Let us Drink Tea, my Dear

I planned this tea party for months.

Sometimes I get an idea, and I plan it for months, but it never really happens. The reason is, sometimes it is hard to do big things on your own. Sometimes you need to ask someone to help you.

I asked Rita Baker. It was a delight to work with her. Together we planned and decorated and gathered old bridesmaid’s dresses and hats and gloves for the girls who attended to wear.

I invited every girl in my church between the ages of eleven and fourteen. I also invited Dolly, a friend of mine who does not go to my church but is in that age group, and Anna, who is not in that age group but goes to my church.

Although I decorated and cooked before the party actually started, once it began I didn’t work at all. Rita, her daughter Kayla, and my mother took care of all that, and I simply interacted with the girls, dressing up and playing games with them.

It was a delight to me that Anna was also willing to dress up and hang out with girls who were younger than her.

Princess Jenny reclined on the lush green lawn.

Princess Dolly also reclines on the lush green lawn

I had planned to spend some time playing croquet on the lawn before the tea began. But alas, the day grew dreadfully warm, and we opted to play charades in the shade instead.

And then we all sat down for tea. I asked the older girls, Shanea, Alicia, and Hannah, to do the serving. They did a delightful job.

Midway through the meal, Hannah and Julia removed their hats and began sniffing them. Dolly, Abigail, and Courtney stared at them in astonishment. But Kailyn  kept her cool, focusing on her intricately folded napkin and smiling softly.

I am just kidding. The picture just looks funny. Hannah and Julia didn’t actually sniff their hats. They just removed them because it was so beastly hot. Maybe they were trying to fan themselves with their hats.

What really happened was that these beauties were served. I made these petit fours by covering brownies with  fondant icing. Rita put a pansy and mint leaf on each one and I LOVE how they turned out. They did take a long time to make though, and by the time the girls got them it was their third course and they were too full to eat much more.

Still.

Aren’t they gorgeous?

Princess Jenny delicately removed her lace gloves so that she could eat.

The side-table held the food and tea and also my pretty Bible so that I could give a short devotional during the third course.

I was wearing a pretty dress and hat.

Fact: It is very hard not to talk in a fancy sort-of-British accent while wearing a pretty dress and hat.

Fact: It is very hard to give a serious devotional while talking in a fancy sort-of-British accent.

Other than that the devotional went well.

It was so hot that the post-tea time was spent back in normal clothes and running through the sprinkler. Some of the girls played croquet after all, wearing wet dresses instead of fancy dresses.

And then, with towels on the seats and the air conditioning on, my mother and I took the girls home.

It was a beautiful party.