Help with 6 Year Old Tea Party

Hi A.! My name is M., I am the Education VP at Family Village, and mom of 2 girls. I e-mail my business partner Dana about your tea party question and below you will find her response. Feel free to e-mail me if you have any further questions at ____@____.com

M.,

Some of the most popular items for this age group at Family Village are dress up and fashion show which work well with this theme. For example, they dress up and show off their choices before the tea party

For an art project the kids use paint and jewel gems to decorate a plastic teacup that you can probably buy at Michaels.

Thanks,
Dana
Birthday Coordinator
www.familyvillage.net
At Family Village we hold the "old fashioned parties" that we loved growing up but without the cleanup for the parents.

A.,

Hi. A friend of mine forwarded me your message. I used to own a French B&B in Duluth and have thrown grown up tea parties for our local school...a fundraiser...and am beginning a tea blending company. I am married to a French man and my friend that forwarded me your message is from France and believes I can give you some advice...so there is my background if you want to call it that. ha.

I am a firm believer that simple is perfect for children the age of your daughter. Here are some things that I have done in the past that seem to be important to kids. Being able to use actual adult stuff is fun for children and makes them feel like they are actually being big.

Stuff to put out:
1. Real cups (not your best) makes for great fun.

2. They like tablecloths and seeing you make things formal....well...to them a tablecloth is. Use a good but not best tablecloth.

3. buy flowers just for her (have her help you pick them out...tell her how much she can spend...budget...opportunity to learn)

4. Put out real plates and napkins.

5. Make cupcakes or whatever that is easy and maybe have her help put on sugar flowers (the kind that are hard...you can get them at the grocery store) or sprinkles...etc.

6. Tell parents to send along a dress up outfit...or gloves...old grandma clothes...or the purchased dressup clothes...they can put them in a pile and exchange and swap...maybe ask a mom to help you with this part.

7. Send home something tea related...tea bags, a spoon or cup...I have seen little teapot boxes at the dollar store...kind of like a jewlery box.

8. Take loads of pictures to be sent with the thank you notes. or emailed after the event so parents can make their own prints...that's cheap!

Activity ideas:
Get dressed up and fancied up (not make up...)Sticker earings, boas, cheap dress up shoes...all of that stuff you can get at the dollar store (oh, I had never stepped foot in a dollar store until last year when a friend said they have good stuff for parties....they do). A book on tea parties anything can be an activity...6 year olds need to have things very short. Anyhow...I am also a firm believer in one invited child per age of the child...so in your case 5 or 6 girls (or boys) that is enough and more personable.

If you want to more ideas or you want to chat email me at ____@____.com

Good luck and have a lot of fun making this wonderful memory for your daughter, and for you!

Virginia

Hi A.,

I just had a tea party at my house for my 5 year olds birthday. The girls loved it. I went to garage sales and found an old china set with plates, cups, saucers, and serving dishes. My daughter and I set a very beautiful table the night before. With a table cloth, flowers, name plates, and the china. When the girls arrived they recieved a bag with gloves, feather boa, and a little corsage. All of the girls were told that it was a tea party and to wear their favorite party dress. When all the girls were here we went outside and took some pictures. Then we ate a light lunch of little tea sandwiches (all kinds) and we had some pasta salad and fruit and veggies. When it came to crafts we decorated foam picture frames for the pictures we took when we were outside that way everyone would always have a real keepsake of the party. We also decorated their goody bags, and made beaded necklaces with charms. Everyone had tons of fun! For the cake I made petite fors and decorated them with flowers.

I'm not sure where you are, however, there's a tea room in downtown Hudson WI that specializes in this! So cute! I'm sure if you'd contact the Hudson WI Chamber of Commerce they can give you the name and number of the place. Seems to me they do Fairy Tea Parties.

Good Luck.
TH

Dear A.,

I don't know how much time you have until the party, but I good place to start for inexpensive decorations and little craft projects is the oriental trader, www.orientaltrading.com. It might also be good to narrow the theme a little, would she like a princess tea party, an Alice in Wonderland, or even a Western Themed tea party? Matching the tea party with something traditionally unrelated, like the western theme can double the amount of applicable decorations, favors, and food. For example Western, cream soda for sasprillas in the tea pot, and plastic horse favors, and mini bisquick biscuit sandwiches.

Another suggestion is beaded braclet or necklace kits, I have yet to see a girl between the ages of 4 and 12 not go for making their own jewelry, just make sure you have a double order plastic letters if you have them at all, fighting over the last "a" or "e" could leave some hard feelings.

Good luck!!!

My 5-year-old is having a Fairy Tea Party at Moppets on Main in Hudson, WI. They have a website for inquiries. If hosting at home, a cute craft is to use old tea cups and have silk flowers to choose, paint glue on them and dip in sparkles. We did this once at a tea party and my daughter still loves her creation. Also, can make cute tea sandwiches with cookie cutters, and the girls always have to have hats and gloves. Hope this helps.

J., mother of 5-year-old and 2-year-old daughters.

The Mad Hatter Tea Room in Anoka might be helpful. They're not terribly kid-friendly, but you might get some good ideas:
http://www.madhattertearoom.com/

On the invitation tell the girls to wear their party dresses.

Have games and prizes or treats dress up themed like crowns, beaded necklaces ect.

When it's time for cake, do the tea party then

I would try Family Village, they do theme parties there and they have one that is a Tea Party. Family Village is a really cool place for Moms and Kids. They have reasonable rates, and are very understanding of every situation!

You can check out Family Village at: www.familyvillage.net

Good Luck!
A.