This Christmas Tea Party has a British inspired Christmas tea party menu, with items like mincemeat tarts, sausage rolls and fruit cake, along with the tradtional high tea fare of tea sandwiches, scones, and sweets. There's also ideas for Christmas tea party themed decorations, and Christmas crackers.
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Why We Love This Party
- We love tea parties anytime of year, but a Christmas themed tea party is extra special.
- The menu is a combination of traditional tea party food and Christmas items that's so good!
- The food and decor were so beautiful and festive.
This Christmas Tea Party was so much fun to put together, and the perfect fun festive party to celebrate the holiday season. Many years ago when I was 18, I lived in England for a year. It was then that I developed a love for traditional afternoon tea, and learned all about the traditional tea party fare.
Check out all our tips for hosting an afternoon tea party here. And tea parties aren't just for littel girls -check out our adult afternoon tea party Christmas is the perfect occasion for hosting a tea party like this or a Nutcracker Tea Party, but tea parties are great for just about any holiday. Check out our Valentine's Tea Party, and our Fall Tea Party.
I had so much fun putting together a British inspired menu for our Christmas tea party.
I can't think of a better way to celebrate Christmas time, then with a festive British themed tea party. If you are planning to host your own tea party, I hope it gives you lots of inspiration.
The Table
I decorated the table with some beautiful Christmas trees down the centre on a knit table runner. I added some twinkle lights and pretty candles. All the Christmas decorations looked so beautiful.
At each place setting I started off with some pretty vintage tea cups. See all our tips for setting the table here.
These were the first thing I found for the tea party and they set the tone for the whole party. They're from the thrift shop which is the perfect place to find tea cups for an afternoon tea party. They certainly add an authentic British tradition feel. They would also be sweet party favors for guests to take home to remember a special afternoon.
This would also be the perfect occasion to use special Christmas china if you had some.
I mixed my vintage tea cups with plain white plates, and pretty gold cutlery to match their gold trim. At each place setting I included a Christmas cracker -another very British addition to the table.
I gave these Christmas crackers a makeover with some pink paper, and new ribbons and embellishments to tie them into our party perfectly.
I also included these pretty iridescent champagne flutes. A glass of champagne or sparkling wine makes a wonderful addition to a tea party -inspired by the fancy high tea menus at the hotels downtown, and is the perfect way to raise festive spirits on special occasions with a little holiday cheer.
And if you have little ones at your tea party, some sparking juice makes a great additon too.
Christmas Tea Party Decor
In addition to our pretty table, I thought it would be fun to add a few simple tea party inspired decorations.
On our little mini Christmas tree, I used an old children's toy metal tea set as decorations on the tree. The tea pot made the perfect tree topper, and the cups and saucers make adorable ornaments. I love including little details like this to make a holiday party extra special.
On the side cabinet I added in some light up marquee letters to spell out "tea".
Christmas Tea Party Menu
Traditionally a full afternoon tea is served late afternoon and has a savoury course to begin with, mostly comprised of finger sandwiches, and savoury snacks, followed by scones with cream and jam, and then small sweet treats and desserts.
The Tea
It won't be a tea party without tea. In an English tea room it would be loose leaf tea made in a teapot and served in a teacup. Many tea drinkers swear the a cup of tea tastes better drunk from a china tea cup. If you don't have a tea pot, look for one at a thrift store. These days you can us a tea bag to make the tea.
Look for a black tea like earl grey, or English breakfast. But you can also include other options for guests like different flavors of herbal tea, or green tea. Be sure to have milk, not cream for the tea, and sugar cubes -so you can say "one lump or two?"
If you have children at your tea party, hot chocolate is a good idea. Make it feel extra special by serving it from a teapot for them. This is sure to be a big hit, especially if you add a dollop of whipped cream and some marshmallows.
Savoury
- Egg Salad on Mini Croissants: making these on mini croissants makes them the perfect size for tea.
- Turkey Sandwiches with Cranberry Mayo: These flavors are perfect for a Christmas celebration. They're easy to make and really delicious.
- Cream Cheese and Cucumber Sandwiches: This classic tea party sandwich is always a crowd favorite.
- Sausage Rolls: The sausage rolls are another very traditional British savory treat. These are from my local bakery, and cut into small pieces were perfect for our Christmas afternoon tea.
- Mini Yorkshire Puddings with Roast Beef and Horseradish Cream: To make the Mini Yorkshire puddings with roast beef and horseradish cream, I picked up some frozen Yorkshire puddings at the grocery store, and baked them according to the package instructions. I aded some roast beef deli meat, some lettuce, and horseradish cream. I thought these were a nice nod to a traditional Christmas roast, but in holiday tea party form, and a great addition to our menu.
Sweets
- Scones with Jam and Cream: This food processor scone recipe is my quick and easy favorite. Make them the morning off so they're nice and fresh, or pick some up at the bakery. In England, it's traditional to have scones with jam and clotted cream. It's very difficult to find clotted cream here, and very expensive so I've substituted some whipped cream. It's not the same as clotted cream, but it's quite delicious. This time of year you might try using a jam with some traditional Christmas season flavors like cranberry. Lemon curd is another great option.
- Christmas Fruit Cake: Old fashioned fruit cake is such a traditional British treat around the holidays. These days many aren't fans of it, but if you enjoy it Christmas cakes are the perfect holiday addition to your tea party menu. Not a fan? Try a tradional chocolate Yule log instead.
- Mincemeat Tarts: Another traditional British treat at Christmas is mince pies. I picked up some mincemeat tarts at the bakery. Add an assortment of any of your favourite Christmas cookies, like sugar cookies, shortbread, or gingerbread.
- Assorted Christmas Cookies: We included an assortment of our favorite Chrsitmas cookies. Shortbread is a traditional tea party cookies and these chocolate chip shortbread cookies are a great additon.
- Mini Cupcakes: These mini cupcakes are the perfect little bite and these were so beautiful too, picked up from my favorite cupcake shop.
- Mini Raspberry Trifles: The trifles are an easy addition. We made them with simple store bought ingredients, so they're very quick to put together. They look so festive decorated with a holly leaf, just remember holly isn't edible, or use a faux leaf. Get the easy recipe for the mini individual trifle here.
This tea party was so much fun, especially with our English inspired menu and fun pink color scheme. We had such a good time, enjoying good food, and close friends. It's the perfect way to celebrate this Christmas time.
This was a great way to celebrate the holidays, but it would also be a very fun baby shower, or birthday celebration with good friends over the holidays.
With a Christmas tea party like this one to enjoy, life really is a party. Merry Christmas!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Make the sandwich fillings and desserts the day before the party. On the morning of put your sandwiches together and bake your scones. Make sure to store all the food in air tight containers before serving so that it doesn't dry out.
Kids will love the little sandwiches and sweets. You might include some peanut butter and jam or plain ham and cheese. Cut them out with Christmas cookie cutter shapes like a star to make them more festive. Instead of tea, offer kids hot chocolate. And instead of champagne or sparking wine, offer kids sparking juice.
I used store-bought Christmas crackers and covered them with pink paper to fit our theme, then embellished them with ribbon and tinsel.
If you try any of the ideas from this Christmas Tea Party or any other ideas on the blog please let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting today!
Suzanne says
This looks so good! What a great combination of flavors!