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!

Planning a Holiday Tea Party

These days, it would be very easy for me to fall into a pit of despair over what is happening in our world.  I could sit paralyzed with fear, worrying about what kind of future our grandchildren will have if things don't change, and fast. I'm not going to go into details here, because this isn't that kind of blog.  But there are goings-on afoot that truly terrify me--and some of them are hitting way too close to home.

But my husband and I are doing the Bible in a Year study with Fr. Mike Schmitz, which makes us realize that none of the things that are happening in the 21st century are new at all. Throughout salvation history, misguided and sinful man has time after time turned away from God and suffered greatly for it.  But in the end, God our merciful Father is in charge and He does love His children; so in spite of our disobedience, there is always hope for us.

ANYWAY, sorry for starting out as a real Debbie Downer on this Monday morning (as if Monday mornings aren't kind of the worst for many already!); I'm going to change my tune here and tell you what I'm doing to combat the blues:

I'm planning a St. Nicholas Tea Party/Brunch/Cookie Exchange in early December, for all the Pearl ladies here in VA (including my five oldest granddaughters)!  

I've got lots of ideas for the food and decor already, but I find myself doing Internet searches for "Christmas Tea Party Ideas" quite frequently now, and here are some of the images that have popped up that make me feel all merry and bright.

I'm trying to decide if I'll use my beloved blue-and-white transferware for the party.  Or instead, I might use the lovely holiday china that my mother-in-law left me, as I have exactly 10 place settings of that and there will be 10 of us around the table.  I'll be sure to post pictures of our event--which will probably not quite live up to these Pinterest-worthy images, but I'm going to do my best.  I can't tell you how excited I am about this little all-girls party!

With visions of sugarplums (and dainty crustless tea sandwiches) dancing in your heads now, and all the gloominess of the beginning of this post hopefully blotted out of your mind, I wish you a wonderful week. Enjoy your families.  And make every day a holiday!  (That's my new motto!)