First Annual Pearl Gals St. Nicholas Tea Party

I mentioned in a post a while back that I was planning to have a holiday tea party for my four VA daughters-in-law and my five oldest granddaughters.  Any Pearl lady six and up was invited, and it just so happens that the four granddaughters who were technically old enough are members of our firstborn's family; so I decided that since another one of my granddaughters (who belongs to son #3) is going to turn six in a few months, she would make the cut as well.  I wanted it to be a fun cousin party for them, and I'm hoping that in the coming years, as the other little girls mature, it can become an annual family event.

The tea party took place on December 5, the day before the feast of St. Nicholas, so I dubbed it a St. Nicholas Tea Party.  There are so many Santa and St. Nick figurines around my house, I didn't even need to do anything special as far as decorating!

I set the dining room table for 10 with some lovely china left to me by my late beloved mother-in-law.  It's called Royal Hunt by Noritake, and it looks beautiful with Christmas linens.

I stocked up on different festive-flavored teas, and I have to say that the one called "Christmas Tea" by Twinings was the clear winner.  (Barb, thanks for the recommendation!)  I prepared as many tasty bite-sized foods as I could: chicken salad sandwiches on croissants, cut in half; spiral ham sandwich bites; mini pigs-in-blankets; mini quiches; stuffed mushrooms; spears of grapes and strawberries.  I baked cinnamon and vanilla scones, half the size I normally make them; there were shortbread cookies and chocolates and Oreos dipped in chocolate with peppermint chips on them.  There was a mimosa bar as well.  And even honey lollipops for stirring tea, chocolate spoons for stirring coffee!

 

The youngest of the girls opted for milk rather than tea in her cup (and actually, her mama opted for Diet Coke!).  But not everyone is a tea-drinker, and I'm certainly okay with that! (We had coffee available, too, because coffee is pretty much the lifeblood for most Pearls.) I'm not sure that the food was quite right for the younger set, so I'm already thinking about what I would do differently if we have a 2022 tea party.  But all in all, it was truly delightful.

At the end, each of the granddaughters got a miniature doll, in the most adorable little St. Nicholas sack (Etsy for the win!).

We had a cookie exchange, too! 

And not to be left out of this girls-only event, my husband had special gifts for his daughters-in-law.

Living the dream, right girls? LOL!  (And he is freaking awesome.  The shirts don't lie.)

Our St. Nicholas Tea Party really kicked off the Advent/Christmas season for me.  It was totally joyful and lived up to every dream I had for it.  I'm not even letting myself get caught up in the usual second-guessing game of "the food wasn't right, I wish I'd made such-and-such," which is often my post-party hostess routine.  (I'm working on that perfectionist tendency!)  I'm just taking notes for next year and already treasuring the memories we made this year.

Those pink t-shirts make the perfect ending for this post today.  Happy Gaudete Sunday, dear readers!