English Garden Tea Party
- Set up the garden with tables and chairs, folding card tables and chairs work well.
- For best effect, use light colored or flowery patterened tablecloths. They don't all need to be the same.
- Cloth napkins are much better then paper.
- Set each table with milk and sugar plus a cup, saucer, teaspoon and napkin for each person.
- Make the tea just before the guests are seated and place one pot on each table.
- We set all the food up on a table inside, with tea plates and condiments as necessary.
- There was also a drinks table with cold drinks and lemon for tea.
Suggested food (if possible all the food items should be finger foods):
- Cucumber Sandwiches - white thin bread (Pepperidge Farm Very Thin is ideal), English or seeded cucumber and a thin spread of butter
- Egg Sandwiches - thin white or brown bread
- Smoked Salmon Sandwiches - thin brown bread
- Crumpets - serve halved, toasted, with butter (and jam maybe)
- Scones with clotted cream and jam (clotted cream is hard to find so we used a Fake Clotted Cream)
- Victoria Sandwich Cake - traditional but a little difficult to eat with fingers - cut in small pieces
- Vanilla Slices
- Shortbread
- Cadbury's Finger biscuits or Jaffa Cakes
- English Tea Biscuits (Pepperidge Farm Golden Orchard Cookies work well)
- Jam Tarts and/or Lemon Cud Tarts
- Grapes
- Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
- Petit Fours
Suggested drinks:
- Tea
- Raspberry Iced Tea
- Orange Barley Water