How do You Set a Table for a Tea Party

A Story by Rajat Tyagi

Tea parties are a great way to bring people together & have a fun time over snacks, food & of course hot delicious tea. There are certain things that need to be taken care of while organizing a party.

Planning and organizing a tea party does not require a lot of effort. One just has to follow a few rules of etiquette and bring together people for some great evening tea gathering and good conversations. For a simple event, one need not make big arrangements but for larger occasions, formal place settings and preferably a buffet style event may have to be organized.

To set a table for a tea party, there are a few tips and tricks that one can employ to host a successful event. Let’s go through these one by one.

1. Tea Party Style:

A tea party can be anything from a small get together to a more elaborate event. The former will normally have snacks and other knick knacks served alongside the tea, whereas the latter can be a lavish buffet style event.

2. Setting the Table:

A sit-down tea party would require the table to be dressed up in a nice looking tablecloth. One can arrange the food according to the style of the tea party. The table should be spacious enough to hold all the food items.

3. Plate Settings:

One should organize the plates for one’s guests with proper cutlery items, linen napkins neatly folded into an attractive shape. Luncheon plates should be ideal for small gatherings but plates of other sizes can be included for larger groups of people. Furthermore, one should arrange the teacups on their saucers before the arrival of the guest beforehand. Not only this, waste bowls can also be kept on the left side of every plate setting preferably above the fork or the napkin. People usually use these bowls to keep used lemon wedges and tea leaves or bags.

4. Tea Variety:

One should consider brewing different flavoured teas for the guests. A minimum of one caffeinated black tea or a non-caffeinated herbal tea can also be included. There should be different teapots for different tea varieties. Alongside this, other necessary items that should complement the variety of teas being served should include:

a. a creamer or a pitcher of milk

b. a bowl of sugar cubes or sugar granules

c. sugar tongs and spoons

d. a pitcher of hot water

e. a plate of lemon slices or wedges

f. coasters

5. Seating and Decorations:

Smaller tea parties usually serve finger foods and chips and dips that are easy to eat while standing up or seated on a sofa. For larger parties, one can have a big dining arrangement planned or have smaller café tables laid out. Equally important thing to note here is the decorations. Flower vases are the most common kind of decorations.

These tips can come in very handy while hosting a tea party. There is a lot of room for improvisation. Even if one does not own the appropriate cutlery for the tea party, there is no need to panic. One can purchase items like a Chip and Dip set, teacups and saucers, coasters, etc. online from different Indian websites. Now-a-days you can also buy coaster set online in India. All one needs to do is prepare well and everything else will smoothly fall into place.