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How to Decorate for a Graduation Tea Party

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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.
For this tea party you will be serving three types of teas

English Breakfast Tea: ironically a Scottish professor who presented the blend to Queen Victoria developed this tea. It is a blend of black teas including Keemun tea.

Earl Grey Tea – This is a very famous English black tea with a heavy bergamot scent (a citrus fruit) that first became popular during the 1830 (during King William’s reign.)

Caravan Tea – This is a heavy dark sweet tea that is often served with a teaspoon or two of honey. jam. Caravan has its origins in imperial Russia, getting its name from the camel caravans that brought the tea (usually a blend of Chinese and Indian black teas) overland.

A cute idea for the invitation would be to give it a tassel just like a graduation cap. Remember to include the menu on the invitation:

English Breakfast Tea
Earl Grey Tea
Caravan Tea
Endive With Tomato Rosettes
Lemon Pineapple Dessert Mold
Bean and Sausage Soup
Champagne Melon with Smoked Trout
Cucumber-Watercress Tea Sandwiches
Curried Chicken Salad Tea Sandwiches
Brie Pear and Walnut Sandwiches
Edible Diplomas
Cream and Currant Tea Scones
Date Bread
Blondies
Maple Blueberry Mousse
Tassel Pasta

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.

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.

How to Decorate for a Sweet 16 Victorian Party

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The ideal number of girls to invite to a Sweet 16 Tea Party is of course 16. There are tons of Sweet Sixteen party ideas out there, but the classic tea party is probably the most romantic and also the most intimate. The format for this party is based on a proper Victorian tea party with lots of angels, fairies and cherubs as themes. If you want this party to have a bit of a dramatic edge you can ask your guests to wear “Angel’s Wings.”

Another idea would be to ask each girl to wear a tiara and phrase the Sweet Sixteen Invitation as “Have Tea With The Queen of Sweet Sixteen.” Otherwise you could phrase your Sweet Sixteen invitation like this “You are invited to My Sweet Sixteen Party. Dress: Big Hats, Victorian Dresses, White. Gloves.”

Also on your Sweet Sixteen invitation you will want to include the Menu, which is modeled after a proper British tea.Of all of the Sweet Sixteen Tea Party ideas, the Victorian inspired party is one of the easiest to realize. Using lace tablecloths with pink or floral linens and china can easily achieve the prim and look of the Victorian era. The china can be pure white, but a floral china or silver tea set suits this party perfectly. Botanical illustrations of flowers, dragonflies and bees are also symbols of the Victorian era. For each guest, you will need a teacup and saucer, dessert plate, silverware, napkin and placemat (a lace doily would be an elegant touch.)

As this party is going to include a lot of finger foods, make sure you have lots of platters, lazy susans and three tiered platters upon which you will serve your tea sandwiches and little cakes. A serving cart also lends a genteel quality to the scene.

This is also a good occasion to make use of any crystal that you have such as ornate crystal sugar bowls or platters. You can also dangle crystals in the windows and angel or fairy shaped placards from chandeliers and balustrades. To create even more atmosphere, filter any light coming through the windows by hanging sheer curtains and play music by the favorite composers of the Victorian which included Mendelssohn and Strauss.

As far as flowers go, the more old fashioned the better. Pink and white roses are a good choice as well as African violets, peonies and bleeding hearts. English Ivy (fake or real) can be entwined around balustrades and around the edges of the ceiling. In fact a small potted African violet or a pot of English Ivy is the perfect party favor for these girls to take home. You could also put a packet of seeds for growing herbs in their pockets as they leave. A particularly elegant gift would be a small ornate picture frame with your daughter’s picture in it.