The next tea party theme, Winter White and Spring Green, celebrates Winter but opens us to the possibility of Spring. Depending where you live, this is a tea that works well in the last two weeks of February or the first week in March. By then everyone has had her first tiny glimpse of longer days, brighter sun and just maybe a tender green shoot peeking out of the ground.
To set the mood for this tea party, bring out your best white tablecloth, napkins and dishes. White should be the dominate color with only the smallest touches of green for accent. For example, roll your silverware in napkins and tie with a light green ribbon. Use one green serving dish amid the white ones for each course.
White candles nestled in crystal bowls holding kosher salt will give a pretty, snowy appearance. Use lots. A length of white toile down the length of table, bunched and winding around the candles will add to the mood. Sprinkle white, crystal or mirror confetti lightly over the table for some glitter. Use just a bit as this isn’t the time for Christmas excess.
It is easy to find many different kinds of white and green flowers for a centerpiece. White tulips would be especially beautiful on this table. Whatever white flower you use, use only one kind. The centerpiece should be simple, almost stark perhaps, but beautiful. Keep in mind a late Winter landscape.
This tea party works best for the number of people your table will hold comfortably. This isn’t a tea to serve buffet style or to have your guests eat on their laps. And this isn’t a casual tea. This probably isn’t the tea to have if you want to invite only a couple guests. Take the time to go to a lot of effort and fill the table with your friends.
It is such fun to receive an unexpected envelope in the mail, savoring the possibilities until the card is opened and read. Send invitations to this tea party! Don’t buy them; make them yourself simply. Use a luxurious white card stock, one that keeps to the feeling of Winter. If you have a nice hand, write the invitations yourself. If you’re a messy writer, like me, use your computer to print the invitations using a fancy, decorative font. Black ink will look best.
Music is always a nice addition to a tea party. What better music for a Winter tea than something from snowy Russia. Fill the house with Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky.
Give your guests something special to take home. A small planter or low container of paper white narcissus bulbs would be a lovely gesture. Set the bulbs yourself but allow your guests to have the fun of watching them grow. Wrap the containers in cellophane so your guests won’t have a difficult time getting them home. You might have a few of these in bloom around your house to show how pretty those rather ugly bulbs will become.
This Winter White and Spring Green Tea Party won’t work for everyone in all parts of the world right now; not everyone shares my weather. But most places do have a winter season, even if winter temps there are 60º instead of the usual 80º. And my friends in the Southern Hemisphere will have their winter in six months.
Winter here can get so tiresome by the end of February. Give your friends a lift and a bit of hope that Spring will arrive with this tea party. With Christmas long past and Easter weeks away, this tea is just what the doctor ordered.
Recipes coming up next!
