” Garden Party.

When planning for this style Garden Party, you will have to take into consideration the possible visits from pollinators and other insects. So, precautions should be taken to prevent them interrupting your fun.

·        Park

Your Garden Party doesn’t have to be held at your home. You can move your celebration to another location. Your local park can be a great place to host a party. Check with your local park and see if you can reserve the area. A park is less formal, and often, it will have picnic tables that you can use for your gathering. If you want, you can add some table clothes to help give the spot a party feel. This spot can also provide you and your guests with entertainment if live shows or other events happen to be planned for the same time.

 The thing that I love the most, and you will too, is that you don’t have to clean your home or yard afterwards. This isn’t to say leave the park dirty. You will definitely need to clean up behind yourself and any of your guests.

·        Backyard/front yard

There’s no place like home! Your own yard or garden can be the ideal place to host your party. It depends on location of your house to help you determine whether to use your front or backyard for your gathering.

The traffic flow near your party needs to be taken into immediate consideration since this is a party for kids. Ideally, you want to choose an area that will have the least amount of traffic. Small children can easily become distracted. So, you want to make sure that you have taken the right safety precautions.

Decorations

The type of decorations you use are all up to you. The decorations you use will all depend upon whatever theme you decide to go with. If you want to keep the heat to a minimum and you want to emphasize nature, light, airy colors are generally a good way to go.

Food  

Think tea party when planning your Garden Party. Since this is a party for your kids, you want to think small…as in “mini”. You can use mini-sandwiches, fruit, small salads, and other finger foods for your outdoors event. Cupcakes, cookies, and chips are always a hit with young children.

You can get your kids involved in the meal planning process. Even younger kids can help to prepare some simple dishes. This will provide a great opportunity for bonding. It is also a wonderful time to discuss family recipes and family history. You can also sneak in a math lesson or two while you are prepping the food.

You may want to go all out. The menu for your Garden/Tea party is all up to you. So, if you have decided to host an extravagant party, you may even want to consider having your event catered.

Drinks

What type of drink goes best with a Garden Party? Homemade lemonade or sweet tea will give your party a true outdoors feel. And, if you live in the South, you know the importance of fresh sweet tea.

Water is always a great addition to any event. You can have pitchers of it available or you can use mini-water bottles. Try to avoid sodas if you can. However, the beverages for your party is up to you.

Invitations

Have fun sending out invitations to your event. Invitations can be formally done, or they can be the unique creation of your kids.

An entire craft designing activity can be created for your kids when you let them design and personalize the invitations for the party.

Formal invitations can be purchased from a local store. They can be create and printed online on your home computer or you can have them custom made.

Whether you decide to host a formal or informal Garden/Tea Party, you are sure to have a great time this summer. A word of advice. Be sure to use insect repellant torches, candles, or plants to keep those pesky, uninvited critters from stopping by.