MOTHER’S DAY TEA PARTY

When I was growing up, my grandmother (whom we affectionately called “Honey Mama”) would host tiny tea parties in her kitchen for my cousins and me. They were miniature versions of the grand elegance that she would create on her dining room table—set with the finest china, silver, and crystal. We would dress up in her costume jewelry and snack on cookies and sandwiches, pretending to be at the most elaborate of parties. So many of my childhood memories were made at that tiny table in Honey Mama’s kitchen.

Now that I’m a mom, I want to pass along those sweet memories and traditions to my children. One Mother’s Day I invited four generations to a tea party to celebrate the strong women in my family. We gathered around a table set with my grandmother’s china and crystal (that has now been passed on to me) and traded old stories of those childhood tea parties. My ninety-four-year-old grandmother and my mother were touched by the affair, and we all loved watching my daughter, Emmaline, enjoy her very first tea party.

You don’t have to be a Downton Abbey devotee to appreciate the charm and elegance of an English-style tea party. A tea party is a wonderfully feminine celebration where elegant finger foods being passed around the table, tea being poured from a silver service, and spring flowers bursting in their brightness all set the scene for conversation and laughter.

GET THE LOOK

Let the decor be a celebration of your family. I love using heirloom pieces that have been passed down through generations. I’m a fourth-generation Nashvillian, so I asked my friend Abi McGinnis to hand-letter napkins with sayings that Southern mothers always seem to say, like “Bless your heart” and “Suck it up, buttercup.” For party favors, I monogrammed hankies with everyone’s initials as a lasting memory of the day. Paper butterflies perched on water glasses served as place cards, and silver picture frames filled with old photos of mother and daughter were sent home with each mom as a Mother’s Day gift.

MAKE IT AHEAD

Set the table the day before, and assemble the tiered stands with food the morning of the party.

THE MENU

Yes, it’s all about the tea, but it’s the food that will bring your guests the most delight. Tiered stands of decadent desserts, tiny sandwiches, and pastries spark thoughts of Marie Antoinette. Have the meal catered or make the food yourself, but tea sandwiches, scones, macarons, shortbread, fruit tarts, petit fours, Linzer cookies, and madeleines are musts. When the party is over, pack up leftover tea sandwiches and sweets in bakery boxes for everyone to enjoy later.

ENJOY THE PARTY!

When it comes to an extravagant party like this one, more is more. I really wanted cake stands overflowing with treats. Be realistic, though, about your time and abilities. I had most of the food for this event catered because I wanted such a vast variety of items that personally making them all just wasn’t feasible.