Planning little girl tea parties is a lot of fun. To be successful you need to plan ahead, base your price off a minimum number of guests first, and gather all your main supplies. Individual parties may need different things but all parties will require the basics such as teacups and saucers, hats, gloves, dress ups, etc. You next step is drawing up your tea party themes and menu.
Tea Party Themes:
My business has set themes we offer but we are still willing to customize or use a theme the client suggests. It is best to have at least a few ideas first as clients want to be guided by a professional in the best themes and plans for their party. Planning some themes ahead of time will also give you an opportunity to test run your theme and purchase non- consumable items. In addition, you will have some themes to use in your advertising. In the beginning you may want to purchase a large plastic tote and mark it “Princess Tea” or “Butterfly Tea” to house items to go along with the theme. Totes are easy to store and will keep your items from becoming damaged.
Here are a few themes you may want to establish:
Garden Tea
Princess Tea
Butterfly Tea
Cowgirl Tea
Teddy Bear Tea
Fairy Tea
Try to start out with at least one to two unique and creative ideas like a Cowgirl Tea and one or two traditional ideas like a Princess Tea. This will appeal to two kinds of audiences.
Menu:
Traditional tea has three courses the sandwiches, savory bites, and sweets. Since this is for children you want to appeal to a child’s palette while at the same time keeping it elegant. You can find so many lovely resources to help guide you with this process such as Garden Party Teas’s Party Planning Forum. However, it is possible to have a lovely tea with only sweets or a mix and match of these three courses for children.
Things to keep in mind:
Allergies: ask ahead of time if any of the guests have allergies.
Children to do not always like tea so you may want to use pink lemonade or a raspberry tea punch instead.
I have had no success with the traditional cucumber sandwiches but much success with deli meat and cream cheese pinwheels.
Keep desserts simple like mini cupcakes, mini pudding pies, tea cookies or sugar cookies.
Mini muffins, chocolate chip scones, cheese and herb biscuits, and mini cinnamon rolls work well.
You will want to establish about three types of sandwiches, savory selections and sweets to offer a variety to your client. Include enough of each course for 8 guests in your base price. Normally two to three items from each course is plenty for each guest.
Keep in mind these posts are simply a general guide to beginning a tea party planning business. If you have specific questions please leave them in the comment box. I will comment back!
Next step is advertising!