Tea parties with children's literature connections. On a past visit, I fixed milady "Pooh Bear cheese." The recipe is very complicated (lol) just cut sliced cheese with Pooh Bear cookie cutters. You can use whatever kind of cookie cutters or cheese you have on hand. Or make your own by tracing children's literature characters on waxed paper and using as a guide to cut cheese or cookie dough, whatever. I just wrote a blog post on my Free Printable Lesson Plans blog about making cookies based on Mo Willems characters like Pigeon and Knuffle Bunny. She requested "Pooh Beer cheese" to accompany her cereal straws and milk.
Repurposing found food items for a tea party. So one great thing about children's tea parties is that they are wonderfully adaptable to what you have on hand. Because children's delightful imaginations immediately "get the picture." They are more than willing to play along and so appreciate the smallest gestures. Here's a quick leftover use-up tea party recipe. Mix leftover cold pasta (seashell, alphabet or star-shaped preferred but not necessary), cheese cubes, pepperoni pieces, sliced mini peppers, grape tomatoes and baby cucumbers with a favorite salad dressing. Add olive if desired. Et voila, antipasto luncheon salad, like the grownups but for kids.
Spring or Easter Children's tea party recipes. I don't know why but I always associate spring, Easter and April with tea parties. And I always feel there should be tiny muffins or cupcakes, called fairy cakes in England, to dine upon. The easiest is to by Entenmann's Little Bites. But a healthier variety is to use Kodiak or other protein pancake mix to make your own mini muffins. Or you can make mini gluten-free quiches mixing eggs with chopped veggies, bacon bits and shredded cheese. I usually skip the muffin cups and just spray muffin pan with cooking spray. Or make mini cheesecake or tarts placing vanilla wafers in the bottom of a muffin cup liner. Then blend two eggs, 8 oz cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla or lemon juice and bake. Top with fruit.
Dirt cups with science connections for spring tea parties. Dirt cups may have an unpleasant name but children find them irresistibly enchanting. Whenever I need an ego boost, I bring dirt cups to a potluck. And kids never fail to scarf them up. (They're the first dessert to go, if I do say so myself!). If you let kids build their own, mess and all, you will be their hero! So what you need to make dirt cups is: clear plastic cup, crushed chocolate cookies (dirt) chocolate pudding (mud), spray whipped topping (not sure what this represents but it looks pretty and kids don't care as long as they get to spray the topping), gummy worms and one of these: colorful breakfast cereal or candies like Nerds, spring M&Ms or colored marshmallows. These are the rocks. Kids build these dirt cups from the ground up, layering dirt, mud, "rocks" and placing worms in the top. You can add gummy bugs if desired.
Finger sandwiches and appetizers for children's tea parties. These can be very simple: bread slices with whatever filling you like. I prefer egg, chicken or tuna salad. Add spinach leaves to fancy it up, then slice in four triangles. Finger sandwiches could be lunchmeat and cheese or just cheese for vegetarians. Gluten-free breadless finger sandwiches would be a spinach or baby romaine leaf, spread with filling, rolled up and secured with a toothpick. Kids also love deviled eggs and Polish roses: lunchmeat and cream cheese rolled around a scallion.
Mini anything for children's tea parties. Kids love crudites, baby vegetables like cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes. Mini pepperoni and tacos go over like crazy! So Miss Flora loved the Fruit Loop cereal straws which were completely unhealthy and an Omi-cheat! But wow did she love them.
And what about the tea for children's tea parties? Can't forget that! And you have a million options, including flavored peach or mint tea, cold tea, fruit juices, seltzer with juice, YooHoo chocolate milk boxes, cocoa in mugs, water with lemon, fruit water with different fruits speared kebab-like on toothpicks, the list is endless. My daughter for her first communion tea party, requested punch with sherbet balls and fruit ice. This is basically a kiddie cocktail (colored juice and soda) with scoops of rainbow sherbet and a molded ice ring with preferred fruits--strawberries, blueberries, pineapple or peach pieces, etc.
The main thing to remember in these children's tea parties is that they don't need to be fancy or even planned. You can be as spur of the moment as our Pooh Beer Cheese party! Here are some more literature based children's party ideas.
Note: While the goal of an impromptu tea party is fun, adding a few "fancy" rules makes it feel like a special event rather than just a snack. Plus, safety is key when you're working with "mud" and "rocks!"
Mind Your Manners: Encourage children to use "please" and "thank you" when passing the Pooh Bear cheese. I like to tell my grandkids that at a tea party, we use our "indoor royalty voices."
The Pinky Rule: It’s a classic for a reason! Teach them to extend their pinky finger while sipping their milk or juice—it always leads to giggles.
Safety First (No Real Boiling Water): For toddler tea parties, "tea" should always be lukewarm or cold. Seltzer with a splash of juice or flavored water is perfect. If you’re using real teacups, make sure they are sturdy or plastic if you’re worried about chips and breaks.
Choking Awareness: When making "dirt cups," ensure the gummy worms or "rock" candies are appropriate for the child's age. For very young guests, you can swap small candies for larger pieces of soft fruit.
