How to Decorate for a Kenya Tea Party

Take your friends on an afternoon safari with a Kenya tea party that includes leopard and zebra print decor, spicy dips and curry from Kenya, traditional British scones with jam, German chocolate cake as well as playing croquet for a good cause.

Kenya culture has a bit of an unusual history. To throw an authentic Kenya Tea Party you will find yourself incorporating three different important culinary influences: spicy Kenyan dips and curries, German desserts and traditional British tea bites. This is because Germany was the first country to colonize Kenya in 1885 followed by England about 30 years later.

The theme of this party is Safari in Africa. This is your time to get out your best safari themed accessories and linens such as Zebra print, leopard print and bamboo print tablecloths and linen. Rattan and woven furniture also evokes the culture Kenya. The china can be a traditional British white or you can go for a brown earthenware look that is more German in flair.

A Kenyan tea party is perfect to throw for ten to twelve friends who just need an excuse to get together and perhaps indulge in a bit of croquet. To enhance the colonial feel you could ask your guests to dress in all in white. However much more fun would be to ask them to dress in leopard or zebra prints. Make sure the paper you send out the invitation on is also in a leopard or zebra print.

Another way to evoke the atmosphere of Kenya would be to play some indigenous African music, or at least music with a bit of a tribal sound. Many of the electronic dance bands from Germany incorporate tribal rhythms in their contemporary mixes.

As a party favor each guest could receive a little gift bag of Kenyan coffee or tea or a small donation to an African charity in their name. You could also encourage individuals to donate to an African charity by setting up a decorative donation box at the door. You could also set up bets as to who will win a croquet tournament and use the proceedings to help the Red Cross or another good cause.

Remember that the key to throwing a fantastic Kenya party is to make it a mix of German, English and Kenya culture.

Decorating A Graduate Tea Party

Serve up an elegant graduation tea party complete with old style tea sandwiches, canapé, classical music, and amusing treats like tassel pasta and edible diplomas.

 

A Graduation Tea Party should be a short sweet and elegant affair where many guests are invited. It is one of the few tea parties where it is quite common to have as many to thirty guests to hundred guests at one time. Of course all of this depends on the number of guests that you want to invite at one time.

 

As graduation tea parties are quite large in number, it is usual to serve mostly sandwiches to save on mess and preparation time. A soup and Jell-O salads are also served to round out the meal a bit.

 

On the invitation ask you guests to dress casually but formally. Make it clear that classic music will be on the menu as well as several classic games of strategy and skill – poker, chess, checkers and croquet in the back yard. Winners of these games can expect to receive small party favors such as tiny silver picture frames, pens and bookmarks,

 

The design theme for this party should be black and white to match the formality of the occasion of graduation. A nice touch is to display photographs of all of the other graduates in the family on the walls and pictures from old yearbooks. One contest that could be held is “worst year book “ photograph for which the winner wins some kind of booby prize.

 

As this party is very grown up, you should use your very best silver tea service and crystal bowls. Square black and white plates also add an interesting touch to a staid looking table. White Oxford China with your laciest white tablecloths would be best for giving the whole affair a formal yet humorous flair.

 

If you like you could also attempt to make an ice sculpture of your school’s mascot or have on ordered up professionally. You can also give this type of party of personal touch by offering napkins or souvenir matchbooks engraved with a favorite saying or a motto.

 

Of course you shouldn’t forget the cake. You can get cake molds in the shape of graduation albums and all sorts of objects that relate to graduation ceremonies.