Imagine a beautifully-set table—there’s china, crystal, flowers, trays of scones, gorgeous teapots, layers of lovely linens. You’re invited to take a seat, a seat prepared with you in mind, and your hostess pours you hot tea. Then you lean back in your chair and conversation flows as freely as the tea.
When teatime draws to a close, you leave, buoyed by having been made to feel so special and by the meaningful conversations. You are genuinely refreshed.
Yes! Sign me up, please!
My friend Sharon’s love for people pours out at teatime. She loves to host teatime for anybody and everybody, from little girls to great-grandparents. It is an art she has perfected.
Teatime Tradition
Sharon’s affinity for enjoying a hot cup of tea (she detests lukewarm tea!) was born growing up in New Jersey, where she and her mom enjoyed tea together in the afternoons. When she had two daughters, she thought it would be sweet to have tea parties with them.
“With a plastic tea set, apple juice, apple slices, and any cookie we had, our two- and four-year girls began to have ‘teatime’ together. They giggled and soon decided they wanted to put on dress up hats and boas and savor this playtime. For Jenaye’s fourth birthday, I hosted her first birthday party with friends, and we invited six girlfriends over for a fancy Tea Party. We played, ‘I went to tea with the queen’ (a memory game), enjoyed triple decker tea sandwiches (of peanut butter and jelly), and lots of sweet treats. All the girls wore fancy dresses, gloves, and wide-brimmed hats, and it was divine!”
That began many years of tea parties.
“We would visit our girls’ great-grandparents in Eddyville on their farm, after our schoolwork was done, and bring a basket complete with teapot, teacups, fancy cloth napkins, a variety of teas, honey, and sweet treats. My husband’s grandparents would stop their farm work at lunch, and after lunch we’d have a ‘lawn’ tea party with Grandaddy and Mamaw. We even put a fancy hat on Grandaddy!”
A Gift of Beauty
Through the years, friends and family gave Sharon all sorts of tea accoutrements: infusers, loose leaf tea, tea pots, teacups from all over (when some of her friends went to Europe each year, she’d ask them to bring me back a teacup from where they were going). So, as her tea accessories grew, she gained more reasons to host teas.
“When I set the table for tea, I try to make it beautiful, because my guests deserve to be pampered. Depending on the season, I’ll set the table with layers of tablecloths and lace overlaying. I’ve begun using my tea pots as vases and filling them with beautiful roses and other flowers. I’ve also used teacups to put small-stemmed roses in at each place setting. When I am invited to tea, a beautifully-set table literally takes my breath away! It makes me feel like I am so special, because I know the effort that was put into making the table beautiful.”
Themes Galore
Sharon’s hosted a variety of themed teas, including a “Nutcracker Tea” for her daughter’s friends who performed with her in the Russian ballet at Carson Center one November. Another favorite was a bridal tea that took months of planning.
Then there have been Spring teas, Fall teas, Christmas teas, Winter teas, an American Girl tea, Mother-Daughter teas, Neighborhood teas, and Teas for Widows, which was hosted by seventh grade girls in her church. She’s even taken a “mobile tea party” to a hospitalized loved one, filling her tea basket with goodies.
“For my Fall teas this year (I’ve hosted six small groups–widowed neighbors, tennis friends, and retired homeschool teacher/friends), I made pumpkin scones with apple butter on the side, scotch shortbread cookies in the shape of leaves, black bean truffles to give a little chocolate with protein (a recipe from my daughter, Jaclyn, who is a dietitian), and fruit and cranberry cheddar cheese with crackers. It being 2021, I felt like I needed two ground rules for our Fall Tea time: no political talk and no Covid talk! Everyone said ‘Amen’ to that!!”
Tips for Teatime
When it comes to teatime, I’d say Sharon is a pro, wouldn’t you? Here are a few tips she has for hosting a successful tea party:
- Pour warm water in your tea pot prior to pouring the boiling water in.
- Steep your tea 6-7 minutes.
- Use a tea towel under the spout of your tea pot when serving to avoid “inevitable” drips.
- Serve tea sandwiches (chicken salad or cucumber and cream cheese) without crusts and cut into dainty shapes.
- Serve shortbread or scones and fruit dipped in chocolate.
- If you can’t do “all homemade” then do what you can. The purpose is “to bless, not impress” (a quote from Simply Sense Sational Hospitality by Terry Willits. (Here’s a link to Simply Sense Sational Christmas.)
“My favorite thing about teatime is sitting back with friends and loved ones, and having real conversation. Catching up on each other’s lives and showing an interest in my friends’ lives is most important. I find that social media just doesn’t cut it when it comes to deep, rich conversation from the heart. Teatime lets us laugh, cry, pray, and reconnect over a hot cup of steeped tea. When a busy world is going at high speed, tea time allows me to press the pause button of life and show my friends and family that they are important to me.”
Isn’t Sharon’s philosophy beautiful and simple? During this busy holiday season that’s upon us, it would serve us well to “press the pause” button and enjoy each other.
Do you regularly have a teatime? Does Sharon inspire you to? I can hardly wait to plan a tea party now!
Cathy Hancock
I just love this!! Because of her love for Jesus, Sharon makes everyone feel so special!!
Tracey Buchanan
You are so right!
LizHarper
I’ve had the pleasure to enjoy a few of Sharon’s Tea Parties! She always makes you feel special with every sweet detail!!!
Tracey Buchanan
She’s a gifted hostess!